Contagious

Virality is most valuable when the brand or product benefit is integral to the story. When it’s woven so deeply into the narrative that people can’t tell the story without mentioning it.

Narratives are inherently more engrossing than basic facts. They have a beginning, middle, and end. If people get sucked in early, they’ll stay for the conclusion.

Ducks need water and grasses to eat. Deer thrive in areas that contain open spaces for grazing. Products and ideas also have habitats, or sets of triggers that cause people to think about them. Take hot dogs. Barbecues, summertime, baseball games, and even wiener dogs (dachshunds) are just a few of the triggers that make up the habitat for hot dogs.

Game mechanics are the elements of a game, application, or program—including rules and feedback loops—that make them fun and compelling

Remarkability explains why people share videos of eight-year-old girls flawlessly reciting rap lyrics and why my aunt forwarded me a story about a coyote who was hit by a car, got stuck in the bumper for six hundred miles, and survived. It even explains why doctors talk about some patients more than others.

Information travels under the guise of idle chatter

Built to show, built to grow

We share things that make us look good

Stories: Stories are a fast and easy way for people to pass on lots of information in a vivid, engaging and persuasive way. Embed your product/idea in a captivating story and ensure your brand/message is integral to the story.

Practical Value: People like to help others. We’ll pass on content with practical value that’ll benefit the recipients. Highlight incredible value and package your content accordingly.

Public: We’re more likely to discuss and imitate something that’s public and observable. Create Social Proof using (i) self-advertising and (ii) behavioral residue.

Emotion: Both positive & negative emotions can spur action, so long as they trigger a high level of arousal. Use this principle to find your emotional hook or leverage situational factors for emotional arousal.

Triggers: People tend to talk about whatever’s at the top of their minds. Create effective triggers that meet 3 criteria: (i) Frequency, (ii) Relevance, and (iii) Context.

Social currency: People share products/ideas that make them appear smart, cool or informed. Create social currency by (i) making your product/idea remarkable, (ii) leveraging game mechanics and (iii) by using scarcity and exclusivity.

One way to generate surprise is by breaking a pattern people have come to expect.

People don’t just care about how they are doing, they care about their performance in relation to others.

Virality isn’t born, it’s made.

The most powerful marketing is personal recommendation.

Make sure your desired information is so embedded into the plot that people can’t tell the story without it.

Emotion sharing is thus a bit like social glue, maintaining and strengthening relationships.

Some products or ideas may seem better suited than others for evoking emotion. It seems easier to get people excited about a new, hip lounge than logistics management. Pets and babies seem to lend themselves to emotional appeals more than banking or nonprofit financial strategy does.

Observability has a huge impact on whether products and ideas catch on.

Narrower content may actually be more likely to be shared because it reminds people of a specific friend or family member and makes them feel compelled to pass it along.

Make sure the information you want people to remember and transmit is critical to the narrative.

High-arousal emotions significantly boost shares, driving engagement and a wider spread of content.

Offering practical value helps make things contagious.

Practical advice is shareable advice.

Physiological arousal promotes social transmission—anger, awe, and humor ignite the fire that drives people to share what they see with others.

Practical value is one of the most motivating forces behind sharing; useful information increases the value of the conversation and makes people look knowledgeable.

Valuable virality requires that the best part of the story and the brand name are intertwined.

Virality isn’t born; it’s made. Even regular everyday products and ideas can generate lots of word-of-mouth if someone figures out the right way to do it.

People share information that makes them look good or enhances their social status. This concept, known as Social Currency, drives individuals to talk about products or ideas that reflect positively on them. For instance, Jonah Berger highlights the $100 cheesesteak at Barclay Prime, which wasn't just about an extravagant sandwich but about creating a conversation piece that customers proudly shared. By offering something remarkable or unique, brands can tap into individuals' desire to appear interesting and savvy. As Berger states, "Remarkable things provide social currency because they make the people who talk about them seem, well, more remarkable." This principle emphasizes designing products and experiences that offer intrinsic value to the sharer, making the act of sharing a status-enhancing gesture.

When we care, we share.

Remarkable things provide social currency because they make the people who talk about them seem, well, more remarkable.

Triggers are like little environmental reminders for related concepts and ideas.

Top of mind means tip of tongue.

Even negative attention can be useful if it makes products and ideas top of mind.

High-arousal emotions kindle the fire... activate people, and drive them to take action.

Positive articles were more likely to be shared than negative ones—but anger or anxiety could also increase sharing by boosting arousal.

Contentment decreases arousal. You’re happy, but you don’t particularly feel like doing anything.

Activating emotion is the key to transmission. Physiological arousal or activation drives people to talk and share.

If something is built to show, it’s built to grow.

If lots of people are doing something, it must be a good idea.

The nice thing about a wristband is that it lives on... But the wristband creates more behavioral residue than the cross-country ride ever could.

If something is supposed to be secret, people might well be more likely to talk about it.

People use social currency to achieve desired positive impressions among their families, friends, and colleagues.

Triggers drive talking. Social currency gets people talking, but triggers keep them talking.

The more things a given cue is associated with, the weaker any given association... Poke too many holes and you’ll get barely a trickle from each.

Scarcity and exclusivity help products catch on by making them seem more desirable.

Understanding that arousing situations can drive people to pass things on helps shed light on so-called oversharing.

Word of mouth is the primary factor behind 20 percent to 50 percent of all purchasing decisions.