Creating a Viral Fashion Label Using Public Sharing

Virality is not random, there are mechanics and it can be mapped and planned, to give your product the best chance on going viral

This article is one of a series of principles that are based on the book Contagious by Jonah Berger, The book Contagious studies the science behind why products and ideas are talked about more than others, why certain videos, posts and ideas go viral and the effect it has on behaviour. It’s all supported by word-of-mouth, regardless of the channel, social media, face-to-face, emails. The trick is getting people to talk about it, your brand, your ideas and your products. So the big question..how do we do that? with industry fashion brand examples I will explain how it has been done leveraging the principle of “Public”

Check out the other 6 supporting viral principles:

1. Social Currency
2. Triggers
3. Emotion
4. Public [You are here!]
5. Practical Value
6. Stories

Public: “Built to Show, Built to Grow”

When creating a viral product the key is making something that is observable, something that stands out in everyday life and that’s easily linked to your brand. The more observable the product is, the easier to imitate (monkey see monkey do) and seeing people naturally do something is the key to starting what is called “Social Proof”, people naturally want to fit in and do things because others are. When people are able to do what they please they usually imitate one another so if executed correctly it has a huge impact on whether your products catch on or not.

Jonah Berger states: “Making something more observable makes it easier to imitate. Thus a key factor in driving products to catch on is public visibility.” “every time people use the product or service, they also transmit social proof or passive approval because usage is observable.”

The key here is to design products that advertise themselves. Top designers create longer-lasting shopping bags so customers continue to use them. Free Advertising. People also want the bags as it associates them with a luxury brand.

Lulu lemon capitalised on this by creating even more durable bags, but what they also did which was brilliant was including their brand manifesto, which shared the companies values and culture through the use of bold thoughts that allowed for real conversations to happen. creating a deeper connection with the brand.

Jonah Berger states: “Is there something that generates social proof that sticks around even when the product is not being used or the idea is not top of mind… It’s called behavioural residue.” “Behavioural residue is the physical traces or remnants that most actions or behaviours leave in their wake.”

There is a popular brand of footwear that has red soles, this was their way of standing out and being easily associated with the brand.

Did the words “Red Soles” automatically trigger the brand “Louboutin” for you? For a lot of people, it does. Christian Louboutin developed the idea through eye-catching red nail polish. So took the concept and produced shoes with the same color soles.

Online e-commerce has changed the game a lot in terms of shopping in public, now we can buy the clothes we want from the privacy of your own home, so how can we make that experience more public. ASOS along with many other brands have a button so you’re able to share products you’re interested in purchasing. statistics from Woo-commerce show that among “millennial shoppers who share products are about 2x more likely to make a purchase.”

This concept of online shopping in private started to get me thinking, what other ways can we make products and buying decisions public. Here are some ideas I’ve thought about incorporating, leave a comment below if you think of some to add:

• Creating a Poll between purchase choices (Option A vs Option B)
• If purchases are donated to a cause, share the cause you are supporting

Customers don’t always follow others direction’s it heavily relates back to brand identity and what it stands for Lululemon — represents a healthy lifestyle for yoga enthusiasts. Louboutin — represents luxury and class. And it can be easily identified through its public persona. When people relate to a brand’s identity, they want to become a part of it and represent it also because they believe in what it stands for.

Here are some quick questions to ask yourself:

• Does your product or idea advertise itself?
• How does your product identity itself?
• Can people see when others are using it?
• If not, How can you make the private public?
• Can you create behavioural residue that sticks around even after people use it?