Positive content gets better traction on social media
In Google newsroom, Brazil defeat is not a headline
During the World Cup, Google produced a lot of content for the web and social media, sharing trends of Google searches from each participating country as the tournament progressed.
Interestingly, Google avoided mentioning any negative trends that emerged during the World Cup, even opting not to share anything about what Brazilians were searching for following their 7-1 defeat against Germany.
Brazilians didn’t bother to look for the word “defense.” Instead, “shame” climbed up the charts.
Guimarães listed off terms in the top 50 search results from Brazil: ” ‘Brazil what a shame.’ ‘It’s a shame to be Brazilian right now.’ ‘Shame,’ with the name of the team.”…
After the dramatic defeat by Germany, the team also makes a revealing choice to not publish a single trend on Brazilian search terms. Copywriter Tessa Hewson says they’re just too negative. “We might try and wait until we can do a slightly more upbeat trend.”…
“We’re also quite keen not to rub salt into the wounds,” producer Sam Clohesy says, “and a negative story about Brazil won’t necessarily get a lot of traction in social.”