Viral Content Analysis

My tweet was, “My great aunt showing up to the Holiday party empty handed: “the holidays are about more than just presents. Its about family, kindness, lov..” Me: Thank you, next.”

This tweet was strategically posted during the rise of Ariana Grande’s new song, Thank U, Next, and the upcoming gift giving, aka; holiday season. Ariana Grande has been at the center of the pop culture world for some time. The singer and SNL star, Pete Davison, became engaged over the summer following a 3-month dating period. On September 7th, Ariana’s former love interest, Mac Miller died of an overdose. Then, in early October, Pete Davison and Ariana Grande announced they were calling off the engagement. The sequence of events attracted a whirlwind of media coverage. On November 3rd, Ariana released the song, “Thank U, Next” where she addresses her past relationships. The song opens with…“Thought I’d end up with Sean, but he wasn’t a match. Wrote some songs about Ricky, now I just listen and laugh. Even almost got married, and for Pete, I’m so thankful. Wish I could say, “Thank you” to Malcom, ‘cause he was an angel.” The chorus of the song repeats, “Thank you, next” multiple times, referencing the fast that each relationship taught Ariana a lesson, which she is thankful for, but ready to move onto the next. This song toped the charts and just in time for the holiday season.

Going home for the holidays is an exciting thing for a college student; mom can do their laundry, they get free meals, and cash out on gifts from their dear great aunt sally. This tweet was intended to attract millennials through a culturally relevant reference to Ariana Grande and the widely known fact that the holidays are quickly approaching.

My goal for this was to reach 20 engagements, whether that be likes, comments, retweets, or shares. My campaign lasted from 11/15/18-11/27/18.

My total number of engagements was 1. Considering my previous user engagement, I was genuinely surprised that I gained one organic engagement. For me, this was a success within itself, especially since it was not from a fellow student. However, I think I could have shared it in people’s dm’s and across multiple platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and BuzzFeed to increase visibility. I think that my tweet was funny and it was more so about how I promoted the tweet than the content itself.

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