contagious · diff
v1.1.0 to v1.2.0
93 added, 149 removed. Audit A to A.
---
name: contagious
description: 'Engineer word-of-mouth and virality using the STEPPS framework (Social Currency, Triggers, Emotion, Public, Practical Value, Stories). Use when the user mentions "go viral", "word of mouth", "shareable content", "social currency", "why people share", "viral loop", "referral program", or "organic growth". Also trigger when designing shareable features, crafting social media campaigns, or building products that spread through peer recommendation. Covers environmental triggers and high-arousal emotional content. For sticky messaging, see made-to-stick. For persuasion tactics, see influence-psychology.'
license: MIT
metadata:
author: wondelai
- version: "1.1.0"
+ version: "1.2.0"
---
# Word-of-Mouth & Virality Framework
- A framework for engineering word-of-mouth and making products, ideas, and content contagious. Based on Jonah Berger's research into why certain things catch on while others languish in obscurity — and how to systematically tip the odds in your favor.
+ A framework for engineering word-of-mouth and making products, ideas, and content contagious, based on Jonah Berger's research into why things catch on. Use it to design shareability into products, campaigns, and content instead of hoping for luck.
## Core Principle
- **Virality is not born — it is engineered.** Products don't go viral by luck or by simply being great. They spread because they were designed — consciously or unconsciously — to be shared.
-
- **The foundation:** Contrary to popular belief, only 7% of word-of-mouth happens online. The remaining 93% happens offline, in everyday conversations. This means virality isn't just about social media — it's about understanding the psychology of why people talk about and share certain things. Sharing follows predictable psychological patterns, and these patterns can be engineered into any product, idea, or piece of content using the STEPPS framework.
+ **Virality is not born — it is engineered.** Products spread because they were designed — consciously or not — to be shared. Only 7% of word-of-mouth happens online; the other 93% happens in offline conversations, so virality is about the psychology of sharing, not social media mechanics. Those psychological patterns are predictable and can be engineered into anything using the STEPPS framework.
## Scoring
- **Goal: 10/10.** When reviewing or creating products, campaigns, content, or features for shareability, rate 0-10 based on adherence to the STEPPS principles below. A 10/10 means the offering activates all six STEPPS drivers; lower scores indicate untapped viral potential. Always provide the current score and specific improvements needed to reach 10/10.
+ **Goal: 10/10.** Rate any product, campaign, content, or feature 0-10 on how many STEPPS drivers it activates and how well. Report the current score and the specific improvements needed to reach 10/10.
## STEPPS Overview
- Six principles that make things contagious:
-
- ```
- S - Social Currency → Does sharing it make people look good?
- T - Triggers → Is there an environmental cue that reminds people of it?
- E - Emotion → Does it evoke high-arousal feelings?
- P - Public → Is it visible when people use or consume it?
- P - Practical Value → Is it genuinely useful information people want to pass along?
- S - Stories → Is it wrapped in a narrative people want to tell?
- ```
-
- **Not a checklist — a multiplier.** Each principle independently increases the likelihood of sharing. The most contagious ideas activate multiple STEPPS simultaneously. But even activating one or two well can dramatically increase word-of-mouth.
+ **Not a checklist — a multiplier.** Each principle independently increases sharing; the most contagious ideas activate several at once, but even one or two done well dramatically increase word-of-mouth.
| Principle | Core Question | Sharing Driver |
|-----------|--------------|----------------|
- | **Social Currency** | Does it make people look good to share? | Self-enhancement |
- | **Triggers** | What in the environment reminds people of it? | Top-of-mind accessibility |
- | **Emotion** | Does it fire up high-arousal feelings? | Physiological arousal |
- | **Public** | Can others see people using/engaging with it? | Observational learning |
- | **Practical Value** | Is it useful enough to pass along? | Altruism and helpfulness |
- | **Stories** | Is the brand embedded in a narrative? | Entertainment and identity |
+ | **S — Social Currency** | Does sharing it make people look good? | Self-enhancement |
+ | **T — Triggers** | What in the environment reminds people of it? | Top-of-mind accessibility |
+ | **E — Emotion** | Does it fire up high-arousal feelings? | Physiological arousal |
+ | **P — Public** | Can others see people using it? | Observational learning |
+ | **P — Practical Value** | Is it useful enough to pass along? | Altruism and helpfulness |
+ | **S — Stories** | Is the brand embedded in a narrative? | Entertainment and identity |
## The STEPPS Framework
### 1. Social Currency
- **Core concept:** People share things that make them look good — smart, cool, in-the-know. If your product or idea makes people feel like insiders, they'll spread it to boost their own image.
