Want to know why things go viral?

So what makes something go viral?


Wharton Professor and author of “Contagious: Why Things Catch On – Jonah Berger” has a few excellent ideas – see his latest blog.

Blakes of Dover, Cellar bar
Blakes of Dover, Cellar bar

In it he describes how ‘word of mouth’ is the most important aspect of spreading your ideas – virally.  He explains further “… if you want to generate word of mouth? Get people talking about you? One way is to give them a way to look good. Make people feel special, or like insiders, and they’ll tell others—and spread word of mouth about you along the way.”

How true, we once owned a restaurant and ‘word of mouth’ can either make of break you, it only takes a few customers to tell their friends ‘what a wonderful meal they had’ and suddenly your fully booked.  Unfortunately the reverse is also true … so maintaining high standards at all time is paramount!

Will following this principles guarantee that 10 million people spread your message? No. But it will increase the number of people who pass it on. Encourage people to tell two friends instead of just one. By understanding the science of ‘word of mouth’ you can boost your average, and your sales.
