Contagious: Why Things Catch On
One book, placed in its field — what Jonah Berger's book gets right, where it goes further than the rest, and what the rest of the field adds.
Mike West, Editor · HR Leader Guide · get2great.com/guides/profile-contagious
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Contagious: Why Things Catch On
One book, placed in its field — what Jonah Berger's book gets right, where it goes further than the rest, and what the rest of the field adds.
Mike West, Editor · HR Leader Guide · get2great.com/guides/profile-contagious
The problem
Popularity and catching on erodes when it is left to instinct instead of method.
You were taught the moves piecemeal, never the whole model.
Contagious: Why Things Catch On · Mike West, Editor · HR Leader Guide
The model
- 01Social Currency
- 02Triggers
- 03Emotion
- 04Physiological Arousal
- 05Public Observability
- 06Practical Value
- 07Stories
- 08Valuable Virality
Contagious: Why Things Catch On · Mike West, Editor · HR Leader Guide
Step 1 of 5 · Social Currency
Design the sentence someone will say about you and check whether it makes THEM look good.
Misconception
That social currency comes from making your product itself impressive or high-status.
Reality
The status accrues to the person doing the talking, not the product; your job is to hand the teller a way to look smart, funny, or in-the-know when they mention you.
Contagious: Why Things Catch On · Mike West, Editor · HR Leader Guide
Step 2 of 5 · Triggers
The best trigger is the most frequent cue in your audience's environment that you can plausibly own.
Misconception
That the catchiest, most creative, most emotionally engaging campaign generates the most word of mouth.
Reality
Triggered word of mouth often beats interesting word of mouth because being reminded frequently matters more than being memorable once; a boring product tied to a daily cue outperforms a fascinating one with no reminder.
Contagious: Why Things Catch On · Mike West, Editor · HR Leader Guide
Step 3 of 5 · Emotion
Sort every emotion by arousal level, and lean on the activating ones.
Misconception
That positive emotions spread and negative emotions kill sharing.
Reality
The axis that matters is arousal, not valence: high-arousal anger and anxiety spread as readily as awe and excitement, while low-arousal sadness and contentment — even when positive — dampen sharing.
Contagious: Why Things Catch On · Mike West, Editor · HR Leader Guide
Step 4 of 5 · Physiological Arousal
Any state that revs the body up increases the odds of sharing, emotional or not.
Misconception
That the urge to share comes purely from how interesting or meaningful the content is.
Reality
The drive to share rides on bodily activation: raise someone's heart rate through anything — a brisk walk, a crowded room, a scary movie — and they share more of whatever is in front of them, even unrelated content.
Contagious: Why Things Catch On · Mike West, Editor · HR Leader Guide
Step 5 of 5 · Public Observability
If it's built to show, it's built to grow — design products to advertise themselves during use.
Misconception
That good products spread on their own if they're truly worth talking about.
Reality
Quality is invisible until it's observable; behaviors that happen in private (which charity you support, which software you use) don't diffuse because there is no public signal to copy — 'monkey see, monkey do' requires the seeing.
Contagious: Why Things Catch On · Mike West, Editor · HR Leader Guide
A framework to use
The STEPPS Framework for Contagiousness
This framework is part of the full guide. See the guide →
Contagious: Why Things Catch On · Mike West, Editor · HR Leader Guide
The cheat sheet
- Social CurrencyDesign the sentence someone will say about you and check whether it makes THEM look good.
- TriggersThe best trigger is the most frequent cue in your audience's environment that you can plausibly own.
- EmotionSort every emotion by arousal level, and lean on the activating ones.
- Physiological ArousalAny state that revs the body up increases the odds of sharing, emotional or not.
- Public ObservabilityIf it's built to show, it's built to grow — design products to advertise themselves during use.
- Practical ValuePeople share practical value to help others and to feel helpful — usefulness is a gift with the sender's name on it.
- StoriesInformation travels under the guise of idle chatter — so package your message as a story people will want to tell.
- Valuable ViralityMake your message so central to the story that no one can tell it without you.
Contagious: Why Things Catch On · Mike West, Editor · HR Leader Guide
Sources
- Contagious: Why Things Catch On — Jonah Berger
Contagious: Why Things Catch On · Mike West, Editor · HR Leader Guide