+ **Core concept:** People share things that make them look good — smart, cool, in-the-know. Make people feel like insiders and they'll spread it to boost their own image.
- **Why it works:** We use brands and information as social signals. Sharing remarkable facts, exclusive access, or high-status products is a form of self-enhancement. People don't just share what they think — they share what makes them look good for thinking it.
+ **Why it works:** Brands and information are social signals; people don't just share what they think — they share what makes them look good for thinking it.
**Key insights:**
- - **Remarkability** — things that are surprising, novel, or extreme get shared because they make the sharer seem interesting. "Did you know...?" is one of the most powerful sharing triggers
- - **Game mechanics** — leaderboards, badges, status tiers, and achievement systems create visible markers of accomplishment that people want to display and talk about
- - **Exclusivity and scarcity** — secret menus, invite-only access, members-only content — making people feel like insiders gives them social currency when they share "insider knowledge" with their circle
- - **Inner remarkability** — even mundane products can find their remarkable angle. The key is framing, not the product itself
+ - **Remarkability** — surprising, novel, or extreme things make the sharer seem interesting; "Did you know...?" is a powerful sharing trigger
+ - **Game mechanics** — leaderboards, badges, and status tiers create visible accomplishments people want to display
+ - **Exclusivity and scarcity** — secret menus and invite-only access give people "insider knowledge" to share
+ - **Inner remarkability** — even mundane products have a remarkable angle; it's framing, not the product
**Product applications:**
| Context | Application | Example |
|---------|------------|---------|
- | SaaS onboarding | Achievement milestones users can share | "I just hit 1,000 tasks completed on Todoist" |
- | E-commerce | Exclusive early access for loyal customers | Amazon Prime early deals |
| Content platform | Insider statistics or year-in-review | Spotify Wrapped |
- | B2B product | Industry benchmarking data users want to cite | HubSpot State of Marketing report |
| Mobile app | Shareable accomplishment cards | Duolingo streak badges |
- | Community | Tiered status with visible badges | Stack Overflow reputation system |
+ | B2B product | Benchmarking data users want to cite | HubSpot State of Marketing report |
**Copy patterns:**
- "Most people don't know that..."
- "You're one of the first to try..."
- - "Only available to [exclusive group]..."
- - "Here's what [X] insiders know..."
- "You've unlocked [achievement]..."
- - "Share your [impressive metric]..."
- **Ethical boundary:** Social currency should make people genuinely feel good, not manipulate through false scarcity or manufactured exclusivity that breeds toxicity. Create real insider value, not artificial gatekeeping.
+ **Ethical boundary:** Create real insider value, not false scarcity or manufactured exclusivity that breeds toxicity.
See: [references/social-currency.md](references/social-currency.md) for remarkability exercises and game mechanics design.
### 2. Triggers
- **Core concept:** Top-of-mind means tip-of-tongue. Environmental cues — sights, sounds, smells, times of day, routines — can trigger people to think about and talk about your product. The more frequently people encounter your trigger, the more they'll talk about you.
+ **Core concept:** Top-of-mind means tip-of-tongue. Link your product to environmental cues — sights, sounds, times, routines — so everyday life keeps reminding people to talk about you.
- **Why it works:** Most word-of-mouth is not driven by excitement about the product itself but by whatever happens to be top-of-mind at the moment of conversation. If your product is linked to a frequent environmental cue, it gets mentioned more often — not because it's more exciting, but because it's more accessible in memory.
+ **Why it works:** Most word-of-mouth is driven not by excitement but by whatever happens to be top-of-mind mid-conversation; a product linked to a frequent cue gets mentioned more because it's more accessible in memory.
