Why do some ideas, products, or behaviors catch on and spread like wildfire, while others fizzle out without a trace? This question lies at the heart of Jonah Berger’s influential book Contagious: How Things Catch On. Drawing from decades of research in social psychology and marketing, Berger offers a compelling framework for understanding what makes content go viral, why people share ideas, and how marketers and creators can craft messages that resonate.
Berger distills the answer into six principles, captured by the acronym STEPPS: Social Currencys, Triggers, Emotion, Public, Practical Value, and Stories. These six ingredients, he argues, make information contagious. In this article, we’ll explore four of the most powerful concepts from the book and examine how they can be used to spread ideas in business, media, and beyond.
Social Currency: People Share What Makes Them Look Good
Humans are social creatures, and we love to talk about things that make us look smart, in-the-know, or ahead of the curve. This is the essence of social currency. Just as people use money to buy products and services, they use social currency to buy status, influence, and relationships.
Berger illustrates this with the example of Please Don’t Tell, a hidden cocktail bar in New York City. Tucked behind a hot dog shop and only accessible through a phone booth, the bar’s exclusivity and secrecy make it irresistible to those looking to impress friends with insider knowledge. Despite having no signage or advertising, it quickly became a viral sensation because people couldn’t stop talking about it.
To harness social currency:
-
Offer insider access, exclusive deals, or unique experiences.
-
Highlight remarkable features or unexpected qualities.
-
Make your product or idea a “secret” worth sharing.
The more remarkable or “cool” your idea seems, the more likely it is to be shared, especially if it makes the person sharing it look good.
Triggers: Top of Mind, Tip of Tongue
Even great content can be forgotten if it’s not mentally accessible. Triggers are environmental cues that prompt people to think about related ideas. Berger points out that if you want your product or message to be contagious, you need to link it to frequent, everyday stimuli.
One famous example is how Kit Kat increased sales by pairing itself with coffee in its advertising. The campaign’s message—“Have a break, have a Kit Kat”—wasn’t new, but by connecting the candy with a daily ritual (coffee breaks), it became a more regular topic of conversation and consumption.
This principle has huge implications for marketers:
-
Tie your product to regular habits, holidays, or pop culture moments.
-
Use familiar contexts or objects as anchors for your message.
-
Reinforce those associations consistently to deepen the trigger-response connection.
The more often people encounter the trigger, the more they’ll think about—and potentially talk about—your product or idea.
Emotion: When We Care, We Share
If you want your content to spread, it needs to evoke emotion. But not just any emotion—high-arousal emotions like awe, anger, excitement, or anxiety are particularly potent. They activate us, make our hearts race, and compel us to act—often by sharing with others.
Berger studied thousands of New York Times articles and found that stories provoking awe, anger, or amusement were more likely to make the most-emailed list. In contrast, low-arousal emotions like sadness didn’t have the same effect.
Take the viral success of the “Dumb Ways to Die” video—a quirky, catchy tune created by Metro Trains in Melbourne to promote rail safety. The video used humor and surprise to communicate a serious message. It struck a balance between amusement and urgency, prompting viewers to share it widely while still retaining its core message.
To leverage emotion effectively:
-
Aim for emotional resonance, not just rational appeal.
-
Consider what emotions your content is likely to evoke.
-
Use storytelling, visuals, or music to heighten emotional impact.
Emotionally charged content doesn’t just attract attention—it drives action.
Stories: Information Wrapped in a Narrative
People don’t just share facts—they share stories. A well-crafted narrative allows you to slip your message into a structure that is easy to remember and repeat. Berger argues that stories act as “trojan horses,” carrying ideas under the surface of engaging anecdotes.
For instance, the “Blender Will It Blend?” YouTube series by Blendtec showcases the power of its blenders by putting odd objects (like iPhones and golf balls) into the machine. Each video tells a mini-story, showing the product in action in a way that’s both entertaining and informative. It’s a story you want to retell—and in doing so, you pass along the brand message.
Key ways to use storytelling effectively:
-
Embed your product naturally into the plot, not just tacked on.
-
Craft compelling characters, conflict, and resolution.
-
Keep it relatable and memorable—use simplicity to your advantage.
Stories give meaning to information and offer an emotional hook that data alone cannot. If your brand or message becomes part of a narrative that people want to retell, you’ve won the word-of-mouth game.
Conclusion: Making Ideas Stick and Spread
Jonah Berger’s Contagious provides a powerful blueprint for making ideas spread. While luck and timing will always play a role in virality, the STEPPS framework offers a structured way to craft content that taps into natural human tendencies: our desire to impress others, respond to our environment, feel strong emotions, and tell stories.
By focusing on social currency, leveraging environmental triggers, evoking the right emotions, and embedding your message in stories, you increase your chances of creating something truly contagious.
Whether you’re launching a new product, crafting a viral campaign, or trying to spark a social movement, remember: people don’t share facts—they share feelings, moments, and narratives. When you understand what drives those shares, you hold the keys to influence, impact, and momentum.
