Contagious

Contagious illustrates why certain ideas and products spread better than others by sharing compelling stories from the world of business, social campaigns, and media.

If you are trying to market a product, grow a personal brand, or organize your community around a common cause, you probably think that social media is your best bet. Everyone seems so excited about using Facebook or Instagram ads for spreading their ideas.

Jonah Berger reveals that we have it all wrong. The most powerful marketing tool that exists is not social media, but word of mouth. Person-to-person sharing about new products, brands, causes, and events.

And guess what part of the word of mouth recommendations happen online? Only 7 percent. That’s right, 93% of sharing, even of online content is via face-to-face interaction. Maybe we are, after all, not as addicted to internet communication as some researchers are trying to convince us we are.

There are two big reasons why word-of-mouth marketing is more effective than “formal” ways of advertising.

First and foremost, our trust is greater in our peers than in advertisers. If a friend recommends a new whitening toothpaste to you, it’s most likely because it worked for her or someone she knows. Otherwise, why would she even mention it?

The reason she shares the miraculous toothpaste brand with you is that she heard you complaining about the color of your teeth. She knows that this is your pain point. She wouldn’t talk about it with Sally, who just had her teeth whitening appointment a few days ago.

This is the second component that makes the word-of-mouth marketing so powerful–it is exceptionally well-targeted. If a colleague or family member recommends something to you, it is usually because they believe it may answer your current needs.

Remember Rebecca Black’s viral video “Friday,” where a group of teenagers jump in the car and go to a party to delight in the freedom of the upcoming weekend? It wasn’t the best video – but it became a hit anyway. What helped the song spread was the weekly cue that prompted viewers to think about the video. Yep, you guessed it; the signal was Friday. On Fridays, people remembered the song and searched for it much more than on other days. The same worked for the Geico commercial with a camel that stubbornly asks, “Guess what day it is?” to people in an office. Eventually, someone grumpily answers, “It’s hump day.” This video was shared 20 to 30 times more often on Wednesdays than on other days of the week. These examples illustrate a simple but often overlooked fact about contagious ideas. For people to share concepts, they have to remember them. What’s “top-of-mind” easily becomes…