Contagious Quotes

“People don't think in terms of information. They think in terms of narratives. But while people focus on the story itself, information comes along for the ride.”
― Jonah Berger, Contagious: Why Things Catch On

“Making things more observable makes them easier to imitate, which makes them more likely to become popular.”
― Berger, Jonah, Contagious: Why Things Catch On

“Virality isn’t born, it’s made.”
― Berger, Jonah, Contagious: Why Things Catch On

“Word of mouth is the primary factor behind 20 percent to 50 percent of all purchasing decisions.”
― Berger, Jonah, Contagious: Why Things Catch On

“Why does it matter if particular thoughts or ideas are top of mind? Because accessible thoughts and ideas lead to action.”
― Jonah Berger, Contagious: Why Things Catch On

“Marketing is about spreading the love.”
― Jonah Berger, Contagious: Why Things Catch On

“In contrast to the notion that any publicity is good publicity, negative reviews hurt sales for some books. But for books by new or relatively unknown authors, negative reviews increased sales by 45%.... Even a bad review or negative word of mouth can increase sales if it informs or reminds people that the product or idea exists.”
― Jonah Berger, Contagious: Why Things Catch On

“People don't need to be paid to be motivated.”
― Jonah Berger, Contagious: Why Things Catch On

“When we care, we share.”
― Jonah Berger, Contagious: Why Things Catch On

“It has been said that when people are free to do as they please, they usually imitate one another. We look to others for information about what is right or good to do in a given situation, and this social proof shapes everything from the products we buy to the candidates we vote for. The phrase ‘Monkey see, monkey do’ captures more than just our tendency to follow others. If people can’t see what others are doing, they can’t imitate them. So to get our products and ideas to become popular we need to make them more publicly observable”
― Jonah Berger, Contagious: Why Things Catch On

“We need to design products and ideas that are frequently triggered by the environment and create new triggers by linking our products and ideas to prevalent cues in that environment. Top of mind leads to tip of tongue.”
― Jonah Berger, Contagious: Why Things Catch On

“most beautiful emotion we can experience is the mysterious. It is the power of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead.”
― Jonah Berger, Contagious: Why Things Catch On

“How does it make people look to talk about a product or idea? Most people would rather look smart than dumb, rich than poor, and cool than geeky. Just like the clothes we wear and the cars we drive, what we talk about influences how others see us. It’s social currency. Knowing about cool things—like a blender that can tear through an iPhone—makes people seem sharp and in the know. So to get people talking we need to craft messages that help them achieve these desired impressions. We need to find our inner remarkability and make people feel like insiders. We need to leverage game mechanics to give people ways to achieve and provide visible symbols of status that they can show to others.”
― Jonah Berger, Contagious: Why Things Catch On

“Even in cases where most people are doing the right thing, talking about the minority who are doing the wrong thing can encourage people to give in to temptation.”
― Jonah Berger, Contagious: Why Things Catch On

“Harvard neuroscientists Jason Mitchell and Diana Tamir found that disclosing information about the self is intrinsically rewarding. In one study, Mitchell and Tamir hooked subjects up to brain scanners and asked them to share either their own opinions and attitudes (“I like snowboarding”) or the opinions and attitudes of another person (“He likes puppies”). They found that sharing personal opinions activated the same brain circuits that respond to rewards like food and money. So talking about what you did this weekend might feel just as good as taking a delicious bite of double chocolate cake.”
― Jonah Berger, Contagious: Why Things Catch On

“Research by the Keller Fay Group finds that only 7 percent of word of mouth happens online.”
― Jonah Berger, Contagious: Why Things Catch On

