While reading Jonah Berger’s book, Contagious: Why Things Catch On, I learned that there are six principles of contagiousness. The six priciples are social currency, triggers, emotion, public, practical value, and stories. In this essay, I will be focusing on social currency, emotion, pubilc, and practical value.
Principle #1: Social Currency
For this principle, I posted a drink review of the different drinks at Funky’s. For the first photo, I showed a picture of two of their most commonly ordered daquiris. For the second photo, I posted a picture of a whiskey coke and vodka soda. The main concept behind the social currency principle is that people share things that make them look good to others. Many people in Oxford know that finding a good daquriri around town is somewhat hard. Funky’s offers a product that is scarce and exclusive to their customers. If people know that they can get a great daquiri from Funky’s, then they will go there when they are craving one. This touches on the aspects of scarcity and exclusivity. Not many bars in Oxford offer daquiris, but if you know what Funky’s has to offer, then you have gained the exclusive knowledge of where to go when that craving hits.
The book states that, “Remarkable things provide social currency because they make the people who talk about them seem, well, more remarkable” (pg 39). Since remarkable things are described as something unusual, extraordinary, or worthy of notice or attention, I thought the drinks from Funkys fit the criteria. The book explains that in a study conducted by the author and Wharton professor Raghu Iyengar, remarkable things were talked about and shared way more. They found that remarkable brands like Facebook and Hollywood movies are talked about way more than brands like Tylenol and Wells Fargo. I found this to be true with the daquiris from Funkys as well. When I asked my friends where their go-to spot was to get a daquiri they all responded with the same answer, Funkys. There is a drive through daquiri barn on Jackson Avenue and while that is extremely convenient, no one mentioned that as their go-to spot.
To wrap up this section, I made this post to represent the social currency principle because many people find Funkys daquiris as remarkable. If they were unaware of this product, my post helped inform them of it and gave them the knowledge on where to get this scarce product in Oxford.
Principle #2: Emotion
For this principle, I chose to show a TikTok that I made on my @drinksofox account. The book describes awe, excitement, and amusement as positive high arousal emotions. This video was amusing and was something that a lot of college students in Oxford could relate to. The book states, “Arousal is also one reason funny things get shared” (pg 110). Since the TikTok was amusing it provoked a positive, high arousal emotion among viewers. Out of everything I posted this semester on each @drinksofox account, this is the post that did the best. I recieved 218 likes and over 11,000 views. I think this video did so well because it was extremely relatable to students in Oxford. I always hear myself and others complaining about how much the bars are charging for drinks at the local bars. The book explains, “one way to generate word of mouth is to find people when they are already fired up” (pg 122). Since students have been feeling aggravated by the high prices, this TikTok really resonated with them causing them to like and share the video.
In conclusion, this video was amusing but also triggered a feeling of aggravation among viewers. It could be found hilarious and relatable, but also triggered an angry emotion where they want to do something about the issue and share it with more people.
Principle #3: Public
For this Instagram post, I posted a photo of my Library card. On page 24, the book explains, “We need to design products and initiatives that advertise themselves and create behavioral residue”. The Library card does just that, it advertises itself and has become very popular within Oxford. People are constantly looking towards others when it comes to decision making, where to go to dinner, when to laugh at a joke, the best bar in town, and many more things. Berger writes, “People imitate, in part, because others’ choices provide information” (pg 128). Over the past year, library cards have become extremely popular among students. Having this card allows you to skip the line and pay $0 in cover, even on gamedays when cover is up to $100.
When students see other students with library cards it makes them want to have one too. “To get our products and ideas to become popular we need to make them more publicly observable” (pg 153). The libary card can be carried around with you anytime you go to the square and you must present it to the bouncer to be admitted entry to the bar. Posting an image of this on Instagram showed my followers that I have one and that I get special benefits from having one. This can also tie into the next principle, practicle value.
Principle #4: Practical value
For this principle, I posted photos of the margaritas that el Mariachi offers on their 2 for 1 nights. On this night, you can get two margaritas for the price of one. Berger explains, “sharing something useful with others is a quick and easy way to help them out” (pg 159). He also goes on to say, “When most people think about practical value, saving money is one of the first things that comes to mind- getting something for less than its original price or getting more of something than you usually would for the same price” (pg 160). This post helps my followers know which margaritas to get when they go to this restaurant. It also informs them that el Mariachi has two for one margarita nights Monday-Thursday. This provides my followers with useful information and helps them save a few bucks here and there.
In conclusion, this post provides my followers with practical value by showing them a way to save money. On top of saving money, I also give them information on the best margaritas that they have to offer.
In closing…
I posted content on my social accounts that related to the principles of social currency, emotion, public, and practicle value. While each post contained one of Bergers philosophies, strategies, or methods, the post that performed the best was the TikTok that provoked emotion among viewers. This showed me that this principle was the best to make my posts “contagious” with my audience. I learned a lot from this book and I am seriously considering keeping my accounts even after this course is over. I think this account could remain popular among students and that if I keep it going with the principles I learned, I could have a lot of things go viral. I will keep you updated on that in the future if I keep the accounts going.
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