Viral Advertising in Social Media

ABSTRACTThis study examines the potential link of Facebook group participation with viral advertising responses. The results suggest that college-aged Facebook group members engage in higher levels of self-disclosure and maintain more favorable attitudes toward social media and advertising in general than do nongroup members. However, Facebook group participation does not exert an influence on users' viral advertising pass-on behaviors. The results also identify variations in predictors of pass-on behaviors between group members and nonmembers. These findings have theoretical and managerial implications for viral advertising on Facebook.Keywords: social mediaviral advertisingFacebook groupsself-disclosureattitude toward advertisingpass-on behavior Additional informationABOUT THE AUTHORShu-Chuan Chu (Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin) is an assistant professor in the College of Communication at DePaul University. Her research interests include social media, electronic word of mouth, cross-cultural consumer behavior, and consumer-brand relationships. Her work has been published or is forthcoming in the Journal of Global Marketing, International Journal of Advertising, Journal of Interactive Advertising, Journal of International Consumer Marketing, Journal of Marketing Communications, and Chinese Journal of Communication, among others. Her work has also appeared in Handbook of Research on Digital Media and Advertising: User Generated Content Consumption (Vol. I), Computer-Mediated Communication across Cultures: International Interactions in Online Environments, and the forthcoming Handbook of Research in International Advertising, and Advances in Advertising Research (Vol. II). Dr. Chu teaches advertising courses such as Principles of Advertising, Advertising Campaigns, Digital Advertising, and Integrated Communication Campaigns.