“In fact, the messages actually seemed to increase drug use. Kids aged twelve and a half to eighteen who saw the ads were actually more likely to smoke marijuana. Why? Because it made drug use more public. Think about observability and social proof. Before seeing the message, some kids might never have thought about taking drugs. Others might have considered it but have been wary about doing the wrong thing. But anti-drug ads often say two things simultaneously. They say that drugs are bad, but they also say that other people are doing them. And as we’ve discussed throughout this chapter, the more others seem to be doing something, the more likely people are to think that thing is right or normal and what they should be doing as well.”
― Jonah Berger, Contagious: Why Things Catch On

“As it turns out, if something is supposed to be secret, people might well be more likely to talk about it. The reason? Social currency. People share things that make them look good to others.”
― Jonah Berger, Contagious: Why Things Catch On

“Word of mouth is more effective than traditional advertising for two key reasons. First, it’s more persuasive.”
― Jonah Berger, Contagious: Why Things Catch On

“A five-star review on Amazon.com leads to approximately twenty more books sold than a one-star review.”
― Jonah Berger, Contagious: Why Things Catch On

“If something is built to show, it’s built to grow.”
― Jonah Berger, Contagious: Why Things Catch On

“Contagious content is like that—so inherently viral that it spreads regardless of who is doing the talking.”
― Jonah Berger, Contagious: Why Things Catch On

“So to get people talking, companies and organizations need to mint social currency. Give people a way to make themselves look good while promoting their products and ideas along the way. There are three ways to do that: (1) find inner remarkability; (2) leverage game mechanics; and (3) make people feel like insiders.”
― Jonah Berger, Contagious: Why Things Catch On

“Word of mouth is more effective than traditional advertising for two key reasons. First, it’s more persuasive. Second, word of mouth is more targeted. It is naturally directed towards an interested audience. But want to know the best thing about word of mouth? It’s available to everyone. And it doesn’t require millions of dollars spent on advertising. It just requires getting people to talk.”
― Jonah Berger, Contagious: Why Things Catch On

“Yet science articles, like Denise Grady’s piece about the cough, made the Most E-Mailed list more than politics, fashion, or business news. Why? It turns out that science articles frequently chronicle innovations and discoveries that evoke a particular emotion in readers. That emotion? Awe.”
― Jonah Berger, Contagious: Why Things Catch On

“Great game mechanics can even create achievement out of nothing. Airlines turned loyalty into a status symbol. Foursquare made it a mark of distinction to be a fixture at the corner bar. And by encouraging players to post their achievements on Facebook, online game makers have managed to convince people to proclaim loudly—even boast—that they spend hours playing computer games every day.”
― Jonah Berger, Contagious: Why Things Catch On

“If word-of-mouth pundits agree on anything, it’s that being interesting is essential if you want people to talk. Most buzz marketing books will tell you that. So will social media gurus. “Nobody talks about boring companies, boring products, or boring ads,” argues one prominent word-of-mouth advocate. Unfortunately, he’s wrong.”
― Jonah Berger, Contagious: Why Things Catch On

“Nobody talks about boring companies, boring products, or boring ads,” argues one prominent word-of-mouth advocate.”
― Jonah Berger, Contagious: Why Things Catch On

“Imagine standing on the very edge of the Grand Canyon. The bloodred gorge stretches as far as you can see in every direction. The canyon floor drops precipitously below your feet. You feel dizzy and step back from the edge. Hawks circle through rock crevasses so barren and stripped of vegetation you could as well be on the moon. You are amazed. You are humbled. You feel elevated. This is awe.

According to psychologists Dacher Keltner and Jonathan Haidt, awe is the sense of wonder and amazement that occurs when someone is inspired by great knowledge, beauty, sublimity, or might. It’s the experience of confronting something greater than yourself. Awe expands one’s frame of reference and drives self-transcendence. It encompasses admiration and inspiration and can be evoked by everything from great works of art or music to religious transformations, from breathtaking natural landscapes to human feats of daring and discovery.”
― Jonah Berger, Contagious: Why Things Catch On

“Behavioral residue is the physical traces or remnants that most actions or behaviors leave in their wake.”
― Jonah Berger, Contagious: Why Things Catch On