**Key insights:**
- - **Frequency beats strength** — a trigger encountered daily (like coffee) is more valuable than a powerful but rare trigger (like a holiday). Kit Kat linked itself to coffee breaks, which happen multiple times per day
- - **Habitat matters** — where and when do people encounter environments related to your product? Those are your trigger opportunities
- - **Competitive triggers** — you can link competitor moments to your own brand. When people think of [competitor's context], they think of you instead
- - **Ongoing vs. temporary** — triggers that persist in the environment (a desk item, a daily routine) generate sustained word-of-mouth, while event-based triggers create spikes
- - **Context linking** — pair your product with an existing, frequent behavior or environment
+ - **Frequency beats strength** — a daily trigger (coffee) outperforms a powerful but rare one (a holiday); Kit Kat linked itself to coffee breaks
+ - **Habitat matters** — map where and when people encounter contexts related to your product
+ - **Competitive triggers** — link a competitor's moment to your own brand
+ - **Ongoing vs. temporary** — persistent environmental triggers sustain word-of-mouth; event triggers only spike it
**Product applications:**
| Context | Application | Example |
|---------|------------|---------|
- | Food/Beverage | Link to daily routine or habit | Kit Kat + coffee break |
+ | Food/Beverage | Link to a daily habit | Kit Kat + coffee break |
| Productivity tool | Tie to a recurring workflow moment | "Every Monday standup..." |
- | Health app | Connect to a physiological cue | "When you feel stressed..." |
- | Financial product | Link to payday or spending moment | "Every time you get paid..." |
- | Content/Media | Tie to a day of the week | "Taco Tuesday" driving taco talk |
- | E-commerce | Connect to seasonal or weather triggers | "When it rains..." campaigns |
+ | Financial product | Link to payday | "Every time you get paid..." |
**Copy patterns:**
- "Every time you [frequent activity], think of..."
- "Next time you [daily habit]..."
- - "When you see [environmental cue]..."
- "It's [day/time] — time for..."
- - "Whenever you [routine behavior]..."
- **Ethical boundary:** Triggers should create genuine, helpful associations. Hijacking sensitive contexts (grief, health scares) as triggers is manipulative and will backfire.
+ **Ethical boundary:** Build genuine, helpful associations — hijacking sensitive contexts (grief, health scares) as triggers backfires.
See: [references/triggers.md](references/triggers.md) for habitat analysis and trigger design frameworks.
### 3. Emotion
- **Core concept:** When we care, we share. High-arousal emotions — both positive (awe, excitement, amusement) and negative (anger, anxiety) — drive sharing. Low-arousal emotions (sadness, contentment) suppress it.
+ **Core concept:** When we care, we share. High-arousal emotions — positive (awe, excitement, amusement) or negative (anger, anxiety) — drive sharing; low-arousal emotions (sadness, contentment) suppress it.
- **Why it works:** Physiological arousal — the racing heart, the tightened muscles, the activated state — creates a need to share. It's not about positivity vs. negativity; it's about activation vs. deactivation. Content that fires people up gets shared; content that brings people down gets ignored.
+ **Why it works:** Physiological arousal — racing heart, activated state — creates a need to share. It's activation vs. deactivation, not positivity vs. negativity.
