Viral Content as a Tool in Communication Strategies

In the modern media space, the choice of effective strategies for building communications with various segments of the audience is becoming especially relevant. The article discusses the main tools that can be used by companies for high–quality and effective work, especially with a young audience. The object of the research is communication strategies used by domestic and foreign media. The subject of the research is viral content as one of the tools of communication strategies when working with an audience in the digital space. The aim of the work is to identify universal tools that allow companies to build effective communications with the audience, with a special focus on viral content. Research objectives: to analyze the phenomenon of communication strategies and their impact on interaction with the media audience; to systematize key tools for developing communication strategies; to evaluate the effect of using viral content as an element of a communication strategy. Research methods: functional analysis, cognitive analysis, semantic study of communication strategies in the media. The main results. An overview of approaches to the classification of communication strategies is presented (based on the works of T.A. van Dyke, O.S. Issers, O.L. Mikhaleva, S.Y. Poluikova). The structural elements of the communication strategy are highlighted: target segment, communication tools and channels, implementation period, risks, KPIs. The key tools of media audience attraction (trash talking, storytelling, the use of symbolic capital of territories, interactivity and gamification, viral content) are systematized. The factors of content virality (social currency, triggers, emotions, publicity, practical value, storytelling) are analyzed based on the concepts of G. Jenkins, D. Watts, L. Manovich, S. Godin, J. Berger. For each communication tool (storytelling, trash talking, interactivity and gamification, symbolic capital of territories, viral content), the following advantages, limitations and disadvantages are identified. The theoretical significance lies in the generalization and structuring of modern approaches to communication strategies and tools in the media sphere, as well as in the analysis of concepts of virality proposed by leading researchers. Practical significance: the results of the study can be used by managers of media companies to: develop communication strategies based on the portrait of the target audience; make an informed choice of a combination of tools for interacting with consumers; to increase the effectiveness of digital promotion by understanding the mechanisms of virality and the limitations of the methods used.

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