Book Summary:
Contagious by Jonah Berger, has shown me a series of essentials when it comes to getting a product or idea known. Taking a look at the title, we can see it is pretty self explanatory. “How can we make something Contagious?” Well, in the long run of this read, I was able to gather key points on how our society’s brain actually works, and what precisely catches their attention.
Social Currency
Throughout the reading, we were introduced to the specific stages in making a product ‘popular’, out of all these many examples, the one I believe best explains the overview of the topic would be generating word of mouth. Word of mouth is known as the prime tool when making a good impression towards the audience, it basically consist on creating a product or idea, that actually brings value to the community, therefore getting people to talk and spread that content.
An example shown in the book that is able to highlight the key aspect of generating word of mouth, would be the Please Don’t Tell example. Please Don’t Tell is a secret bar located inside an ordinary hot dog restaurant, in which you have to go through a telephone booth to actually reach it. The main reason why this caught on to the public so quickly was because people in our society are known to talk about remarkable things they see or hear, so being so amazed by this mysterious bar lead people sharing their incredible experience. With this I was able to point out how valuable word of mouth really is, and how creating something interesting and different can create that buzz within the community we live in.
Triggers
Another valuable point stated in the process of making something “carry on” would be creating triggers. Triggers go hand in hand with word of mouth, it’s the path in having an immediate good impression towards the public and boosting that small talk within the society. The main tool triggers use is catching the attention of the buyer rapidly, transmitting either a negative or positive vibe in order to appear unique in the eyes of others. A clear example the book is able to deliver when it comes to triggers would be the Friday Song example, where the public referred to this song as a sort of joke. These humorous comments made the video go viral, therefore being able to trigger a constant word of mouth.
Emotion
Reaching emotion when it comes to marketing is an essential step in the transmission of an idea. If used correctly, activating that “emotion” in the audience brings them closer and interested in the message you are trying to sell. Both good or bad emotions can have a positive effect in the virality of a product. An example I learned from this reading regarding emotion was the Google commercial example, this video generates an emotional hook towards the audience, making them feel touched and drawn towards the message conveyed.
Public
Sharing things to the public plays a big role in making something go viral. The visible a product becomes, the more attention it gets from a specific audience, allowing them to be aware and familiar with the message. When products are public, they have a higher chance in boosting conversations with those on the outside, therefore allowing the brand to gain popularity. An example I found that truly defines this concept would be the Apple logo dilemma. Apple was indecisive on how their logo should appear on their products, so they decided on bringing in the public into the situation. This did not only give them great perspectives, but also created effective advertising to their products, making the company name much more public.
Practical Value
Letting others know about truthful and effective facts is what we call practical value. The best way in creating relationships between your audiences is “helping them out”, giving them what they want to hear or sharing something valuable. For example, an ordinary video created by an 86 year old man on corn shucking, was lead out to the public. The effectiveness of this video caused it to go viral in a matter of hours because others saw it as something truly helpful and very useful in their everyday lives. This shows us how spreading useful content to the public increases the popularity of the message.
Stories:
Hooking your audience by either expressing a personal anecdote or telling a past story, immediately grasps the attention of those on the outside. This storytelling technique allows your audiences to connect with product or message in much depth, making them “care” for what you wish to sell or deliver.
Contagious by Jonah Berger, has shown me a series of essentials when it comes to getting a product or idea known. Taking a look at the title, we can see it is pretty self explanatory. “How can we make something Contagious?” Well, in the long run of this read, I was able to gather key points on how our society’s brain actually works, and what precisely catches their attention.
Social Currency
Throughout the reading, we were introduced to the specific stages in making a product ‘popular’, out of all these many examples, the one I believe best explains the overview of the topic would be generating word of mouth. Word of mouth is known as the prime tool when making a good impression towards the audience, it basically consist on creating a product or idea, that actually brings value to the community, therefore getting people to talk and spread that content.
An example shown in the book that is able to highlight the key aspect of generating word of mouth, would be the Please Don’t Tell example. Please Don’t Tell is a secret bar located inside an ordinary hot dog restaurant, in which you have to go through a telephone booth to actually reach it. The main reason why this caught on to the public so quickly was because people in our society are known to talk about remarkable things they see or hear, so being so amazed by this mysterious bar lead people sharing their incredible experience. With this I was able to point out how valuable word of mouth really is, and how creating something interesting and different can create that buzz within the community we live in.
Triggers
Another valuable point stated in the process of making something “carry on” would be creating triggers. Triggers go hand in hand with word of mouth, it’s the path in having an immediate good impression towards the public and boosting that small talk within the society. The main tool triggers use is catching the attention of the buyer rapidly, transmitting either a negative or positive vibe in order to appear unique in the eyes of others. A clear example the book is able to deliver when it comes to triggers would be the Friday Song example, where the public referred to this song as a sort of joke. These humorous comments made the video go viral, therefore being able to trigger a constant word of mouth.
Emotion
Reaching emotion when it comes to marketing is an essential step in the transmission of an idea. If used correctly, activating that “emotion” in the audience brings them closer and interested in the message you are trying to sell. Both good or bad emotions can have a positive effect in the virality of a product. An example I learned from this reading regarding emotion was the Google commercial example, this video generates an emotional hook towards the audience, making them feel touched and drawn towards the message conveyed.
Public
Sharing things to the public plays a big role in making something go viral. The visible a product becomes, the more attention it gets from a specific audience, allowing them to be aware and familiar with the message. When products are public, they have a higher chance in boosting conversations with those on the outside, therefore allowing the brand to gain popularity. An example I found that truly defines this concept would be the Apple logo dilemma. Apple was indecisive on how their logo should appear on their products, so they decided on bringing in the public into the situation. This did not only give them great perspectives, but also created effective advertising to their products, making the company name much more public.
Practical Value
Letting others know about truthful and effective facts is what we call practical value. The best way in creating relationships between your audiences is “helping them out”, giving them what they want to hear or sharing something valuable. For example, an ordinary video created by an 86 year old man on corn shucking, was lead out to the public. The effectiveness of this video caused it to go viral in a matter of hours because others saw it as something truly helpful and very useful in their everyday lives. This shows us how spreading useful content to the public increases the popularity of the message.
Stories:
Hooking your audience by either expressing a personal anecdote or telling a past story, immediately grasps the attention of those on the outside. This storytelling technique allows your audiences to connect with product or message in much depth, making them “care” for what you wish to sell or deliver.