Viral marketing: Message quality, trust, and consumer who share on social media

Writing in the International Journal of Technology Marketing, Georgios Tsekouropoulos of the Hellenic Open University, in Patra, Greece, discusses the notion of viral advertising. Specifically, he addresses the relationship between message quality, trust, and consumer intention to share content on social media.

His survey of consumers with a penchant for social media showed that perceived sender trust, perceived advertiser trust, message quality and attitude toward sharing electronic content are not significantly related to a viewer's intention to share viral advertising messages. Conversely, the frequency with which viral advertising messages are shared is affected by those very same factors. Marketers are keen to know how to make their advertising messages "go viral," it being the fastest "word-of-mouth" marketing we know.

The key message from the research for those hoping to spread the word quickly, effectively, and widely is that "a company can transform his communication strategy and take advantage from the benefits of viral marketing by producing high-quality messages which in combination with actions that can increase the trust of the consumer on the company itself, can transform those consumers into the best representatives of the company and make them part of the marketing communication process."