Stepps (Summary)
Summary of STEPPS
Principles |
Summary |
More detail |
1. Social Currency |
We share things that make us look good | Does talking about your product or idea make people look good? Can you find anything remarkable? Leverage game mechanics Make people feel like insiders |
2. Triggers |
Top of mind, tip of tongue | Consider the context. What cues make people think about your product or ideas? How can you grow the habitat and make its come to mind more often? |
3. Emotions |
When we care, we share | Focus on feelings Is talking about your product or idea generating emotion? How can you kindle emotions |
4. Public |
Built to show, built to grow | Does your product or idea advertise itself? Can people see where others are using it? If not, how can you make the private public? Can you create behavioural residue that sticks around, even after people use it? |
5. Public value |
News we can use | Is talking about your product or idea help people help others? How can you highlight credible value, packaging your knowledge and expertise into useful information others will want to disseminate? |
6. Stories |
Information travels under the guise of idle chatter | What is your Trojan horse? Is your idea or product embedded in a broader narrative that people share? Is the story not only viral, but also valuable? |
An example, the blender (Blendtec)
"...George Wright had almost no marketing budget. He needed a way to generate buzz around a product most people wouldn't ordinarily talk about: a blender. By thinking about what made products compelling and wrapping an idea in a broader narrative, he was able to generate hundreds of millions of views and boost sales. The 'Will it blend?' clips are amazing (emotion) and remarkable (social currency). But by making the product's benefits (practical value) integral to a broader narrative (stories), the videos provided a perfect Trojan horse to get people talking about an everyday household appliance and make Blendtec catch on..."
Jonah Berger, 2013
This involves harnessing the psychology of the word-of-mouth to make something successful.
Some of the ingredients are easier to apply to certain types of ideas or initiatives. For example, not-for-profits usually good at evoking emotions and public visibility