5 Surprising Truths About Why Things Go Viral
Introduction: Cracking the Code of “Contagious”
We all want our ideas, products, and content to catch on. From managers hoping a new initiative takes hold to small business owners trying to build buzz, the goal is to create something that spreads. But why do some things explode in popularity while others, which seem just as good, fail to gain traction?
Our common intuitions about what makes something shareable are often wrong. We think it’s all about finding the right influencers, spending millions on advertising, or just getting lucky. But the science of social transmission, as outlined in Jonah Berger’s groundbreaking book Contagious: Why Things Catch On, decodes a set of predictable principles that drive sharing. Berger distills this science into a framework of surprising and actionable principles. This post will explore five of the most counter-intuitive truths that explain why things truly go viral.
1. Your Obsession with Social Media Is Misguided
In the digital age, it’s a common assumption that word of mouth is primarily an online phenomenon. We picture ideas spreading through a flurry of activity on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. But this focus is largely misplaced. The surprising truth is that only 7 percent of word of mouth happens online.
Why is the number so low? While online sharing is powerful and has a broad reach, we vastly overestimate its prevalence simply because it’s more visible. We can see the tweets, count the shares, and read the comments, creating a tangible record of online chatter. We forget, however, that we spend far more of our lives offline, creating exponentially more opportunities for face-to-face conversations that we can’t easily track.
“We also tend to overestimate online word of mouth because it’s easier to see. Social media sites provide a handy record of all the clips, comments, and other content we share online… But we don’t think as much about all the offline conversations we had over that same time period because we can’t easily see them.”
This insight is crucial. While a digital strategy is important, a truly contagious idea must be designed to thrive in the offline world, where the vast majority of conversations actually happen.
2. “Boring” Is More Interesting Than You Think
A core tenet of modern marketing is that “nobody talks about boring products.” To generate buzz, something needs to be exciting, novel, or sensational. But what if that’s wrong?
Consider this question: which product gets more word of mouth, Disney World or Cheerios? One is the “happiest place on earth,” a hub of magic and excitement. The other is a simple breakfast cereal. The answer seems obvious, but it’s not. The surprising winner is Cheerios.
The reason comes down to a powerful principle called Triggers. Triggers are stimuli in our everyday environment that remind us of a related product or idea, making it “top of mind, tip of tongue.” While a trip to Disney World is more exciting, it’s an infrequent experience. Cheerios, on the other hand, is triggered every single morning at the breakfast table, in the cereal aisle, and by the very concept of breakfast itself. This high frequency of triggers leads to more overall conversation, even for a seemingly “boring” product.
“People talk about Cheerios more than Disney World. The reason? Triggers.”
3. To Spread a Secret, Make It a Secret
Conventional marketing wisdom preaches that to succeed, a product must be widely advertised and easily accessible. The more people who can see it and get it, the better. Yet, some of the most talked-about phenomena do the exact opposite.
This truth is best explained by the principle of Social Currency and the story of a hidden New York bar called Please Don’t Tell. To get in, you have to walk into a hot dog joint, step inside an old-fashioned phone booth, and dial a secret number. If you have a reservation, a hidden door in the back of the booth swings open, granting you access.
This scarcity and exclusivity make people feel like insiders. Knowing about a secret bar or having access to something others don’t is a valuable form of Social Currency. It makes people feel special, unique, and high-status. This feeling is so powerful that it motivates them to share their “secret” knowledge with others as a way to demonstrate their insider status. Another example is Rue La La, which built a massive business on invitation-only flash sales.
“Of course, this makes no sense. Don’t marketers preach that blatant advertising and easy access are the cornerstones of a successful business? Please Don’t Tell has never advertised. Yet since opening in 2007 it has been one of the most sought-after drink reservations in New York City.”
This principle is so potent that Please Don’t Tell masters it, capping off the exclusive experience by handing you a business card on your way out—a tangible tool to help you share their “secret” with others.
4. Anger Spreads, Sadness Stalls
Emotion is a powerful driver of sharing. As the book states, “When we care, we share.” But the relationship isn’t as simple as “positive emotions get shared, negative ones don’t.” The reality is far more nuanced.
The key is a concept from behavioral science called physiological arousal. High-arousal emotions are those that “kindle the fire” and prepare us for action; these are the emotions that drive us to share. Low-arousal emotions, in contrast, are deactivating and suppress sharing.
- High-Arousal Emotions: Awe, Excitement, Amusement (humor), and, surprisingly, Anger and Anxiety.
- Low-Arousal Emotions: Contentment and Sadness.
This explains why an infuriating story about terrible customer service or an anxiety-inducing article about a new health threat is far more likely to go viral than a story that makes people feel sad or content. While both anger and sadness are negative, anger fires people up, while sadness shuts them down. If you want to spark sharing, you have to ignite the right emotion.
5. Warning Campaigns Can Backfire Spectacularly
The final surprising truth is that well-intentioned campaigns designed to stop a negative behavior can accidentally end up encouraging it. This happens when the campaign highlights how many other people are engaging in the very behavior it’s trying to prevent.
The most powerful example comes from anti-drug campaigns that may have inadvertently increased marijuana use among teens. The logic behind this backfire effect lies in the principle of Public visibility: when a campaign makes a negative behavior highly visible, it provides powerful social proof that the behavior is common, not abnormal. For a teenager trying to figure out social norms, this can make drug use seem more prevalent and even more appealing.
A researcher who studied these campaigns explained the psychology perfectly:
“Our basic hypothesis is that the more kids saw these ads, the more they came to believe that lots of other kids were using marijuana. And the more they came to believe that other kids were using marijuana, the more they became interested in using it themselves.”
A similar effect was found in a study about stealing petrified wood from a national park. A sign warning that “many past visitors” had stolen wood actually increased theft by providing negative social proof that stealing was a common behavior.
Conclusion: Virality Is Not an Accident
Making an idea, product, or behavior contagious is less about luck and more about understanding the fundamental psychology of why people share. It’s about engineering content to align with a set of core principles that reliably drive social transmission.
In Contagious, Jonah Berger synthesizes these drivers into a powerful and memorable framework called STEPPS: an acronym for the six ingredients of contagious content. These are Social Currency, Triggers, Emotion, Public, Practical Value, and Stories. The five surprising truths we’ve explored are potent examples drawn from this larger strategic model.
The real engines of virality are often hidden. They are the daily Triggers that bring “boring” products to mind, the Social Currency gained from sharing a secret, the high-arousal Emotion generated by anger, and the powerful influence of making behaviors Public. By moving beyond hoping for a viral hit and starting to design for one using this framework, we can reliably make our ideas spread.
Now that you know the hidden drivers of sharing, what “boring” idea in your world could you make contagious?
