Question

What is the book "Contagious Why Things Catch On" about? What are the strengths and weaknesses of this book? Give 3 takeaways from the book

Answer 1

The book "Contagious Why Things Catch On" is about the secret science behind word of mouth and social transmission. It provides specific actionable techniques for helping information to spread for designing messages, advertisements, and content that people will share. It tells how to become viral through story and advice. Contagious will show you how to make your product or idea catch on no matter you are a manager of a big company, a small business owner, or a politician who runs the office.

Some of the principles are identified in the book that includes, social currency, emotion, triggers, the practical value that operate either singly or in combination. It contains arresting and counterintuitive with the facts and insights along with sites of successful and unsuccessful marketing campaigns. This book principle is very practical and can easily be understood.

Book identified six factors that make anything viral for which  Jonah Berger created an acronym called STEPPS, that stands for,

1. Social currency: it helps to impress others or simply share. Also, it gives an idea to use talking points of experience to share easily.
2. Triggers: which means frequent, preferably timely, and reminders of the product or the idea.
3. Emotion: they are based on some studies, it is said that only those emotions that lead to physiological arousal led to greater sharing.
4. Public: which means a highly visible item that advertises itself.
5. Practical value: great practical value lead people to share more
6. Stories: This means that narratives are more engrossing than facts. It means that stories need to be created with less information but with a highly engaging fashion.

By using STEPPS one can make any product or idea contagious.

Strengths :

1. A marketer who is trying to promote a product or want to boost awareness about something can use this book, it will guide him to get success.
2. When you seek a bigger impact on a smaller budget this book will help you to make your product spread like crazy.

Weakness :

1. This book is about inductive logic and faces the problem of failing to explain the phenomena that it chooses not to explain.
2. This book lacks an emotional connection for the reader and also failed to tell the story of STEPPS in a way that builds throughout the book.
3. As a business book, it failed to offer practical value in an accessible way.