Ever wondered what makes ideas go viral? In this article, I have listed the critical elements that make things contagious. The STEPPS discussed here have been theorized in the bible of word of mouth, Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger. I’ll examine the STEPPS in detail and reveal to you the secret of why specific ideas go viral.
I assume you have got a fantastic idea that you want to turn into a product or a startup. Perhaps you have recorded a great video or wrote a magnificent piece of content that the world should read. Whether you are looking to learn how to make a product go viral, how to make a video go viral, or just how to make anything go viral, Jonah Berger has solved the enigma for you.
How to go viral: The six elements of virality
In the book Contagious: Why Things Catch On, Jonah Berger goes into great detail explaining which are the constituent elements of viral products. Mr. Berger distills the virality of ideas into six main components: Social Currency, Triggers, Emotion, Public, Practical Value, and Stories. The so-called STEPPS.
Social Currency
We share things that make us look competent, knowledgeable, or special. We love to impress our friends with interesting, unusual, or highly valuable news.
If you want to know how to make a video, a piece of content, or even a business go viral, the main question you should always ask yourselves is: Does talking about it make people feel like insiders?
Take as an example Please Don’t Tell, a pub in New York City that became viral thanks to a simple but staggering idea. The only way to get into Please Don’t Tell is through a telephone booth located inside Crif Dogs, an East Village hot dog establishment. But that’s not all, the only way to get a reservation is by calling between 3:00 and 3:30 pm. Please Don’t Tell has no advertising signs, it is not visible from the outside and did not make any publicity when it started.
You may wonder why Please Don’t Tell caught on, and the answer is social currency. Imagine the feeling of getting into this “secret” pub. Think of the psychological reward of winning a reservation when everyone has only 30 minutes. Add to that the excellent food, the amazing cocktails, and the stylish interiors. Wouldn’t you recommend a pub like that to a friend? I bet you would.
When building anything that is meant to go viral, make sure it is remarkable so that people will naturally want to share it to earn social currency for themselves.
Triggers
Triggers are cues that make people think about your product and make them want to share it with their peers multiple times. Certain ideas trigger others by association, causing us to be reminded of something.
For triggers to work, they must be long-term, remarkable, and be presented in the right habitat.
One of the most successful campaigns that shows the power of triggers was launched by Kit Kat. The marketing campaign associated Kit Kat with something many of us love to do every day (even multiple times a day), drinking coffee! The campaign proved to be a great success because it linked Kit Kat with a common habit. People who saw the campaign were reminded to eat a Kit Kat every time they got a coffee.
Emotion
For an idea to catch on, it must be connected to powerful emotions. A study conducted on New York Times articles has shown that readers are especially prone to react and share when two particular emotions arise. These two emotions are joy and anger. These articles provoked in the readers either awe, excitement, amusement, anxiety, or anger.
Did you know that if someone asked you to read an article while running, you would be more likely to share it than not? As weird as this sounds, it is how we work. Excitement makes us want to react and to share.
If you want to make a video go viral, for instance, think what makes people react, what makes them feel joy or anger, and you will be on the right path to make it spread.
Public
Imagine an anti-drug campaign that increases drug usage. The infamous “Just Say No” anti-drug campaign inadvertently leveraged the “Monkey see, monkey do” paradigm.
We, humans, are naturally attracted by what others do or care about, and we tend to conform to that, so much that it does not matter whether it is a positive or bad attitude.
Observability is crucial for your idea, product, video, or just for anything to go viral.
Practical value
No idea is worth sharing if it does not come with value for the receiver/s. Value is an essential element of virality.
Consider the story of a Youtube video that went viral, reaching over 5 million viewers. It does not depict a pop star performing some astonishing choreography. It represents a 86 years old man, showing how to remove the husk out of the corn without leaving behind any of the corn silk. The reason is simple, practical value.
The more your product or idea comes with value, and the more that value appeals to a particular niche, the more likely it will become viral.
Stories
All the six components, or STEPPS, of viral ideas, are crucial. However, an idea or product can’t get viral if it is not attached to a good story; thus, this is probably the most fundamental element of virality.
The human mind recalls stories much better than straight data. It is in our nature to appreciate good narratives, so much that we tend to fall in love with stories without even checking their validity.
Jared Fogle lost 245 pounds by eating at Subway every single day. That’s a story that Subway turned into a compelling ad, to show how eating at Subway is not only delicious but can also be healthy.
Conclusion
When wondering how to make your idea or product go viral, the STEPPS theorized by Johan Berger in Contagious will go a long way to help you out. The STEPPS are Social Currency, Triggers, Emotion, Public, Practical Value, and Stories.
Social Currency: We share things that make us look knowledgeable or special to our peers. For your idea or product to become viral, it must provide social currency.
Triggers: For an idea to catch on and become contagious, it must be linked to something that will make people think of it by association. For triggers to work, they must be long-term, remarkable, and be presented in the right habitat.
Emotion: Human beings are naturally prone to share what makes them excited, joyful, or angry. You want your concept to be linked strongly to such feelings.
Public: “If everyone else is doing it, probably I should do it too”. We tend to conform to what others do in our niche; hence your idea must be highly observable to get viral.
Practical value: No point in sharing something that does not have practical value for the receiver/s. Whatever is that you want to go viral, it must provide value.
Stories: Stories are easy to remember, especially when they are remarkable and bring value. Create a good narrative and attach it to your idea or product.
