I came across an interesting little tidbit this morning. According to the “social media scientist,” Dan Zarrella, “Articles… that include sexual references in their titles are shared on Facebook far more than the average story” (consult the graph below for impact). Is it possible that the American public is generally less prudish nowadays, at least when it comes to the internet? Intrigued by the implications, I poked around a bit more and found an extensive study done a few years ago by ABC. It revealed some surprisingly supportive data.
According to the study , ”Forty-two percent of Americans describe themselves as sexually ‘adventurous….’” I soon found another study by the AARP that reported, “Phone sex with a spouse or intimate partner and the exchange of erotic notes and e-mails is popular among the 45-to-49 age group.” Great! So it seems like a lot of us are less sexually inhibited than we were a few years ago, but there’s got to be something else driving the online behavior from the above Zarrella quote.
I soon found another study, this time from Michigan State. In a nutshell, the study delved into the online habits of law enforcement officers. The following behavior was observed: “as (the officers) anonymity increased, (their) informational disinhibition increased.” In other words, their scruples got fewer as their sense of invisibility became greater.
So the missing link seems to be the perceived anonymity of the internet in general. Even though the web is the most public form of media in human history, most people still feel like no one will ever find out what sites they’ve been visiting. So if you combine an increased willingness and desire to view content of a sexual nature with the fact that no one thinks that they’ll get caught online, you can get a pretty powerful Sirens’ Song leading potential consumers to your content.
So given these morning reading “truths,” back to the original question – does sex in social media actually work? Consider, if you will, a perhaps sexually adventurous social media project that we recently produced in partnership with Ketchum Atlanta for their client, 7-Eleven.
The project was called, “Wake up with a hot Brazilian!,” and can be found at - www.the711club.com. The purpose of the execution was to drive trial and awareness of 7-Eleven’s new gourmet Brazilian coffee.
Set in a chic, fictitious club on Copa Beach, visitors are challenged to skillfully navigate a complex social scene in order to score a hot Brazilian companion for the evening. After the user has successfully conquered their prey, the final scene of the game fades to reveal a hot, steaming cup of 7-Eleven’s gourmet Brazilian coffee sitting on your night stand the next morning. The user then receives a coupon to try a free cup for themselves.
…and the results? As we were delighted to find out, the coupon redemption from the711club.com was the highest of any promotion 7-Eleven has done in recent history. So it turns out that social media sex might just might sell better than good old fashion sex after all! Who knew? (We did.)
