Thanks to Fast Company for releasing this exclusive excerpt from The Guide to Going Viral – Advice from Jonah Berger from his latest book, Contagious: Why Things Catch On. These are six easy-to-learn, easy-to-share ways for your business to earn the audience that it needs to thrive.
6 “STEPS” To Making Ideas, Products Go Viral
“Contagious products and ideas are like forest fires,” Jonah Berger writes. “They can’t happen without hundreds, if not thousands, of regular Joes and Janes passing the product or message along.” Here are the qualities he says make things sharable (this excerpt series covers the first ‘S’).
- Social Currency: We share things that make us look good (even if that means pictures of our cat).
- Triggers: Easily memorable information means it’s top of mind and tip of the tongue.
- Emotion: When we care, we share.
- Public: Built to show, built to grow.
- Practical Value: News people can use.
- Stories: People are inherent storytellers, and all great brands also learn to tell stories. Information travels under the guise of idle chatter.
Image Source: Contagious: Why Things Catch On.