Jonah Berger Quotes & Sayings

Harvard neuroscientists Jason Mitchell and Diana Tamir found that disclosing information about the self is intrinsically rewarding. In one study, Mitchell and Tamir hooked subjects up to brain scanners and asked them to share either their own opinions and attitudes ("I like snowboarding") or the opinions and attitudes of another person ("He likes puppies"). They found that sharing personal opinions activated the same brain circuits that respond to rewards like food and money. So talking about what you did this weekend might feel just as good as taking a delicious bite of double chocolate cake. — Jonah Berger

We need to make the private public. — Jonah Berger

Top of mind means tip of tongue. — Jonah Berger

Going viral isn't random, magic, or luck. It's a science. — Jonah Berger

most beautiful emotion we can experience is the mysterious. It is the power of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead. — Jonah Berger

Advertising also plays a role. Consumers need to know about something before they can buy it. So — Jonah Berger

But although quality, price, and advertising contribute to products and ideas being successful, they don't explain the whole story. — Jonah Berger

If something is built to show, it's build to grow. — Jonah Berger

Connecting with others is rewarding; it makes us feel like we're not alone in the world. — Jonah Berger

Nobody talks about boring companies, boring products, or boring ads," argues one prominent word-of-mouth advocate. — Jonah Berger

Stories carry things. A lesson or moral. Information or a take-home message. — Jonah Berger

Great game mechanics can even create achievement out of nothing. Airlines turned loyalty into a status symbol. Foursquare made it a mark of distinction to be a fixture at the corner bar. And by encouraging players to post their achievements on Facebook, online game makers have managed to convince people to proclaim loudly - even boast - that they spend hours playing computer games every day. — Jonah Berger

When we care, we share. — Jonah Berger

If word-of-mouth pundits agree on anything, it's that being interesting is essential if you want people to talk. Most buzz marketing books will tell you that. So will social media gurus. "Nobody talks about boring companies, boring products, or boring ads," argues one prominent word-of-mouth advocate. Unfortunately, he's wrong. — Jonah Berger

Why does it matter if particular thoughts or ideas are top of mind? Because accessible thoughts and ideas lead to action. — Jonah Berger

Making things more observable makes them easier to imitate, which makes them more likely to become popular. — Jonah Berger

Physiological arousal or activation drives people to talk and share. We need to get people excited or make them laugh. We need to make them angry rather than sad. — Jonah Berger

Word of mouth is more effective than traditional advertising for two key reasons. First, it's more persuasive. — Jonah Berger

Marketing is about spreading the love. — Jonah Berger

People don't think in terms of information. They think in terms of narratives. But while people focus on the story itself, information comes along for the ride. — Jonah Berger

Contagious content is like that - so inherently viral that it spreads regardless of who is doing the talking. — Jonah Berger

Word of mouth is the primary factor behind 20 percent to 50 percent of all purchasing decisions. — Jonah Berger

Social Currency We share things that make us look good Triggers Top of mind, tip of tongue Emotion When we care, we share Public Built to show, built to grow Practical Value News you can use Stories Information travels under the guise of idle chatter — Jonah Berger

Virality isn't luck. It's not magic. And it's not random. There's a science behind why people talk and share. A recipe. A formula, even. — Jonah Berger

So to get people talking, companies and organizations need to mint social currency. Give people a way to make themselves look good while promoting their products and ideas along the way. There are three ways to do that: (1) find inner remarkability; (2) leverage game mechanics; and (3) make people feel like insiders. — Jonah Berger

Even in cases where most people are doing the right thing, talking about the minority who are doing the wrong thing can encourage people to give in to temptation. — Jonah Berger

Virality isn't born, it's made. — Jonah Berger

In fact, the messages actually seemed to increase drug use. Kids aged twelve and a half to eighteen who saw the ads were actually more likely to smoke marijuana. Why? Because it made drug use more public. Think about observability and social proof. Before seeing the message, some kids might never have thought about taking drugs. Others might have considered it but have been wary about doing the wrong thing. But anti-drug ads often say two things simultaneously. They say that drugs are bad, but they also say that other people are doing them. And as we've discussed throughout this chapter, the more others seem to be doing something, the more likely people are to think that thing is right or normal and what they should be doing as well. — Jonah Berger

For the piece of gold lies 3 feet deep, but your hole is only 2 feet steep, so dig on my friend, there's no time to weep. You've only a foot to go..... — Jonah Berger

Why do some products, ideas, and behaviors succeed when others fail? — Jonah Berger

In contrast to the notion that any publicity is good publicity, negative reviews hurt sales for some books. But for books by new or relatively unknown authors, negative reviews increased sales by 45%.... Even a bad review or negative word of mouth can increase sales if it informs or reminds people that the product or idea exists. — Jonah Berger

People don't need to be paid to be motivated. — Jonah Berger

Yet science articles, like Denise Grady's piece about the cough, made the Most E-Mailed list more than politics, fashion, or business news. Why? It turns out that science articles frequently chronicle innovations and discoveries that evoke a particular emotion in readers. That emotion? Awe. — Jonah Berger

We need to design products and ideas that are frequently triggered by the environment and create new triggers by linking our products and ideas to prevalent cues in that environment. Top of mind leads to tip of tongue. — Jonah Berger