What makes one product more popular than others?
How to make people want to talk about a specific product or service?
These are frequently asked questions that korea telegram phone number list many people have not yet found an answer to. However, you do not have to offer innovative products or surprising services to meet the approval of potential customers. Of course, this is important, as is high quality or a lower price. However, these elements do not have to guarantee 100% success. How is this possible?
In the book "The Viral Effect" you will find many examples that are irrefutable proof of the great impact of, among others, word-of-mouth marketing , including recommendations. Simply releasing a message with a specific message is not enough to start talking about the product / services, etc.
It is necessary to construct the content in such a way that it complies with the STEPPS principles. The team led by Jonah Berger is responsible for their development - a professor of the marketing department at The Wharton School of The University of Pennsylvania. He has not only numerous publications in prestigious scientific journals, but also awards granted for his work as an educator and scientist.
STEPPS – the secret of viral content
The author of the book presents the basic principles on the basis of which it is worth creating viral content. These are principles based on social behaviors that are confirmed by scientific research . Elements such as:
social currency,
associations,
emotions,
publicity,
practical value,
stories.
Fulfilling even a few of them increases the chance that a given message will spread like a virus. These are not just empty promises, because Jonah Berger provides specific examples and shows how each element affects publicity.
The proof? A restaurant that is unique in that it sells a popular type of sandwich for $100. The actions it took met all the STEPPS principles, including evoking emotions, encouraging anecdotes, and the product itself turned out to be a tasty menu item.
A company that manufactures blenders used similar principles. In a short video, they presented the device's capabilities in a surprising way. In this way, potential customers learned about the benefits of using the equipment.
There are more such examples, and they are not always companies with a huge budget. Thanks to this, even small businesses are able to stand out, reaching a wide range of future customers.
The author also points out the errors responsible for the fact that some campaigns bring the opposite effects to those intended. The book presents a campaign against alcoholism among students, which - instead of eliminating the problem, contributed to its deepening. It was enough to change just one element to improve the effectiveness of the campaign.
A book unlike any other?
There is something special about this book... The language and style caught my attention - accessible and light (which is certainly due to the good translation). The almost 250-page book can be "gulped" in 2-3 days - and not out of compulsion, but out of pure desire. There is no need to rush, however, because all the rules - in order to use them effectively - must be learned, "digested" and translated into the realities of your business.
A big plus is the fact that it is not just a collection of theory, it is a practical book. Each principle has been accompanied by many examples, not only of large companies, but also of smaller businesses. This is proof that STEPPS works regardless of the budget for the advertising campaign. There are also results of scientific research, including in the field of psychology - sometimes extremely surprising, revealing social behaviors. This in turn allows us to understand why associations or emotions affect the "contagiousness" of content.
What surprised me was that some of the ways they gained popularity were brilliant in their simplicity (e.g. the Will It Blend ad, the Clean Ear Every Time video).
Minus? I found one: the book focuses mainly on companies operating in the B2C model. I missed specific examples aimed at companies with B2B relations. The STEPPS principles can probably be translated to such a cooperation model, but it is not so obvious.
Is the book useful? It certainly presents techniques that help create catchy content. This is made easier by examples, which make it easier to understand the principle of operation of individual STEPPS elements. However, as I mentioned above, you have to apply everything to your "field". The author shows general principles, not a specific recipe for viral content.
PS. I would like to thank the MT Biznes publishing house for providing the book "The Viral Effect".
