Well, it is naturally directed toward an interested audience. We don’t share a news story or recommendation with everyone we know. Rather, we tend to select particular people who we think would find that given piece of information most relevant. Word of mouth tends to reach people who are actually interested in the thing being discussed. -Contagious, p.9 Continue reading Why is Word of mouth great?
-Contagious, p.207 Continue reading The six principles that drive things to catch on (STEPPS)
On August 16, 2004, Canadian Ron Bensimhon had broken into the Olympics. He wasn’t actually on the Canadian swim team. When Rom jumped off the springboard, he wasn’t naked, but he wasn’t wearing swim trunks either. He wore a blue tutu and white polka dot tights. And emblazoned across his chest was the name of an Internet casino, GoldenPalace.com. Millions of people were watching, and the story got picked up by news outlets around the world. It also got huger amount of word-of-mouth chatter. Someone crashing the Olympics and diving into a pool in a tutu? What a story. Pretty … Continue reading When trying to generate word of mouth, remember to focus on “What people are talking about”
That’s because people don’t think in terms of information. They think in terms of narratives. But while people focus on the story itself, information comes along for the ride. 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. […] You started down a path and you want to know how it ends. Until it does, they’ve captured your attention. Take the story of the coat my cousin bought from Land’s End. -Contagious, p.181 Continue reading You can try to get people to learn information… But people remember stories
Take the shopper discount cards that you get at your local grocery store or pharmacy. These cards are certainly useful. They save consumers money and sometimes even give them free gifts if they have accumulated enough purchases. But one problem is that the practical value is not very visible. The only information people get about how much they saved is hidden among a half dozen other pieces of information on a lenghty receipt. But what if stores made the practical value easier to see? They could put up a sign at checkout that shows other people in line how much … Continue reading Practical value is more effective the easier it is for people to see.
Sharing something useful with others is a quick and easy way to help them out. Even if we’re not in the same place. Parents can send their kids helpful advice even if they are hundreds of miles away. Passing along useful things also strengthens social bonds. If we know our friends are into cooking, sending them a new recipe we found brings us closer together. -Contagious, p.158 Continue reading People share practically valuable information to help others
Every time people use the product or service they also transmit social proof or passive approval because usage is observable. Many companies apply this idea through prominent branding. Abercrombie & Fitch, Nike, and Burberry all garnish their products with brand names or distinctive logos and patterns. But large logos aren’t the only way products can advertise themselves. Take Apple’s decision to make iPod headphones white. When Apple first introduced the iPod, there was lots of competition in the digital music player space. […] But because most devices came with black headphones, Apple’s white headphone cords stood out. -Contagious, p.142 Continue reading Make products that advertise themselves
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
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
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
Roadmap to Billions 