**Key insights:**
- - **High-arousal positive:** awe, excitement, amusement, humor, inspiration — all drive sharing
- - **High-arousal negative:** anger, anxiety, outrage, fear — also drive sharing (controversies spread fast)
- - **Low-arousal positive:** contentment, relaxation, satisfaction — suppress sharing (people feel no urgency to act)
- - **Low-arousal negative:** sadness, melancholy, disappointment — suppress sharing (people withdraw)
- - **Awe is the most powerful sharing emotion** — content that makes people feel small in the face of something vast, beautiful, or surprising spreads the furthest
- - **Emotional framing** — the same information can be framed to evoke different arousal levels. Facts inform; emotional framing motivates sharing
+ - High-arousal drives sharing: awe, excitement, amusement, inspiration, anger, anxiety
+ - Low-arousal suppresses it: contentment and relaxation feel no urgency; sadness makes people withdraw
+ - **Awe is the most powerful sharing emotion** — feeling small before something vast or surprising spreads furthest
+ - **Emotional framing** — the same facts can be framed for different arousal levels; facts inform, framing motivates sharing
**Product applications:**
| Context | Application | Example |
|---------|------------|---------|
| Launch content | Engineer awe through unexpected scale or beauty | Apple keynote reveals |
- | Social campaigns | Tap righteous anger at an injustice | Dove "Real Beauty" challenging beauty standards |
- | Product demos | Create amusement through unexpected use cases | Blendtec "Will It Blend?" |
- | User milestones | Spark excitement at personal achievement | Fitness apps celebrating PRs |
- | Brand storytelling | Inspire through human triumph narratives | Nike "Just Do It" athlete stories |
- | Feature announcements | Generate curiosity and anticipation | "Something big is coming..." teasers |
+ | Product demos | Amusement through unexpected use | Blendtec "Will It Blend?" |
+ | Social campaigns | Righteous anger at an injustice | Dove "Real Beauty" challenging beauty standards |
**Copy patterns:**
- - "This will change how you think about..."
- "I can't believe [surprising fact]..."
- "Watch what happens when..."
- - "This is why we fight for..."
- - "You won't believe what [person] did..."
- - "[Powerful statistic] — here's what we're doing about it"
+ - "This will change how you think about..."
- **Ethical boundary:** Anger and outrage are high-arousal and highly shareable, but engineering outrage for clicks corrodes trust. Use high-arousal negative emotion sparingly and only when the underlying cause genuinely warrants it.
+ **Ethical boundary:** Engineering outrage for clicks corrodes trust — use high-arousal negative emotion sparingly and only when the cause genuinely warrants it.
See: [references/emotion.md](references/emotion.md) for emotional arousal mapping and content audit tools.
### 4. Public
- **Core concept:** Built to show, built to grow. If people can see others using your product, they're more likely to adopt it themselves. Make the private public — design for observability.
+ **Core concept:** Built to show, built to grow. If people can see others using your product, they're more likely to adopt it — design for observability.
- **Why it works:** People imitate what they can see. If your product usage is invisible, you lose the most powerful adoption channel: social proof through observation. The phrase "monkey see, monkey do" exists because observational learning is one of the deepest human instincts.
+ **Why it works:** People imitate what they can see; invisible usage forfeits the most powerful adoption channel, social proof through observation.
**Key insights:**
- - **Behavioral residue** — design products that leave visible traces after use. A bumper sticker outlasts the rally. A Livestrong wristband is worn long after the donation
- - **Self-advertising products** — every Hotmail email included "Get your free email at Hotmail" in the signature. The product advertised itself through use
- - **Observable consumption** — Apple deliberately designed the MacBook logo to face outward (toward observers) rather than toward the user. Every open laptop became a billboard
- - **Private behaviors stay private** — if no one can see you using the product, you can't benefit from social proof. Find ways to make invisible usage visible
- - **Public = imitable** — people can only copy what they can observe. Making your product publicly visible makes it easier for others to adopt
+ - **Behavioral residue** — design visible traces that outlast use: a Livestrong wristband long outlives the donation
+ - **Self-advertising products** — every Hotmail email carried "Get your free email at Hotmail"; the product marketed itself through use
+ - **Public = imitable** — people can only copy what they can observe; find ways to make invisible usage visible
**Product applications:**
| Context | Application | Example |
|---------|------------|---------|
- | Email/Messaging | Branded signatures or footers | "Sent from my iPhone" |
- | Physical products | Visible branding during use | Apple logo on laptops, Beats headphones |
- | Digital products | Shareable output with branding | Canva designs with watermark, Spotify "Now Playing" |
- | Communities | Wearable or displayable membership signals | Livestrong wristbands, conference badges |
- | SaaS tools | Public-facing outputs that credit the tool | "Powered by [tool]" on websites |
- | Content platforms | Share cards with platform branding | Twitter/X quote cards, Instagram story frames |
+ | Email/Messaging | Branded signatures | "Sent from my iPhone" |
+ | Physical products | Visible branding during use | Apple's outward-facing MacBook logo — every open laptop a billboard |
+ | SaaS tools | Public outputs crediting the tool | "Powered by [tool]" on customer sites |
**Copy patterns:**
- "Show the world you [achievement/identity]..."
