Social Value
People want to share information that makes themselves look cool. They use social currency to achieve positive impressions among their friends, family and co workers.
1 - Inner remark ability In other words, worthy of mention. People naturally exaggerate stories to make them more interesting, surprising or novel. Mysteries are cool too
2 - Game mechanics Games are fun and we want to win. We love hierarchy. People don’t care about how they are doing, only their performance in relation to others. Metrics of the game need to be visible
3 - Make people feel like insiders. Make things scarce (how much is available) or exclusive (available to only those with certain knowledge). You can relax the restrictions later
“Does talking about your product or idea make people look good? Can you find the inner remark ability? Leverage game mechanics? Make people feel like insiders?"
Triggers
Create messages that are stimulated by things in the environment, this keeps people talking over a long period.
Example - kit kat and coffee, rebecca blacks friday
“Consider the context. What cues make people think about your product or idea? How can you grow the habitat and make it come to mind more often?"
Emotion
Emotion is social glue, because we react the same to the same story, it maintains and strengthens relationships. Emotion promotes action, we don’t want to sit still. We have to share.
High Arousal Low Arousal
Positive | Awe, Excitement, Humor | Contentment
Negative | Anger, Anxiety | Sadness
High Arousal is shared more than low arousal.
If situational factors make us more physically aroused (like exercise), we end up sharing more
“Focus on feelings. Does taking about your product or idea generate emotion? How can you kindle the fire?"
Public
Weimitate each other because it provides useful information. When we are uncertain we copy others, this is Social Proof. Making something more observable makes it easier to imitate.
Behavior is public and thoughts are private. Make the Private Public.
Don’t give information about the product, give social information.
Design products that advertise themselves with behavioral residue
"Does your product or idea advertise itself? Can people see when others are using it? If not, how can you make the private public? Can you create behavioral residue the stick around even after people use it?"
Practical Value
Useful things are important. Social Currency is to make the senders look good. Practical Value is to benefit the receiver. If you see a good idea, you will send it to others. We do this because of altruism and the fact that we want to make peoples lives better
The deal looks better because of Diminishing Sensitivity.
Rule of 100
If the product is less than $100 - a % change will seem larger
If the product is more than $100 - a $ change will seem larger
Practical Value should be short, concise and east to understand. Use lists. Know the audience - the narrower the audience, the more likely it is to be shared
"Does talking about your product or idea help people help others? How can you highlight incredible value, packaging your knowledge and expertise into useful information that others will want to disseminate?"
Stories
People don’t think in terms of information, they think in terms of narratives. If you hear the beginning of a story, you will stay to the end. We are so used to telling stories that we do it even when a simple rating or opinion would have sufficed. Stories are vessels to transmit information
Ads are not trustworthy. People are less likely to argue against stories.
Build a trojan horse and make it about a polarizing topic. When stories are told over and over, useless information is stripped out and the core details are sharpened. Make sure the message or product are woven into the story. It should be impossible to tell the story without your product or message.
“What is your Trojan Horse? is your product or idea embedded in a broader narrative that people want to share? Is the story not only viral, but also valuable?"