Tracking virality of media content by monitoring sharing habits of viewers

Abstract

Various embodiments concern systems and methods for tracking virality and social lift of media content. More specifically, metadata from shareable links (e.g., generation code, UTM codes) can be analyzed to determine the sharing habits of viewers. An analytics engine creates and tags links to media content with generation codes, time codes, or both. The codes and their respective values allow the analytics engine to identify trends or patterns in how content is viewed and shared, such as increases and decreases in viewership. The generation codes could be used instead of, or in addition to, conventional UTM codes. The generation codes can also be used to determine which segments of viewers are most profitable, produce the most “shares,” etc. For example, the analytics engine can determine when an advertising campaign for a piece of media content should be terminated, rather than simply indicating whether the campaign should continue.

1 . A method for tracking virality of media content, the method comprising:
 creating a generation tracking code that allows characteristics of viewers of a piece of media content to be tracked,
 wherein the generation tracking code includes a generation value that represents how many times the piece of media content has been shared before being viewed; 
   appending the generation tracking code to a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) embedded within a link to the piece of media content;   setting the generation value to an initial value;   electronically distributing the link to a plurality of potential viewers through a campaign;   allowing each potential viewer to become a viewer by selecting the link and viewing the piece of media content;   allowing each viewer to share the piece of media content by transmitting the link to other potential viewers;   if a particular viewer elects to share the piece of media content,
 updating the generation tracking code by incrementing the generation value; and 
 appending the updated generation tracking code to the URL embedded within the link, 
 wherein the link is shareable by the particular viewer; 
   gathering the generation tracking codes for all viewers of the piece of media content; and   sorting the viewers into generations based on the generation value in the link used by each viewer to access the piece of media content.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the generations represent a viral lifespan of the piece of media content. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the initial value of the generation value is an integer that increments by one each time the link to the piece of media content is shared. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the link is electronically distributed by a creator of media content or a host of media content through a social media platform. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 appending a plurality of Urchin Traffic Monitor (UTM) codes to the URL embedded within the link to the piece of media content,   wherein information conveyed by the plurality of UTM codes allows an analytics engine to analyze attributes of individual viewers and groups of viewers.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 generating a count of viewers in each of the generations; and   determining viral lift of the piece of media content by identifying increases and decreases in the counts across successive generations of viewers.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 generating a count of viewers in each of the generations; and   constructing a visual representation of count against generation that illustrates viral lift of the piece of media content.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the visual representation is a line graph. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the campaign is an advertising campaign developed to increase viewership of the piece of media content, and wherein the viral lift is used to determine when the advertising campaign should end. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 attributing each viewer to a parent viewer in a preceding generation based on the generation tracking code and the plurality of UTM codes appended to the URL;   storing attribution data resulting from said attributing in a database; and   generating, based on the attribution data, a viral distribution map that illustrates how the piece of media content spread through the generations.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the advertising campaign is performed on behalf of a sponsor. 
     
     
         12 .- 20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . A system for tracking virality of media content, the system comprising:
 an analytics processor communicatively coupled to a memory, the analytics process operable to execute instructions stored in the memory; and   the memory, which includes specific instructions regarding how to determine and track virality of media content, wherein the specific instructions are configured to:
 create a generation tracking code that allows characteristics of viewers of a piece of media content to be tracked,
 wherein the generation tracking code includes a generation value that represents how many times the piece of media content has been shared before being viewed; 
 
 append the generation tracking code to a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) embedded within a link to the piece of media content; 
 set the generation value to an initial value; 
 electronically distribute the link to a plurality of potential viewers through a campaign; 
 allow each potential viewer to become a viewer by selecting the link and viewing the piece of media content; 
 allow each viewer to share the piece of media content by transmitting the link to other potential viewers; 
 if a particular viewer elects to share the piece of media content,
 update the generation tracking code by incrementing the generation value; and 
 append the updated generation tracking code to the URL embedded within the link, 
 wherein the link is shareable by the particular viewer; 
 
 gather the generation tracking codes for all viewers of the piece of media content; and 
 sort the viewers into generations based on the generation value in the link used by each viewer to access the piece of media content. 
   
     
     
         22 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein the piece of media content is one of multiple pieces of media content stored within a library, and wherein virality of each of the multiple pieces of media content is trackable using unique generation tracking codes. 
     
     
         23 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein allowing each potential viewers to view and allowing each viewer to share the piece of media content further comprises:
 enabling the particular viewer to view the piece of media content upon receiving an indication the particular viewer interacted with the link, which is posted to a social media platform; and   enabling the particular viewer to share the piece of media content by distributing the link via the social media platform.   
     
     
         24 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:
 creating a generation tracking code that allows characteristics of viewers of a piece of media content to be tracked,
 wherein the generation tracking code includes a generation value that represents how many times the piece of media content has been shared before being viewed; 
   appending the generation tracking code to a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) embedded within a link to the piece of media content;   setting the generation value to an initial value;   electronically distributing the link to a plurality of potential viewers through a campaign;   allowing each potential viewer to become a viewer by selecting the link and viewing the piece of media content;   allowing each viewer to share the piece of media content by transmitting the link to other potential viewers;   if a particular viewer elects to share the piece of media content,
 updating the generation tracking code by incrementing the generation value; and 
 appending the updated generation tracking code to the URL embedded within the link, 
 wherein the link is shareable by the particular viewer; 
   gathering the generation tracking codes for all viewers of the piece of media content; and   sorting the viewers into generations based on the generation value in the link used by each viewer to access the piece of media content.   
     
     
         25 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 24 , wherein the piece of media content is an image, a story, a video, or a quiz. 
     
     
         26 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 24 , wherein the link further includes an identifier that uniquely identifies the piece of media content.