He examines how people make decisions, how ideas diffuse, and how social influence shapes behavior. It reminds us that we have more potential than we think. Contagious is the result of years of research and study, breaking down the principles of contagiousness and how you can create valuable virality within your business. He outlines 6 principles, or STEPPS to make your brand message more viral: Social Currency, Triggers, Emotion, Public, Practical Value, and Stories. Jonah Berger is a marketing professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and internationally bestselling author of Contagious, Invisible Influence, and The Catalyst.He’s a world-renowned expert on social influence, word of mouth, and why products, ideas, and behaviors catch on and has published over 50 papers in top-tier academic journals. He explains 6 mechanisms that contribute to virality: social currency, triggers, emotion, practical value, public, and stories. Word of mouth drives 20-50% of all purchasing decisions.

He examines how people make decisions, how ideas diffuse, and how social influence shapes behavior. It reminds us that we have more potential than we think. They would be wrong. Jonah Berger’s Contagious, a book on how things become viral, is essential reading for any marketer who is trying to get their brand out there.. The author, Jonah Berger, has spent over a decade researching why some things catch on and why other things don't. Readers might suppose that Jonah Berger’s new book, “Contagious: Why Things Catch On,” would shed light on these famous cases of viral content.

One of my favorite marketing books, it's a useful overview of why some things catch on, others don't, and how we might better engineer our messages. Contagious is a first-class book that any business owner or marketer should definitely have on their shelf and re-visit regularly. The principle of contagious marketing challenges us to think bigger than we otherwise would. In it, Wharton marketing professor Jonah Berger explains what makes certain ideas, products, and stories popular.

“Contagious Metrics”: (based on Jonah Berger’s system from “Contagious”) I consider 6 factors when determining what makes content viral. Professor Jonah Berger examines the behavioral science that underlies these questions. My content marketing grading system (1 low value – 4 high value) is shamelessly borrowed from Jonah Berger, and is used when looking at each idea with that frame in mind not on purely our individual gut reactions to a proposed idea.