Build Word of Mouth in Digital Age
by Jonah Berger
Explore the captivating insights of “Contagious: How to Build Word of Mouth in the Digital Age” by Jonah Berger. This seminal book delves into the science of virality, offering invaluable strategies for marketers, entrepreneurs, and business owners to make their ideas and products irresistibly shareable.
Author’s Background and Book Context:
Jonah Berger, a renowned marketing professor at the Wharton School, combines years of research and teaching experience in “Contagious.” This book encapsulates his expertise in understanding and leveraging the factors that make information and products go viral, making it an indispensable guide for modern marketing professionals.
Chapter 1: Social Currency
- Sharing as Identity Construction: People tend to share things that boost their image to others. By sharing unique, interesting, or insider knowledge, individuals feel that they appear more intelligent, well-connected, or in the know.
- Leveraging Game Mechanics: Including aspects of gaming, like points or competitions, in a marketing strategy can make a brand or product more engaging and shareable. This approach taps into the natural human desire for competition and achievement.
- The Power of Exclusive Information: Offering exclusive access or insider information makes people feel privileged, increasing the likelihood they will share this content to maintain their status among peers.
- Finding the Remarkable: Identifying what is most unique or unusual about a product or idea makes it more likely to be shared. Remarkability lies in how distinctly a product or idea stands out in the crowd.
- Utilizing Inner Remarkability: Even ordinary products can be made remarkable by finding unique stories or angles that make them stand out.
- Creating Shareable Experiences: Designing experiences that are worth talking about, such as impressive customer service or innovative product design, naturally encourages customers to share these experiences with others.
Example: GoPro’s user-generated content strategy. GoPro encourages its users to capture and share their adventurous experiences using GoPro cameras, tagging the brand.
Impact: This strategy turned GoPro users into brand ambassadors, showcasing the camera’s capabilities in exciting, real-world situations. The compelling, shareable content created by users led to massive online engagement and increased brand awareness.
- Quote: “We share things that make us look good to others.”
- Insight: Sharing is not just about information but about enhancing one’s image.
Chapter 2: Triggers
- Creating Everyday Triggers: Associating a product or idea with common, everyday items or activities ensures that it stays top-of-mind. For example, associating a product with coffee might remind people of it every morning.
- Top-of-Mind Equals Tip-of-Tongue: Frequent triggers keep a product or idea at the forefront of people’s minds, leading to more frequent discussion and sharing.
- The Breakfast Test: Associating a product with a routine activity like breakfast can ensure daily engagement, keeping it constantly in conversation.
- Environment-Dependent Triggers: Designing triggers that are common in the target audience’s daily environment can create constant reminders of a product or idea.
- Situational Prominence: Creating associations with specific situations where a product is most useful keeps it relevant and top-of-mind.
- Rituals and Repeated Exposure: Establishing rituals or repeated behaviors around a product can embed it into daily routines, ensuring continuous exposure and word-of-mouth.
Example: Spotify’s playlists like “Monday Motivation” or “Songs to Sing in the Shower” link music to daily activities, creating everyday triggers.
Impact: This strategy keeps Spotify top-of-mind, encouraging daily usage and sharing, contributing to its growth as a leading music streaming service.
- Quote: “Top of mind means tip of tongue.”
- Insight: Frequent, everyday triggers keep a brand or product in constant conversation.
Chapter 3: Emotion
- High Arousal Emotions Drive Sharing: Content that triggers emotions like awe, excitement, amusement, or anger is more likely to be shared because these emotions increase arousal and energy levels.
- Focus on Feelings: Marketing content that triggers strong emotional reactions, whether positive or negative, tends to be more viral as people are driven to share emotional experiences.
- The Role of Positive and Negative Emotions: While both positive and negative high-arousal emotions can boost sharing, content with positive emotions tends to be more broadly appealing and shared.
- Physiological Arousal as a Catalyst: Emotional content that increases physiological arousal, such as quickening the heartbeat or elevating the senses, tends to drive sharing.
- Stories That Stir Emotions: Stories that elicit emotional responses are more likely to be shared. Emotional storytelling can make a brand or product more relatable and memorable.
