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Word-of-Mouth & Virality Framework

Unverified●26/40

Describe your product, offer, or campaign and get back specific, practical ways to make more people share it and recommend it to others.

Originally by wondelai · MIT

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npx agentalley add contagious

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Who is stuck, and on what

You have something good but nobody's talking about it, and paying for ads to get noticed is draining money you don't have. You need people to tell their friends on their own, but you have no idea how to make that actually happen.

What it gives you

A tailored report scoring how shareable your business is right now, plus concrete changes to make customers recommend it to others.

When NOT to use it

It will not run your ads, post to social media for you, or guarantee you go viral overnight.

The whole source

No sign-in, no blur, nothing truncated
contagious/SKILL.md280 lines17.3 KBRawView on GitHub
Frontmatter — 4 properties
namecontagious
descriptionEngineer word-of-mouth and virality using the STEPPS framework (Social Currency, Triggers, Emotion, Public, Practical Value, Stories). Use when the user mentions "go viral", "word of mouth", "shareable content", "social currency", "why people share", "referral program", "nobody is sharing it", or "make this spread". Also trigger when designing shareable features, crafting social campaigns, or building products that spread through peer recommendation. Covers environmental triggers and high-arousal emotional content. For sticky messaging, see made-to-stick. For persuasion tactics, see influence-psychology.
licenseMIT
metadata author: wondelai version: "1.4.0
1---
2name: contagious
3description: 'Engineer word-of-mouth and virality using the STEPPS framework (Social Currency, Triggers, Emotion, Public, Practical Value, Stories). Use when the user mentions "go viral", "word of mouth", "shareable content", "social currency", "why people share", "referral program", "nobody is sharing it", or "make this spread". Also trigger when designing shareable features, crafting social campaigns, or building products that spread through peer recommendation. Covers environmental triggers and high-arousal emotional content. For sticky messaging, see made-to-stick. For persuasion tactics, see influence-psychology.'B1 — Line is 626 characters — unreadable by eye
4license: MIT
5metadata:
6 author: wondelai
7 version: "1.4.0"
8---A5 — No allowed-tools declared — no way to tell what this skill may touch
9 
10# Word-of-Mouth & Virality Framework
11 
12A framework for engineering word-of-mouth and making products, ideas, and content contagious, based on Jonah Berger's research into why things catch on. Use it to design shareability into products, campaigns, and content instead of hoping for luck.
13 
14## Core Principle
15 
16**Virality is not born — it is engineered.** Products spread because they were designed — consciously or not — to be shared. Only 7% of word-of-mouth happens online; the other 93% happens in offline conversations, so virality is about the psychology of sharing, not social media mechanics. Those psychological patterns are predictable and can be engineered into anything using the STEPPS framework.
17 
18See: [references/word-of-mouth.md](references/word-of-mouth.md) when the brief over-indexes on social media — it makes the offline-vs-online case, lists conversation triggers, and gives a WOM measurement/audit method.
19 
20## Scoring
21 
22**Goal: 10/10.** Score each of the six STEPPS drivers (the six Quick Diagnostic rows) — **0** absent, **1** present but weak, **2** strong and deliberate — for a raw 0-12, then map: 11-12 -> 10, 9-10 -> 8-9, 6-8 -> 6-7, 3-5 -> 4-5, 0-2 -> <=3. Bands:
23- **9-10** — three or more drivers at strength 2, at least one of them Public or Social Currency (the self-propagating ones), and the brand survives the Trojan Horse test.
24- **6-8** — two drivers genuinely strong, but spread still leans on paid reach or product quality alone.
25- **<=5** — at most one weak driver; sharing is incidental, not engineered.
26 
27Report the raw count, the mapped score, and the specific driver(s) to raise next to reach 10/10.
28 
29## STEPPS Overview
30 
31**Not a checklist — a multiplier.** Each principle independently increases sharing; the most contagious ideas activate several at once, but even one or two done well dramatically increase word-of-mouth.
32 
33| Principle | Core Question | Sharing Driver |
34|-----------|--------------|----------------|
35| **S — Social Currency** | Does sharing it make people look good? | Self-enhancement |
36| **T — Triggers** | What in the environment reminds people of it? | Top-of-mind accessibility |
37| **E — Emotion** | Does it fire up high-arousal feelings? | Physiological arousal |
38| **P — Public** | Can others see people using it? | Observational learning |
39| **P — Practical Value** | Is it useful enough to pass along? | Altruism and helpfulness |
