Exercise makes people share
Any sort of arousal, whether from emotional or physical sources, and even arousal due to the situation itself (rather than content) can boost transmission. -Contagious, p.120 Continue reading Exercise makes people share
Category: Virality
Kindling the fire with High-arousal Emotions
Those high-arousal emotions will dirve people to action. On the positive side, excite people or inspire them by showing them how they can make a difference. On the negative side, make people mad, not sad. Simply adding more arousal to a story or ad can have a big impact on people’s willingness to share it. More anger or more humor led to more sharing. -Contagious, p.116 Continue reading Kindling the fire with High-arousal Emotions
A good trigger based on frequency and strength of association
What makes for an effective trigger? Triggers can help products and ideas catch on, but some stimuli are better triggers than others. As we discussed, one key factor is how frequently the stimulus occurs. Hot chocolate would also have fitted very well with Kitkat, and the sweet beverage might have complemented the chocolate bar’s favor better than coffee. But coffee is a more effective trigger because people think about and see it much more frequently. Frequency, however, must also be balanced with the strength of the link. The more things a given cue is associated with, the weaker any given … Continue reading A good trigger based on frequency and strength of association
Competitors can even be used as a trigger
How can public health organizations compete against the marketing strength of better-funded rivals like cigarette companies? One way to combat this inequality is to transform a weakness into a strength: by making a rival’s message act as a trigger for your own. A famous antismoking campaign, for example, spoofed Marlboro’s iconic ads by captioning a picture of one Marlboro cowboy talking to another with the words: “Bob, I’ve got emphysema.” So whenever people see a Marlboro ad, it triggers them to think about the antismoking message. Researchers call this strategy the poison parasite because it slyly injects “poinson” (your message) … Continue reading Competitors can even be used as a trigger
Using trigger words to your advantage
Most conversations can be described as small talk. These conversations are less about finding interesting things to say to make us look good than they are about filling conversation space. So what do we talk about? Whatever is top of mind if a good place to start. We talk about topics that are usually going on in the surrounding environment. We saw the bulldozers on our drive in, so construction is on our mind. Boring daily activities happen more often than a trip to Disney. These everyday activities make those products (ziplock, moisturizer, etc.) more top of mind and, as … Continue reading Using trigger words to your advantage
Should you pay people, or give them an incentive to share the word or refer a friend?
People are happy to talk about companies and products they like, and millions of people do it for free every day, without prompting. BU as soon as you offer to pay people to refer other customers, any interest they had in doing it for free will disappear. Customers’ decisions to share or not will no longer be based on how much they like a product or service. Instead, the quality and quantity of buzz will be proportional to the money they receive. -Contagious, p.59 Continue reading Should you pay people, or give them an incentive to share the word or refer a friend?
Deciding the winner by popular vote encourages word of mouth
Word of mouth can also come from the voting process. It encourages contestants to drum up support. But in telling people to vote for them, contestants also spread awareness about the product, brand or initiative sponsoring the contest. So next time you are wondering between two options, make a public vote where contestants deeply root for one option or the other. -Contagious, p.51 Continue reading Deciding the winner by popular vote encourages word of mouth
Leveraging game mechanics also involves helping people publicize their achievements
Sure, someone can talk about how well she did, but it’s even better if there is a tangible, visible symbol that she can display to others. -Contagious, p.48 Continue reading Leveraging game mechanics also involves helping people publicize their achievements
Talking about remarkable things provides social currency
Remarkable things are defined as unusual, extraordinary, or worthy of notice or attention. Something can be remarkable because it is novel, surprinsing, extreme, or just plain interesting. But the most important aspect of remarkable things is that they are worthy of remark. Worthy of mention. Learning that a ball of glass will bounce higher than a ball of rubber is just so noteworthy that you have to mention it. -Contagious, p.39 Continue reading Talking about remarkable things provides social currency
How does it make people look to talk about a product or idea?
Most people would rather look smart than dumb, rich than poor, and cool than geeky. This is what we call Social Currency -Contagious, p.22 Continue reading How does it make people look to talk about a product or idea?
Roadmap to Billions 