An exploratory analysis of consumers’ viral behaviour toward marketing video experience in social media / Nor Azimah Kamaruddin

Due to the increasing number of social media users, marketers are focusing on social media as a means of promoting their products. This study aims to fill gaps in existing literature, especially in practical, theoretical, methodological, and context perspectives by exploring the phenomenon of viral behaviour in video marketing on social media. The objectives of this study are; to explore the type of social media and marketing video preferred by Malaysian Gen Y social media users, to explore the factors of viral behaviour on social media marketing videos, to explore the consequences of failed social media marketing video related to viral behaviour and to propose a framework on factors of viral behaviour in the consumer research domain. The study employs qualitative method, analysing data from five focus group discussions and eight semistructured interviews with social media users. The obtained data were analysed thematically and go through constant comparative analysis. The findings reveal that Facebook is the preferred social media platform for marketing content, and some factors identified in previous studies lead to purchase behaviour rather than viral behaviour. Additionally, video duration, a previously overlooked factors, has an impact on viral behaviour. The study identifies a new category of attitude, which is the vague attitude, and highlights the negative effects of the ‘bawang army’ on social media marketing. The study recommends further research on the new category of attitude that emerges and also on the burst due to a negative attitude towards the marketing content, which is known as the ‘bawang army’.