“Marketing is about tapping into their genuine enthusiasm for products and services that they find useful. Or fun. Or beautiful. Marketing is about spreading the love.”
Why do some things go viral and others miss the mark completely? Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Bergerexplores the world of marketing and what works to catch people’s attention. Each business or idea out there is vying to capture people’s attention to either inform or persuade to action. Knowing how to get and keep people’s attention is a key factor into the success of a business or idea. If I’ve lived in a small town for five years and still haven’t heard of a business, it might not be sending out the right messages.
I’m always interesting in learning more about public relations and a friend recommended this book. It was available as an ebook from my local library through Libby after only two weeks. It was fairly quick and easy to read as the author uses a lot of interesting case studies to make his points.
Contagious: Why Things Catch On makes the case that marketing campaigns need to contain at least one of five key elements – social currency, triggers, emotion, public aspects, practical value and a story. Social currency is what makes a person feel like they’re in the know about what is going on. Triggers make us think about certain elements at certain times or places. Strong emotions make us remember things better. Public aspects create a community. Practical value means something will be shared a lot – like what vacuum is the best or what new cereal is healthy. The story aspect gives people something of interest to share. Every campaign does not need to have all of these things, but the more it has, the more successful it will probably be. A great example is a restaurant in Philadelphia that wanted to stand out, so it created a $100 gourmet Philly cheesesteak. It’s the talk of the town and the restaurant is always full.
As a person who helps people with public relations, I found Contagious: Why Things Catch On very insightful! I would recommend it to anyone in the marketing field or anyone who is trying to get a business or idea off the ground. Entrepreneurs could learn a lot about how to successfully market their product or business by reading this book.
What is the best ad campaign you’ve come across lately? Share on the blog!