40| **S — Stories** | Is the brand embedded in a narrative? | Entertainment and identity |
41 
42## The STEPPS Framework
43 
44### 1. Social Currency
45 
46**Core concept:** People share things that make them look good — smart, cool, in-the-know. Make people feel like insiders and they'll spread it to boost their own image.
47 
48**Why it works:** Sharing is self-presentation — listeners infer the sharer's traits from what they pass on, so people curate shares the way they curate clothes. Mechanism: give the sharer a payoff in status or identity and you outsource your marketing to their ego.
49 
50**Key insights:**
51- **Remarkability** — surprising, novel, or extreme things make the sharer seem interesting; "Did you know...?" is a powerful sharing trigger
52- **Game mechanics** — leaderboards, badges, and status tiers create visible accomplishments people want to display
53- **Exclusivity and scarcity** — secret menus and invite-only access give people "insider knowledge" to share
54- **Inner remarkability** — even mundane products have a remarkable angle; it's framing, not the product
55 
56**Product applications:**
57 
58| Context | Application | Example |
59|---------|------------|---------|
60| Content platform | Insider statistics or year-in-review | Spotify Wrapped |
61| Mobile app | Shareable accomplishment cards | Duolingo streak badges |
62| B2B product | Benchmarking data users want to cite | HubSpot State of Marketing report |
63 
64**Copy patterns:**
65- "Most people don't know that..."
66- "You're one of the first to try..."
67- "You've unlocked [achievement]..."
68 
69**Ethical boundary:** Create real insider value, not false scarcity or manufactured exclusivity that breeds toxicity.
70 
71See: [references/social-currency.md](references/social-currency.md) when a product feels unremarkable — it has the inner-remarkability exercise, game-mechanic design, exclusivity types, and a scored audit.
72 
73### 2. Triggers
74 
75**Core concept:** Top-of-mind means tip-of-tongue. Link your product to environmental cues — sights, sounds, times, routines — so everyday life keeps reminding people to talk about you.
76 
77**Why it works:** Most word-of-mouth is driven not by excitement but by whatever happens to be top-of-mind mid-conversation; a product linked to a frequent cue gets mentioned more because it's more accessible in memory.
78 
79**Key insights:**
80- **Frequency beats strength** — a daily trigger (coffee) outperforms a powerful but rare one (a holiday); Kit Kat linked itself to coffee breaks
81- **Habitat matters** — map where and when people encounter contexts related to your product
82- **Competitive triggers** — link a competitor's moment to your own brand
83- **Ongoing vs. temporary** — persistent environmental triggers sustain word-of-mouth; event triggers only spike it
84 
85**Product applications:**
86 
87| Context | Application | Example |
88|---------|------------|---------|
89| Food/Beverage | Link to a daily habit | Kit Kat + coffee break |
90| Productivity tool | Tie to a recurring workflow moment | "Every Monday standup..." |
91| Financial product | Link to payday | "Every time you get paid..." |
92 
93**Copy patterns:**
94- "Every time you [frequent activity], think of..."
95- "Next time you [daily habit]..."
96- "It's [day/time] — time for..."
97 
98**Ethical boundary:** Build genuine, helpful associations — hijacking sensitive contexts (grief, health scares) as triggers backfires.
99 
100See: [references/triggers.md](references/triggers.md) when picking a cue to attach to — it has the habitat-analysis worksheet, the frequency matrix, and the 4-step trigger design process.
101 
102### 3. Emotion
103 
104**Core concept:** When we care, we share. High-arousal emotions — positive (awe, excitement, amusement) or negative (anger, anxiety) — drive sharing; low-arousal emotions (sadness, contentment) suppress it.
105 
106**Why it works:** Physiological arousal — racing heart, activated state — creates a need to share. It's activation vs. deactivation, not positivity vs. negativity.
107 
108**Key insights:**
109- High-arousal drives sharing: awe, excitement, amusement, inspiration, anger, anxiety
110- Low-arousal suppresses it: contentment and relaxation feel no urgency; sadness makes people withdraw
111- **Awe is the most powerful sharing emotion** — feeling small before something vast or surprising spreads furthest
112- **Emotional framing** — the same facts can be framed for different arousal levels; facts inform, framing motivates sharing
113 
114**Product applications:**
115 
116| Context | Application | Example |
117|---------|------------|---------|
118| Launch content | Engineer awe through unexpected scale or beauty | Apple keynote reveals |
119| Product demos | Amusement through unexpected use | Blendtec "Will It Blend?" |
120| Social campaigns | Righteous anger at an injustice | Dove "Real Beauty" challenging beauty standards |
121 
122**Copy patterns:**
123- "I can't believe [surprising fact]..."
124- "Watch what happens when..."
125- "This will change how you think about..."
126 
