Lindsay Goldner: Schadenfreude in Social Media?

As I researched schadenfreude, it became apparent that it had become a social media driving force, both for why people enjoy various forms of social media, but also in determining the eventual popularity of different Web 2.0 content.  Take, for instance, the infamous “Star Wars Kid,” a Youtube video that has garnered over seventeen million hits since it was first posted.  The humor in the video lies not in a clever plot or witty dialogue, but in the entertainment enjoyed by the viewer at the expense of the film’s subject (and his dignity).  The “Star Wars Kid” video is therefore a prime example of the public’s enjoyment of social media content, resulting directly from a schadenfreude-based emotional response.  What is important for content creators to notice, then, is that this film’s audience not only enjoyed it because of its schadenfreuden effects, but that the audience then took advantage of the participatory nature of social media itself to widely share the video and allow others to experience similar feelings of schadenfreude.  Ultimately, this combination of schadenfreude and highly participatory media led to the virality of the video, and its popularity skyrocketed.

While schadenfreude may appear to be inherently malicious--which I believe to be the reason for so little social discourse on the topic--it contains a range of complexities, similar to any other emotional response.  It has primarily been studied with regards to in-group/out-group relations, desire, and envy, but not at all with regards to our emotional responses to specific forms of social media.  This occurrence of schadenfreude is worthy of study, though, for it is a factor that can propel web content like “Star Wars Kid” or Texts From Last Night from relative obscurity into complete viral status.  

For marketers and content creators in the social media sphere, this is particularly important.  Content can be manipulated or produced in a way so as to elicit schadenfreude from social media consumers; it then has a greater chance of going viral as consumers experiencing schadenfreude strive to share that emotional response with others in the social media sphere.  Not only does this cut down on marketing costs, as consumers disseminate the content themselves, but it also provides a reprieve from the standard emotional responses elicited by traditional marketing methods.

How do I use it?

Schadenfreude itself may not be the most positive example of human nature, but its existence in the human emotional spectrum is undeniable.  As a result, those of us working in social media should examine instances of schadenfreude in our own content consumption and sharing experiences.  We can then look to use this untapped emotional response which, in combination with the highly participatory nature of social media, can organically create successful viral campaigns.  

So... how do we take advantage of schadenfreude without completely taking advantage of the misfortunes of others? It’s a fine line, but one that has relative flexibility, especially as marketers are just beginning to make use of this response.  Here’s an example: say that you, Company X, want to create a marketing campaign promoting your service over that of your competitors.  A good way to bring about a schadenfreude-based reaction from your audience might be to reference Nike’s campaign, “Just do it,” but in reference to the recent Tiger Woods scandal. Your campaign, aimed at steering customers away from competitor Company Y, might begin with something like this:

By using an altered version of Nike’s highly-recognizable slogan, in addition to their shamed spokesperson, this ad would elicit schadenfreude towards Tiger, who in this (albeit rough) example represents “Company Y.”  Causing your audience to feel schadenfreude towards Tiger Woods allows them to experience a form of happiness at his misfortune, an experience they can then share through various channels of social media and as a result organically drive your marketing campaign’s success.

 Lindsay Goldner graduated from UC Berkeley and is now a marketing and event-planning intern at Shoestring, LLC.  She is currently searching for a full-time job at a startup company in marketing and social media-related roles. You can find her blog here and connect with her on Twitter or on LinkedIn.