- Harnessing Emotional Contagion: Emotions can be contagious. If a message or story makes someone feel excited or amused, they’re likely to pass that feeling on when they share it.
Example: The viral video campaign “Dove Real Beauty Sketches” tapped into emotions by addressing women’s self-image.
Impact: The emotional resonance of the campaign led to widespread sharing and discussions about beauty standards, significantly enhancing Dove’s brand recognition and positivity.
- Quote: “When we care, we share.”
- Insight: Emotional content, especially that which evokes high arousal emotions, is more likely to be shared.
Chapter 4: Public
- Observability Enhances Word-of-Mouth: If a product or idea is visible when used, it’s more likely to be talked about. The more public a behavior is, the more likely it is to be imitated.
- Behavioral Residue for Continuous Visibility: Leaving a trace of product use or endorsement (like a logo on a t-shirt or a sticker on a laptop) keeps the product in the public eye.
- Designing Products That Advertise Themselves: Products should be designed in a way that their use is naturally observable to others, turning users into inadvertent promoters.
- Making the Private Public: Encouraging users to share their experiences with a product or service publicly, for instance through social media, increases visibility.
- Imitation and Social Proof: When people see others using a product, they are more likely to imitate this behavior due to social proof.
- Public Visibility as a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: The more a product is seen being used, the more people will talk about it, creating a cycle of increased visibility and word-of-mouth.
Example: The Apple logo on laptops and iPhones is always visible when used in public, serving as a form of behavioral residue.
Impact: This visibility acts as a subtle but constant advertisement for Apple, contributing to its brand prestige and desirability.
- Quote: “The more public something is, the more likely people will imitate it.”
- Insight: Visibility drives people to adopt behaviors or products.
Chapter 5: Practical Value
- Sharing Useful Information: People like to share information that they find useful or beneficial in some way, as it helps others and enhances their own image as helpful and informed.
- The Currency of Practical Value: Information that has practical, applicable value in people’s lives is more likely to be shared because it’s seen as helpful.
- Packaging Knowledge for Relevance and Usefulness: Information should be presented in a way that’s immediately seen as useful and relevant, making it more likely to be shared.
- Highlighting Incredible Deals and Offers: People are likely to share deals and offers that seem exceptionally good because they want others to benefit from them as well.
- The Role of News You Can Use: Content that provides actionable advice or can be directly applied in people’s lives is more likely to be passed along.
- Tailoring Practical Messages for the Audience: Practical information should be specifically tailored to the interests and needs of the target audience to maximize its relevance and sharability.
Example: IKEA’s furniture assembly instructions and home organization tips are practical and shareable, addressing common customer needs.
Impact: This practical approach enhances customer experience and loyalty, leading to word-of-mouth recommendations and repeat business.
- Quote: “People like to help one another. Information that makes someone feel helpful is more likely to be shared.”
- Insight: Practical, helpful information is shared because it benefits both the giver and the receiver.
Chapter 6: Stories
- Storytelling as a Vehicle for Information: Effective marketing uses storytelling to communicate information about a product or idea, as stories are more engaging and memorable than facts alone.
- Trojan Horse Stories: A good story serves as a vessel for a product or idea, carrying it along in a way that the audience may not even consciously notice.
- Creating Sticky Stories: Stories that are simple, unexpected, and concrete stick in the mind more effectively and are more likely to be passed on.
- Narratives That Teach and Entertain: The most effective stories both educate the audience about the product and entertain them, making the message more engaging and memorable.
- Integrating Products into Existing Stories: Embedding products or ideas into stories or narratives that people are already familiar with can increase their appeal and relatability.
- The Role of Authenticity in Stories: Authentic, believable, and relatable stories resonate more with audiences and are, therefore, more likely to be shared.
Example: Airbnb’s “Live There” campaign uses real stories from hosts and travelers to create narratives about unique travel experiences.
Impact: These authentic stories enhance Airbnb’s brand image as a provider of unique, local travel experiences, driving user engagement and bookings.
- Quote: “Stories are the currency of conversation.”
- Insight: Stories are a powerful way to communicate and spread ideas or products. Learn how these principles can transform your business. Visit Digital Marketing Creators for a personalized marketing strategy that makes your brand contagious.
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