- - "Let others know you..."
- - "Wear your [accomplishment]..."
- "Share your [output] — powered by [brand]..."
- "Join [number] others who..."
- **Ethical boundary:** Public visibility should empower users, not shame them. Never make private information (failures, health data, financial struggles) involuntarily public. The user should always control what is visible.
+ **Ethical boundary:** Visibility must empower, never shame — users always control what becomes public, and private data (failures, health, finances) stays private.
See: [references/public-visibility.md](references/public-visibility.md) for observability design and behavioral residue strategies.
### 5. Practical Value
- **Core concept:** People share useful information to help others. News you can use spreads — especially when it's packaged in a way that's easy to pass along and clearly valuable.
+ **Core concept:** People share useful information to help others. News you can use spreads — especially packaged for easy passing along.
- **Why it works:** Sharing practical value is driven by altruism — people genuinely want to help their friends and family. If your content or product saves people time, money, or effort, they'll share it as a favor to their network.
+ **Why it works:** Sharing practical value is altruism — if your content saves people time, money, or effort, they'll forward it as a favor to their network.
**Key insights:**
- - **Prospect Theory** — people evaluate deals relative to a reference point, not in absolute terms. A $10 discount on a $20 item feels better than a $10 discount on a $1,000 item, even though the savings are identical
- - **Rule of 100** — for products under $100, use percentage discounts (50% off a $30 item sounds better than $15 off). For products over $100, use dollar amounts ($200 off sounds better than 10% off a $2,000 item)
- - **Diminishing sensitivity** — the difference between $5 and $10 feels bigger than the difference between $495 and $500. Frame savings relative to small reference points
- - **Knowledge packaging** — useful information needs to be packaged for easy sharing. Lists, how-tos, infographics, and tip collections are inherently more shareable than long-form essays
- - **Narrow audience = wider sharing** — counterintuitively, content targeting a specific niche gets shared more because people forward it to "the person who needs this"
+ - **Prospect Theory** — people judge deals against reference points: $10 off a $20 item feels better than $10 off a $1,000 item
+ - **Rule of 100** — under $100, use percentage discounts ("50% off"); over $100, use dollar amounts ("$200 off")
+ - **Narrow audience = wider sharing** — niche content gets forwarded to "the person who needs this"
+ - **Knowledge packaging** — lists, how-tos, and tip collections are inherently more shareable than essays
**Product applications:**
| Context | Application | Example |
|---------|------------|---------|
- | Pricing/Promotions | Frame deals using Rule of 100 | "Save 40%" (under $100) vs. "Save $500" (over $100) |
- | Content marketing | Package expertise as numbered lists | "7 ways to reduce your electricity bill" |
- | Product features | Build in shareable utility outputs | Calorie tracker generating weekly health summaries |
- | Email campaigns | Include "forward-worthy" tips | Useful tips the recipient would forward to a friend |
- | B2B content | Create industry benchmarks and tools | Free ROI calculator with shareable results |
- | Customer success | Package how-to guides for common tasks | Quick-start guides users share with teammates |
+ | Pricing/Promotions | Frame deals via Rule of 100 | "Save 40%" under $100 vs. "Save $500" over $100 |
+ | Content marketing | Numbered, forwardable lists | "7 ways to reduce your electricity bill" |
+ | B2B content | Shareable tools and benchmarks | Free ROI calculator with shareable results |
**Copy patterns:**
- - "Save [amount] with this one trick..."
- "The [number]-step guide to..."
- - "Here's something you'll want to send to [specific person]..."
- - "[Number] things I wish I knew about..."
- "Quick tip: [immediately useful advice]..."
- "Share this with someone who needs to hear it"
- **Ethical boundary:** Practical value must be genuine. Fake savings (inflated "original" prices), misleading tips, or clickbait "life hacks" that don't actually work will destroy trust faster than they generate shares.
+ **Ethical boundary:** Value must be genuine — inflated "original" prices and clickbait life hacks destroy trust faster than they generate shares.
