Marketing
Contagious
Jonah Berger
4.0 (49000) 8 min read 6 key ideasPremium
A marketing scientist's breakdown of why certain products, ideas, and stories spread by word of mouth — and how to engineer that virality deliberately.
Key takeaways
- Virality Is Engineered, Not Accidental
- Social Currency: Sharing Makes Us Look Good
- Triggers Keep Ideas Top of Mind
- Emotion Drives Sharing More Than Information Alone
- Public Visibility and Practical Value Complete the Framework
- Applying STEPPS Deliberately to Your Own Ideas
Action checklist
- Add social currency to your product or message today — make people look good for sharing it
- Trigger one association with your brand today tied to something people already talk about often
Final takeaway
Berger's closing invitation: treat the STEPPS framework as a practical diagnostic and design tool for your own communication and marketing efforts, not merely as an explanation of past viral successes.
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