I’ve been asked by several clients to help them “go viral”. I begin by asking them WHY they want to go viral. They usually respond that they want to be famous or that it’s the highest form of engagement. While you can’t necessarily CREATE something with the intent of making it spread like a virus, there are some common elements of viral or popular posts.
In Jonah Berger‘s book, Contagious: Why Things Catch On
he gives some insight into how things “go viral”. In Contagious, Berger shares his findings from years of research. Six characteristics rise to the top that contagious messages, videos, and products all have in common. These six characteristics spell out the acronym STEPPS.
- S – Social Currency
- T – Triggers
- E – Emotional Connection
- P – Public
- P – Practical Value
- S – Story
Social Currency
People share things that make them look good, smart, ahead of the curve. It’s all about people talking about things to make themselves look good, rather than bad.
Triggers
We talk about things that are “top of mind” or on the “tip of our tongue.”
Your message, ad, or video must include a “trigger” that connects the person to the product/service at the right time. The simple I voted sticker as simple as it is, improves voter turnout because it helps keep election day top of mind as you see people wearing them throughout the day.
Emotional Connection
When we care, we share. The more we care about a piece of information, the more likely we pass something on. Creating something novel and unique creates “awe” and is one of the emotions to be shared the most.
Public
When we can see other people doing something, we’re more likely to imitate it. The message needs to be “visible” to be shared. The LiveStrong yellow wrist band is a perfect example!
Practical Value
Besides the desire to look good, people also share things they find helpful. Basically, it’s the idea of news you can use. We share information that we feel will benefit others.
Story
The most sharable content is always wrapped in a great story. “Story” wraps all the previous steps into a nice package. It shows how it affected another person and how we might have a similar experience.
People often think that creating great marketing content is about creating a gimmicky message and putting it out there as often as you can until it catches on. I think it’s more about being open, being authentic, and encouraging your key consumers to create content around their great experience with your product/service. Did you know that 90% of people believe what their friends say? Compare that with the fact that 30% of people believe what ads say!
How can you build content, both online and offline, that people will talk about and share? Follow the STEPPS above and remember, the best advertisers are your customers!