See: [references/practical-value.md](references/practical-value.md) for Prospect Theory applications and knowledge packaging formats.
### 6. Stories
- **Core concept:** People don't just share information — they tell stories. The best way to spread your idea is to embed it inside a narrative so engaging that people retell it, and your brand comes along for the ride. This is the Trojan Horse approach.
+ **Core concept:** People don't share information — they tell stories. Embed your idea in a narrative people want to retell, and the brand rides along like a Trojan Horse.
- **Why it works:** Stories are how humans naturally process and transmit information. We think in narratives, not bullet points. A well-crafted story carries your brand message inside it like a Trojan Horse — the listener absorbs the message while being entertained by the story.
+ **Why it works:** Humans think in narratives, and absorption in a story lowers critical defenses — the embedded message lands where a direct pitch would bounce.
**Key insights:**
- - **The Trojan Horse test** — can someone retell the story without mentioning your brand? If yes, the story fails. Your brand must be so integral to the narrative that removing it makes the story collapse
- - **Stories carry morals** — people extract lessons from narratives. The lesson should naturally lead to your value proposition
- - **Narrative transportation** — when people are absorbed in a story, their critical defenses drop. They accept the embedded message more readily than a direct pitch
- - **Retellability** — the story must be simple enough to retell in a conversation. If it requires a 10-minute setup, it won't spread
- - **Valuable virality** — the story must not just be shareable but must carry the brand message. A hilarious ad that people can't remember the brand of is a failure
+ - **The Trojan Horse test** — if someone can retell the story without your brand, the story fails; the brand must be integral
+ - **Retellability** — the story must survive casual conversation; a 10-minute setup won't spread
+ - **Valuable virality** — a hilarious ad nobody attributes to the brand is a failure
+ - **Narrative transportation** — absorbed listeners accept the embedded message more readily
**Product applications:**
| Context | Application | Example |
|---------|------------|---------|
- | Brand marketing | Create a narrative inseparable from the product | Blendtec "Will It Blend?" (can't retell without mentioning Blendtec) |
- | Product launch | Build origin story around a customer problem | "We built this because our founder couldn't find..." |
- | Content marketing | Wrap data and insights inside human stories | Customer success stories as narratives, not testimonials |
- | PR/Earned media | Create stunts that are inherently story-worthy | Barclay Prime's $100 cheesesteak |
- | User onboarding | Frame the user as the hero of a journey | "Your story starts here..." |
- | Customer advocacy | Give customers a story to tell about their experience | "You won't believe what happened when I called support..." |
+ | Brand marketing | Narrative inseparable from product | Blendtec "Will It Blend?" — can't retell without the brand |
+ | PR/Earned media | Inherently story-worthy stunts | Barclay Prime's $100 cheesesteak |
+ | Product launch | Origin story around a customer problem | "We built this because our founder couldn't find..." |
**Copy patterns:**
- "Here's the story of how..."
- "It all started when [founder/customer] realized..."
- "Nobody believed [audacious claim] — until..."
- - "What would you do if [relatable dilemma]?"
- - "The [person/company] who [did something remarkable]..."
- **Ethical boundary:** Stories must be true or clearly fictional. Fabricating testimonials, inventing origin stories, or creating misleading narratives will eventually be exposed, destroying the brand's credibility and making future word-of-mouth toxic.
+ **Ethical boundary:** Stories must be true or clearly fictional — fabricated testimonials and invented origins eventually surface and poison future word-of-mouth.
See: [references/stories-trojan-horse.md](references/stories-trojan-horse.md) for narrative templates and the Trojan Horse integration test.
