Viral video marketing on TikTok : effects on brands beyond views, likes and shares

Abstract

This study focuses on a very topical subject of viral marketing on the social media platform TikTok. Viral marketing has been proven efficient in today’s media landscape, and the role of TikTok, the fastest-growing social media platform in the world, has been recently highlighted. TikTok’s short- form video content offers a great fit to the modern fast-paced content consumption preferences, and the algorithm-based operating model, combined with the vast user base, enables the next level of reach for the content. Thus, TikTok offers an intriguing platform for viral marketing – however, relatively little about it is still known in the academic world.

This study studies how companies can utilize firm-generated viral video marketing content on TikTok to improve brand value. In addition, this research provides a comprehensive outlook on viral marketing by studying viral marketing as a phenomenon, the characteristics of successful viral marketing content, and the multifaceted role of brands in viral marketing. This study contributes to a research gap, which requires attention from multiple directions: While viral marketing has been studied extensively, its effects on brand overall require more research. Even more significantly, TikTok has minimal research as a platform, even less regarding viral marketing there, and practically no prior research exists regarding viral marketing on TikTok and its effects on brands.

This study was conducted as qualitative research, and semi-structured interviews were utilized to interview five companies that operate primarily in the Finnish B2C sector and have utilized viral video marketing on TikTok. The chosen study method enabled a thorough and robust exploration of the topic but gave significant value to each respondent’s answers. As a result, a comprehensive analysis was produced that demonstrated clear findings when combined with prior research.

This study discovered that TikTok is a superbly efficient platform to conduct viral marketing and that firm-generated viral marketing content on TikTok can be utilized to increase brand value. This research suggests that the increase is mainly caused by increased brand awareness and fortified brand image, which also contribute to increased brand preference and loyalty. Brands can increase these brand aspects by producing content that maximizes virality but is also recognizably linked to the brand. The content should be entertaining, humorous, and attention-grabbing for maximum virality. Organic-looking, low production, and relatively short content succeed the best in TikTok. The brand should be visible in the content, but it needs to be a subtle and integral part of the content to avoid advertisement-like feelings. In addition to viral marketing content, brands should also produce other types of content, such as informational, to maximize the effect and engage with different audiences. This study suggests that marketing managers should utilize viral marketing on TikTok to build brand awareness and fortify brand image.