A Social Networks Approach to Viral Advertising

The Role of Primary, Contextual, and Low Influencers

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2413998
AutoresItai Himelboim (0000-0001-7981-5613, University of Georgia, autor de correspondencia), Guy J Golan (0000-0003-4083-1135, University of South Florida)
Año2019
Volumen5
Número3
Páginas205630511984751
Fecha de publicación2019-04-01
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaSocial Media + Society (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 2056-3051 • E-ISSN: 2056-3051
EditorialSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/2056305119847516
OpenAlexW2962891546
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas23
Referencias citadas53

The diffusion of social networking platforms ushered in a new age of peer-to-peer distributed online advertising content, widely referred to as viral advertising. The current study proposes a social networks approach to the study of viral advertising and identifying influencers. Expanding beyond the conventional retweets metrics to include Twitter mentions as connection in the network, this study identifies three groups of influencers, based on their connectivity in their networks: Hubs, or highly retweeted users, are Primary Influencers; Bridges, or highly mentioned users who associate connect users who would otherwise be disconnected, are Contextual Influencers, and Isolates are the Low Influence users. Each of these users' roles in viral advertising is discussed and illustrated through the Heineken's Worlds Apart campaign as a case study. Providing a unique examination of viral advertising from a network paradigm, our study advances scholarship on social media influencers and their contribution to content virality on digital platforms

Advertising · Business · Influencer marketing · Political science · Scholarship · Social media · Viral marketing · World Wide Web · Computer Science · Digital Communication and Language · Digital Marketing and Social Media · Social Media and Politics · Marketing