## Engineering Word of Mouth
- The STEPPS principles are most powerful when combined. Here are applied combinations for common scenarios:
+ STEPPS principles compound when combined:
### Product Launch
| Phase | STEPPS Combination | Tactics |
|-------|-------------------|---------|
- | Pre-launch | Social Currency + Public | Invite-only beta with visible waitlist counters |
+ | Pre-launch | Social Currency + Public | Invite-only beta with visible waitlist |
| Launch day | Emotion + Stories | Founder narrative + awe-inducing demo |
- | First week | Triggers + Practical Value | Tie product to daily workflow + "share to unlock" features |
+ | First week | Triggers + Practical Value | Tie to daily workflow + share-to-unlock features |
| Sustained growth | Public + Social Currency | Visible usage signals + achievement sharing |
### Content Strategy
| Content Type | Primary STEPPS | Secondary STEPPS | Example |
|-------------|---------------|-----------------|---------|
| Thought leadership | Social Currency | Stories | Insider knowledge wrapped in narrative |
- | How-to guides | Practical Value | Triggers | Useful tips tied to recurring situations |
+ | How-to guides | Practical Value | Triggers | Tips tied to recurring situations |
| Brand films | Emotion | Stories | Awe-inspiring narrative with brand at center |
| Interactive tools | Practical Value | Public | Calculator/quiz with shareable results |
- | User spotlights | Stories | Social Currency | Customer heroes whose stories feature your product |
### Feature Design
| Feature Goal | STEPPS to Apply | Implementation |
|-------------|----------------|----------------|
| Drive referrals | Social Currency + Public | Shareable achievement cards with branding |
| Increase retention | Triggers + Practical Value | Daily-routine integrations with useful outputs |
| Build community | Public + Social Currency | Visible membership tiers and contribution badges |
| Launch virally | Emotion + Stories | Remarkable origin story + emotionally charged demo |
## Common Mistakes
| Mistake | Why It Fails | Fix |
|---------|-------------|-----|
- | Focusing only on online sharing | 93% of WOM is offline — you're ignoring the dominant channel | Design for conversation triggers, not just social media shares |
- | Making content shareable but not brand-linked | People share the joke but forget who made it | Apply the Trojan Horse test — brand must be integral to the story |
- | Using low-arousal emotions | Sadness and contentment don't activate sharing behavior | Reframe content for high-arousal emotions: awe, excitement, amusement, anger |
- | Making product usage invisible | No one can imitate what they can't see | Add behavioral residue and observable usage signals |
- | Relying on product quality alone | Great products with no STEPPS integration spread slowly | Deliberately engineer at least 2-3 STEPPS into the product experience |
- | Creating rare, powerful triggers | A strong but infrequent trigger generates less WOM than a weak but daily one | Prioritize frequency over strength when selecting environmental triggers |
+ | Focusing only on online sharing | 93% of WOM is offline | Design conversation triggers, not just share buttons |
+ | Shareable but not brand-linked | People share the joke, forget who made it | Apply the Trojan Horse test |
+ | Using low-arousal emotions | Sadness and contentment don't activate sharing | Reframe for awe, excitement, amusement, or anger |
+ | Invisible product usage | No one imitates what they can't see | Add behavioral residue and observable signals |
+ | Relying on product quality alone | Great products without STEPPS spread slowly | Deliberately engineer 2-3 STEPPS into the experience |
+ | Rare, powerful triggers | Infrequent cues generate less WOM than daily ones | Prioritize trigger frequency over strength |
## Quick Diagnostic
- Run this diagnostic on any product, campaign, or content piece:
-
| Question | If No... | Action |
|----------|----------|--------|
- | Does sharing this make people look good? | No social currency | Add remarkability, exclusivity, or achievement mechanics |
- | Is there an everyday cue that triggers thoughts of it? | No trigger | Link product to a frequent environmental cue or daily routine |
- | Does it evoke high-arousal emotion? | Low emotional activation | Reframe for awe, excitement, humor, or righteous anger |
- | Can others see people using or engaging with it? | Invisible usage | Add observable signals, branded outputs, or public indicators |
- | Is the information useful enough to forward? | Low practical value | Package insights as tips, lists, or tools people would send to a friend |
- | Is the brand embedded in a retellable story? | No narrative vehicle | Create a Trojan Horse story that requires your brand to retell |
