Jonah Berger is a business writer and professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. He is the author of the New York Times best-selling book Contagious: Why Things Catch On, and you and I get to learn from him this week.

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In this episode, Jonah lays out the six STEPPS to helping your idea, product or service catch on.

Follow these key STEPPS to craft contagious content:

1. Social Currency – People care how they look to others. Make them feel like insiders
2. Triggers – Top-of-mind means tip-of-tongue
3. Emotion – When we care, we share
4. Public – The more public something is, the more likely people will imitate it
5. Practical Value – News you can use. Useful things get shared
6. Stories – Stories are vessels, so build a Trojan Horse

Jonah’s Greatest Leadership Lesson Learned

Jonah says, “Don’t follow the crowd.” It’s easy to get caught up in the marketing hype and shiny new social media “toys.” It’s important to remember that the tools are nothing more than technology. They are not a strategy.

Jonah’s Book Recommendation

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die

Where to connect with Jonah

You can tweet him and let him know what you thought of today’s conversation at @j1berger

At Jonah’s website, you’ll find a workbook, the Contagious framework that outlines the 6 STEPPS we talked about, as well as a Reading Guide that you mind find quite helpful, especially if you’re reading it in a group (your team at work, a book club or MasterMind group, etc.)

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