Contagious — Interactive Mindmaps

Key concepts: Introduction: Why Things Catch On

1. Introduction: Why Things Catch On

The Power of Word of Mouth

• Influences 20-50% of purchasing decisions
• Far more persuasive than traditional ads
• Only 7% happens online; offline dominates
• Most YouTube videos get under 500 views

Why Some Things Catch On

• Quality, price, advertising are insufficient explanations
• Social transmission is the real driver
• Message matters more than finding influencers
• Virality can be engineered, not just born

The STEPPS Framework

• Social Currency: sharing makes people look good
• Triggers: frequent reminders keep ideas top of mind
• Emotion: high-arousal feelings fuel sharing
• Public: observable behavior spreads through social proof

Practical Value and Stories

• Practical Value: useful info is a gift people share
• Stories: embed messages in narratives to ensure spread
• Principles are flexible tools, not a rigid recipe
• Apply any combination that fits your context

Key Examples of Engineered Virality

• Howard Wein's $100 cheesesteak created buzz
• Blendtec's 'Will It Blend?' boosted sales 700%
• Mundane products can become global sensations
• STEPPS principles make boring blenders contagious

Key concepts: Chapter 1. Social Currency

2. Chapter 1. Social Currency

What Is Social Currency

• Value from sharing that makes people look good
• Talking about self activates brain's reward circuits
• People take pay cuts just to share opinions
• Stories get amplified to make teller seem remarkable

Making Things Remarkable

• Break expectations to create conversation starters
• Find gap between expectation and reality
• Snapple caps, $100 cheesesteak, blender pulverizing golf balls

Game Mechanics and Status

• Progress and status tap into human motivation
• Airlines turn purchases into levels and tiers
• Harvard students preferred status over more money
• Visible achievements turn customers into marketers

Exclusivity and Scarcity

• Invitation-only creates insider evangelists
• McRib cult from elusiveness, not taste
• Scarcity works best when access feels earned
• Use 'no, but' strategy to maintain scarcity

Social vs Monetary Incentives

• Money can kill intrinsic sharing motivation
• Status and recognition are more sustainable
• Fantasy football players obsess for no cash prize
• Social incentives cost nothing and last longer

Key concepts: Chapter 2. Triggers

3. Chapter 2. Triggers

Triggers Drive Word of Mouth

• Environmental cues shape what people discuss and buy
• Interesting products generate short buzz, triggers sustain it
• Honey Nut Cheerios beats Disney World in word of mouth
• Daily habits like coffee or weekends trigger ongoing conversation

How Triggers Work

• Link an idea to frequently encountered stimuli
• Kit Kat linked to coffee, Michelob to weekends
• Corny slogan on trays boosted fruit consumption by 25%
• Negative attention can trigger reminders (e.g., Marlboro spoof)

Key Factors: Frequency and Link Strength

• Cue must appear often in target audience's environment
• Coffee works better than hot chocolate due to year-round use
• Unique link is essential; overused cues like red lose power
• Balance frequency with strong, exclusive association

Timing and Context Matter

• Trigger at the right place and moment for action
• Bath mat ad fails if it fires away from store
• Shopping list triggers behavior at the door
• Context-dependent triggers require precise alignment

Triggers Are Fragile and Context-Dependent

• Tip-of-the-tongue state shows triggers are associative pathways
• Changing environment or new cue unlocks memory
• Triggers require alignment of place, emotion, and attention
• Expand idea's habitat by pairing with common stimuli

Key concepts: Chapter 3. Emotion

4. Chapter 3. Emotion

Overview

• The chapter opens with a puzzle: why did an article about cough photography become one of the most e-mailed stories of the day?
• The answer lies not in the topic’s utility but in the emotion it stirred—awe.
• That same awe drove millions to share Susan Boyle’s audition, and research tracking thousands of New York Times articles found that awe-inspiring pieces were 30 percent more likely to be shared.

Arousal: The Engine Behind Sharing

• Physiological arousal—that state of heightened activation when your heart races and muscles tense—turns out to be the missing link that explains why some emotions drive sharing while others don’t.
• Whether it’s the adrenaline of anger, the flutter of excitement, or the chill of awe, high-arousal emotions kindle a fire that compels action.
• We want to do something: yell, run, tell someone.

The Power of Emotional Storytelling

• Facts alone rarely move people to action
• Google's 'Parisian Love' ad succeeded through narrative
• Find emotional core by asking 'Why important?' three times

High-Arousal Emotions Drive Sharing

• Choose emotions that ignite action, not passive states
• Positive: excite or inspire; Negative: make mad, not sad
• BMW's film series used fear and anxiety for 11M views
• Disgust works better than sadness in health messages

The Danger of Aroused Anger

• Motrin ad offended mothers, sparking viral boycott
• Negative high-arousal emotions spread like wildfire
• Monitor for 'angry' or 'pissed off' to catch fires early

Physical Arousal Boosts Transmission

• Jogging for 60 seconds doubled article sharing likelihood
• Physical arousal spills over, making us more talkative
• Place ads near exciting content or at gyms for impact

Timing Content with Emotional Peaks

• Crime shows peak anxiety mid-episode, not at end
• Game shows save most arousing moment for finale
• Align ads with spikes of activation for maximum sharing