6 Step Guide on How to Make Ideas Spread
Have you ever wondered why certain ideas are shared more than others?
Word of mouth and sharing are indeed powerful ways to spread information. Actually, it is 10 times more effective than other forms of marketing.
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| Photo by Zach Lucero on Unsplash |
If you have an amazing idea to share, or you are an entrepreneur and want to spread the word about your great product, this article is here to help.
Let’s dive into it.
A quick summary for those in a hurry
The virality of content is based on six dimensions
- Social Currency: We share things that make us look good.
- Triggers: The more often we stumble across a trigger, the more often we think about the particular idea, product, etc.
- Emotion: “When we care we share.”
- Public: We share things (or imitate them) only if we can see them.
- Practical Value: “Sharing is caring.”
- Stories: Stories are the best medium to transport information.
6 STEPPS
No this isn’t a typo.
It is the acronym for the 6 steps or dimensions for viral content.
1. Social Currency
We humans like to talk about ourselves.
Why?
Humans are social beings.
We want others to know who we are and what we do. We want to stand out: to be better than the others. For example, if we tell someone else a secret, we make ourselves look good (we know something exclusive that the others don’t, and we feel special).
There are three variants of Social Currency:
- Inner remarkability: We want to be special. Ideas and products that stand out can help us to stand out ourselves. If we tell others about them, we can increase our social status and by the way, we do advertising for the “thing”.
- Leverage game mechanics: Humans are competitive and want to “be better” than others. To use gamification, there must be a measurable variable that we proudly & voluntarily report on (flyer miles, golf handicap, …). For example, many people are proud of their frequent flyer miles - especially when they achieve a status (e.g. Senator) that is reserved for only a few.
- Make people feel like insiders: People want to feel special. When we are insiders in a group (where not everyone has easy access), we feel special. It is so special that we like to talk about it (and the product).
2. Triggers
People already talk a lot about products and services in everyday life.
It is often the conversations we have to avoid awkward silences. We talk about what is most easily available in our minds. To tap into that can be a very effective marketing strategy, as the following examples prove:
- Kitkat and coffee
- The song Friday and the day Friday
- The NASA probe on Mars and the chocolate bar (unspoken, but effective)
3. Emotions
When we care we share. - Jonah Berger
We are more likely to share emotional articles or information with others. Particularly interesting is information that amazes us (the “Ah” moments). This is why scientific articles are often very successful: they show us new information we wouldn’t have thought would be possible.
4. Public
People imitate what other people do.
This is the reason why the Apple logo on a laptop is oriented in a way so that it is on the right side when the laptop is opened. Others are seeing that you are using an Apple laptop.
Thoughts are private and actions are public.
One common example is the awkward silence when you ask questions after presentations. There must be at least some questions, but nobody wants to be the only one asking. Once the first one starts asking a question, however, the ice is broken and others are asking questions too.
5. Practical Value
Practical value can be a great opportunity to make an idea or product contagious.
However, with practical value, it is not the Social Currency we are after. We are sharing something practical because we want to help others.
Sharing is caring. - unknown
Discounts, for example, have a special place in the dimension of practical value. But it is important to keep in mind that we humans are not completely rational when it comes to prices and discounts (as Daniel Kahneman laid out in Thinking, Fast and Slow).
6. Stories
Stories have always been an effective way of passing on information.
A popular example is the Trojan horse. For the first few centuries, the story was only passed on orally (or via minstrelsy) before it was written down for the first time.
That’s how powerful stories can be.
However, there are a few things you need to bear in mind if you want to benefit from stories in a marketing context:
- The story must be worth telling (having social currency, being emotional, etc.).
- The idea or product you want to promote must be related to the story. It is not very effective to have an impressive story that people like to tell but without reference to the product. People then simply leave the product out of the story. The Panda Cheese ad, for example, is very memorable and you really can’t tell the story without mentioning the brand.
Use the 6 STEPPS
Want to spread your idea effectively?
Use one, several, or all of the 6 STEPPS.
Just answer a few key questions to enhance your content and get your message across!
- Social Currency:Does talking about your product or your idea make people look good?Can you find the inner remarkability?Leverage game mechanics.Make people feel like insiders.
- Triggers: Consider the context: what cues make people think about your product or idea?How can you grow the habitat and make it come to mind more often?
- Emotion: Focus on feelings.Does talking about your product or idea generate emotion?How can you kindle the fire?
- Public: Does your product or idea advertise itself?Can people see when others are using it? If not: how can you make the private public?Can you create a behavioral residue that even sticks around after people use it?
- Practical Value: Does talking about your idea or your product help people help others?How can you highlight incredible value, packaging your knowledge or expertise in useful information others will want to talk about?
- Stories: What is your Trojan Horse?Is your product or idea embedded in a broader narrative people want to share?Is the story not only viral but also valuable?
Thank you so much for reading my article on how to make ideas spread.
For the article, I’ve used the book Contagious by Jonah Berger as a main source. It was a great read and I very much enjoyed the reading experience, so if you are interested in more, I can recommend the book.
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Cheers, Matthias