127**Ethical boundary:** Engineering outrage for clicks corrodes trust — use high-arousal negative emotion sparingly and only when the cause genuinely warrants it.
128 
129See: [references/emotion.md](references/emotion.md) when content feels flat — it has the emotion-sharing matrix, awe-engineering techniques, and humor design rules.
130 
131### 4. Public
132 
133**Core concept:** Built to show, built to grow. If people can see others using your product, they're more likely to adopt it — design for observability.
134 
135**Why it works:** Visible choices resolve uncertainty for the observer — seeing others use a product lowers their perceived risk and supplies social proof at zero marginal cost, so observability turns each user into a passive, continuous billboard.
136 
137**Key insights:**
138- **Behavioral residue** — design visible traces that outlast use: a Livestrong wristband long outlives the donation
139- **Self-advertising products** — every Hotmail email carried "Get your free email at Hotmail"; the product marketed itself through use
140- **Public = imitable** — people can only copy what they can observe; find ways to make invisible usage visible
141 
142**Product applications:**
143 
144| Context | Application | Example |
145|---------|------------|---------|
146| Email/Messaging | Branded signatures | "Sent from my iPhone" |
147| Physical products | Visible branding during use | Apple's outward-facing MacBook logo — every open laptop a billboard |
148| SaaS tools | Public outputs crediting the tool | "Powered by [tool]" on customer sites |
149 
150**Copy patterns:**
151- "Show the world you [achievement/identity]..."
152- "Share your [output] — powered by [brand]..."
153- "Join [number] others who..."
154 
155**Ethical boundary:** Visibility must empower, never shame — users always control what becomes public, and private data (failures, health, finances) stays private.
156 
157See: [references/public-visibility.md](references/public-visibility.md) when usage is invisible — it has the public-vs-private breakdown, the behavioral-residue design checklist, and the Apple-logo design lesson.
158 
159### 5. Practical Value
160 
161**Core concept:** People share useful information to help others. News you can use spreads — especially packaged for easy passing along.
162 
163**Why it works:** Sharing practical value is altruism — if your content saves people time, money, or effort, they'll forward it as a favor to their network.
164 
165**Key insights:**
166- **Prospect Theory** — people judge deals against reference points: $10 off a $20 item feels better than $10 off a $1,000 item
167- **Rule of 100** — under $100, use percentage discounts ("50% off"); over $100, use dollar amounts ("$200 off")
168- **Narrow audience = wider sharing** — niche content gets forwarded to "the person who needs this"
169- **Knowledge packaging** — lists, how-tos, and tip collections are inherently more shareable than essays
170 
171**Product applications:**
172 
173| Context | Application | Example |
174|---------|------------|---------|
175| Pricing/Promotions | Frame deals via Rule of 100 | "Save 40%" under $100 vs. "Save $500" over $100 |
176| Content marketing | Numbered, forwardable lists | "7 ways to reduce your electricity bill" |
177| B2B content | Shareable tools and benchmarks | Free ROI calculator with shareable results |
178 
179**Copy patterns:**
180- "The [number]-step guide to..."
181- "Quick tip: [immediately useful advice]..."
182- "Share this with someone who needs to hear it"
183 
184**Ethical boundary:** Value must be genuine — inflated "original" prices and clickbait life hacks destroy trust faster than they generate shares.
185 
186See: [references/practical-value.md](references/practical-value.md) when framing a deal or packaging tips — it applies Prospect Theory, the Rule of 100 quick reference, and the knowledge-packaging hierarchy.
187 
188### 6. Stories
189 
190**Core concept:** People don't share information — they tell stories. Embed your idea in a narrative people want to retell, and the brand rides along like a Trojan Horse.
191 
192**Why it works:** Humans think in narratives, and absorption in a story lowers critical defenses — the embedded message lands where a direct pitch would bounce.
193 
194**Key insights:**
195- **The Trojan Horse test** — if someone can retell the story without your brand, the story fails; the brand must be integral
196- **Retellability** — the story must survive casual conversation; a 10-minute setup won't spread
197- **Valuable virality** — a hilarious ad nobody attributes to the brand is a failure
198- **Narrative transportation** — absorbed listeners accept the embedded message more readily
199 
200**Product applications:**
201 
202| Context | Application | Example |
203|---------|------------|---------|
204| Brand marketing | Narrative inseparable from product | Blendtec "Will It Blend?" — can't retell without the brand |
205| PR/Earned media | Inherently story-worthy stunts | Barclay Prime's $100 cheesesteak |