+ | Does sharing this make people look good? | No social currency | Add remarkability, exclusivity, or achievements |
+ | Is there an everyday cue that recalls it? | No trigger | Link to a frequent environment or routine |
+ | Does it evoke high-arousal emotion? | Low activation | Reframe for awe, excitement, humor, or righteous anger |
+ | Can others see people using it? | Invisible usage | Add observable signals or branded outputs |
+ | Is it useful enough to forward? | Low practical value | Package as tips, lists, or tools people would send a friend |
+ | Is the brand embedded in a retellable story? | No narrative vehicle | Create a Trojan Horse story that needs your brand |
## Reference Files
- - [references/social-currency.md](references/social-currency.md) — Remarkability techniques, game mechanics, exclusivity design, and identity signaling strategies
- - [references/triggers.md](references/triggers.md) — Habitat analysis, trigger frequency matrix, competitive triggers, and the Kit Kat case study
- - [references/emotion.md](references/emotion.md) — High-arousal vs. low-arousal emotion mapping, awe engineering, humor design, and emotional audit tools
- - [references/public-visibility.md](references/public-visibility.md) — Behavioral residue, observable consumption design, self-advertising products, and the Apple logo story
- - [references/practical-value.md](references/practical-value.md) — Prospect Theory for marketers, Rule of 100, knowledge packaging formats, and deal framing
- - [references/stories-trojan-horse.md](references/stories-trojan-horse.md) — Trojan Horse narrative design, brand integration testing, and story templates
- - [references/word-of-mouth.md](references/word-of-mouth.md) — Offline vs. online WOM, conversation triggers, measurement approaches, and WOM audit
- - [references/viral-content-patterns.md](references/viral-content-patterns.md) — Content formats that spread, platform-specific patterns, viral coefficient, and shareability audit
- - [references/case-studies.md](references/case-studies.md) — Detailed breakdowns of Blendtec, Barclay Prime, Kit Kat, Livestrong, Dove, and Hotmail
+ - [references/social-currency.md](references/social-currency.md) — Remarkability techniques, game mechanics, exclusivity design, identity signaling
+ - [references/triggers.md](references/triggers.md) — Habitat analysis, trigger frequency matrix, competitive triggers, Kit Kat case study
+ - [references/emotion.md](references/emotion.md) — High vs. low arousal mapping, awe engineering, humor design, emotional audit tools
+ - [references/public-visibility.md](references/public-visibility.md) — Behavioral residue, observable consumption, self-advertising products, the Apple logo story
+ - [references/practical-value.md](references/practical-value.md) — Prospect Theory for marketers, Rule of 100, knowledge packaging, deal framing
+ - [references/stories-trojan-horse.md](references/stories-trojan-horse.md) — Trojan Horse narrative design, brand integration testing, story templates
+ - [references/word-of-mouth.md](references/word-of-mouth.md) — Offline vs. online WOM, conversation triggers, measurement, WOM audit
+ - [references/viral-content-patterns.md](references/viral-content-patterns.md) — Content formats that spread, platform patterns, viral coefficient, shareability audit
+ - [references/case-studies.md](references/case-studies.md) — Breakdowns of Blendtec, Barclay Prime, Kit Kat, Livestrong, Dove, and Hotmail
## Further Reading
- [Contagious: Why Things Catch On](https://www.amazon.com/Contagious-Things-Catch-Jonah-Berger/dp/1451686579?tag=wondelai00-20) by Jonah Berger
- [The Catalyst: How to Change Anyone's Mind](https://www.amazon.com/Catalyst-How-Change-Anyones-Mind/dp/1982108606?tag=wondelai00-20) by Jonah Berger
## About the Author
- **Jonah Berger** is a marketing professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. His research focuses on social influence, word-of-mouth, and why products, ideas, and behaviors catch on. He has published dozens of articles in top-tier academic journals and his work has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Harvard Business Review. "Contagious" distills his years of research into a practical framework for understanding and engineering virality. He has also authored "Invisible Influence" (on how hidden forces shape behavior) and "The Catalyst" (on how to change minds), and consults with companies ranging from startups to Fortune 500 firms on how to make their products and ideas spread.
+ **Jonah Berger** is a marketing professor at the Wharton School whose research focuses on social influence, word-of-mouth, and why things catch on. *Contagious* distills that research into the STEPPS framework; he also wrote *Invisible Influence* and *The Catalyst* and consults for companies from startups to the Fortune 500.