Viral marketing opportunities for Esports on TikTok

Viral marketing is "a phenomenon that facilitates and encourages people to pass along an advertising message" (AMA, 2017). Its definition is seen as "viral" because the content is exposed to a large amount of people, something similar to a virus. This strategy has been related to "network‐supported word of mouth", which is used widely to distribute content on social media. Reichstein & Brusch (2019) define viral marketing as "marketing strategies that permit exponential distribution of content in network‐based channels in the shortest time with comparatively little effort and additionally generate measurable added value through the content, which leads to a high cost‐benefit effect". There are a few factors that can be determinants of viral marketing, such as content value, credibility, and relationships with the transmitter.

Considering Reichstein & Brusch's definition, due to virtuality and its sense of community, Esports can evolve on social media considering these strategies. In this way, a market movement is seen by publishers and game brands: TikTok wants to be seen as a gaming platform. They recently published a new research report in partnership with Newzoo that indicates some interesting insights that show how the short video platform can be useful for the gaming industry: TikTok drives about 3 trillion views on gaming content, and it has about 50% of daily users watching game content.

Reichstein & Brusch's study organizes how brands can use content to develop their viral marketing strategies, five variables considered by the authors, are: content (consider how interesting it is and emotions on the content), emotion (emotions increase attention and the speed of diffusion, also, consider humor as a factor, and positive emotions as a short-term effect on the intention to share), level of activation (emotions caused by content leads to activate sharing intentions), images (persons and interesting objects increase the popularity of images), and content from the company's point of view (viral marketing is associated with buying activity, and to create value, emotions must be conveyed, been the brand, a natural part of the content).

References

How TikTok is using data to convince gaming brands to spend on the platform. (2023, October 27). DIGIDAY. https://digiday.com/marketing/how-tiktok-is-using-data-to-convince-gaming-brands-to-spend-on-the-platform/.

Launching PC & Console Titles in the Ever-Changing Games Market | Free report with TikTok. (2023, October 23). Newzoo. https://newzoo.com/resources/trend-reports/tiktok-newzoo-gamer-behaviors-free-report.

Reichstein, T., & Brusch, I. (2019). The decision-making process in viral marketing—A review and suggestions for further research, 36(11), 1062-1081.

The Definitions of Marketing: What is Marketing?. (2017). AMA. https://ama.org/the-definition-of-marketing-what-is-marketing.