206| Product launch | Origin story around a customer problem | "We built this because our founder couldn't find..." |
207 
208**Copy patterns:**
209- "Here's the story of how..."
210- "It all started when [founder/customer] realized..."
211- "Nobody believed [audacious claim] — until..."
212 
213**Ethical boundary:** Stories must be true or clearly fictional — fabricated testimonials and invented origins eventually surface and poison future word-of-mouth.
214 
215See: [references/stories-trojan-horse.md](references/stories-trojan-horse.md) when shaping the narrative — it has the brand-integration test and four story templates (demo, stunt, origin, customer-hero).
216 
217## Engineering Word of Mouth
218 
219STEPPS principles compound when combined. See: [references/case-studies.md](references/case-studies.md) for end-to-end STEPPS breakdowns (Blendtec, Barclay Prime, Kit Kat, Livestrong, Dove, Hotmail) when you need a worked precedent to model a campaign on.
220 
221### Product Launch
222 
223| Phase | STEPPS Combination | Tactics |
224|-------|-------------------|---------|
225| Pre-launch | Social Currency + Public | Invite-only beta with visible waitlist |
226| Launch day | Emotion + Stories | Founder narrative + awe-inducing demo |
227| First week | Triggers + Practical Value | Tie to daily workflow + share-to-unlock features |
228| Sustained growth | Public + Social Currency | Visible usage signals + achievement sharing |
229 
230### Content Strategy
231 
232| Content Type | Primary STEPPS | Secondary STEPPS | Example |
233|-------------|---------------|-----------------|---------|
234| Thought leadership | Social Currency | Stories | Insider knowledge wrapped in narrative |
235| How-to guides | Practical Value | Triggers | Tips tied to recurring situations |
236| Brand films | Emotion | Stories | Awe-inspiring narrative with brand at center |
237| Interactive tools | Practical Value | Public | Calculator/quiz with shareable results |
238 
239See: [references/viral-content-patterns.md](references/viral-content-patterns.md) when choosing a content format — it ranks formats by shareability, gives platform-specific patterns, and defines the viral coefficient.
240 
241### Feature Design
242 
243| Feature Goal | STEPPS to Apply | Implementation |
244|-------------|----------------|----------------|
245| Drive referrals | Social Currency + Public | Shareable achievement cards with branding |
246| Increase retention | Triggers + Practical Value | Daily-routine integrations with useful outputs |
247| Build community | Public + Social Currency | Visible membership tiers and contribution badges |
248| Launch virally | Emotion + Stories | Remarkable origin story + emotionally charged demo |
249 
250## Common Mistakes
251 
252| Mistake | Why It Fails | Fix |
253|---------|-------------|-----|
254| Focusing only on online sharing | 93% of WOM is offline | Design conversation triggers, not just share buttons |
255| Shareable but not brand-linked | People share the joke, forget who made it | Apply the Trojan Horse test |
256| Using low-arousal emotions | Sadness and contentment don't activate sharing | Reframe for awe, excitement, amusement, or anger |
257| Invisible product usage | No one imitates what they can't see | Add behavioral residue and observable signals |
258| Relying on product quality alone | Great products without STEPPS spread slowly | Deliberately engineer 2-3 STEPPS into the experience |
259| Rare, powerful triggers | Infrequent cues generate less WOM than daily ones | Prioritize trigger frequency over strength |
260 
261## Quick Diagnostic
262 
263| Question | If No... | Action |
264|----------|----------|--------|
265| Does sharing this make people look good? | No social currency | Add remarkability, exclusivity, or achievements |
266| Is there an everyday cue that recalls it? | No trigger | Link to a frequent environment or routine |
267| Does it evoke high-arousal emotion? | Low activation | Reframe for awe, excitement, humor, or righteous anger |
268| Can others see people using it? | Invisible usage | Add observable signals or branded outputs |
269| Is it useful enough to forward? | Low practical value | Package as tips, lists, or tools people would send a friend |
270| Is the brand embedded in a retellable story? | No narrative vehicle | Create a Trojan Horse story that needs your brand |
271 
272## Further Reading
273 
274- [Contagious: Why Things Catch On](https://www.amazon.com/Contagious-Things-Catch-Jonah-Berger/dp/1451686579?tag=wondelai00-20) by Jonah Berger
275- [The Catalyst: How to Change Anyone's Mind](https://www.amazon.com/Catalyst-How-Change-Anyones-Mind/dp/1982108606?tag=wondelai00-20) by Jonah Berger
276 
277## About the Author
278 
279**Jonah Berger** is a marketing professor at the Wharton School whose research focuses on social influence, word-of-mouth, and why things catch on. *Contagious* distills that research into the STEPPS framework; he also wrote *Invisible Influence* and *The Catalyst* and consults for companies from startups to the Fortune 500.
280 

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