Breakdown of “Contagious : Why Things Catch On” By Jonah Berger

The author of "triggers not only get people talking, they keep them talking". One key factor is how frequently the stimuli occurs. "linking a product or idea with a stimulus that is already associated with many things isn't as effective as forging a fresher, more original link.

There are emotions that most people deem positive while there are other emotions that are deemed negative. Happiness, awe, and joy are considered positive, while sadness, anger, and anxiety tend to be viewed as negative. Arousal is a state of activation and readiness for action. Arousal is a state of activation and readiness for action.

Rather than harping on features or facts, we need to focus on feelings; the underlying emotions that motivate people to action.

The Observability of a product "has a huge impact on whether products and ideas catch on," says the book's author. A product that can be seen in the public eye is that "every time people use the product or service, they also transmit social proof or passive approval because usage is observable" a product's usage by others thus helps advertise it to others.

Making something more observable makes it easier to imitate. Thus a key factor in driving products to catch on is public visibility.

The way people actually make decisions often violates standard economic assumptions about how they should make decisions. Instead, they are based on psychological principles of how people perceived and process information. 

Promotional offers that seem surprising or surpass expectations are more likely to be shared. This can be because the actual deal itself exceeds expectations (for example, the percentage off is so unbelievable).

People don’t think in terms of information. They think in terms of narratives… Stories carry things. A lesson or moral. Information or a take-home message.

Information travels under the guise of what seems like idle chatter.

Blending your advertising into a story is equivalent to building an effective Trojan Horse.

The Apple logo on laptops doesn’t face you when the laptop is closed.

The reason is Observability. Steve Jobs realized that seeing others do something makes people more likely to do it themselves. He wanted an observer to see the Apple logo the right way, making it more enticing for them to want to buy it.

Well, if they are marketing effectively, they are using the rule of 100. Researchers find that whether a discount seems larger as money or percentage off depends on the original price.

The rule is basically that if an item is less than $100 than a percentage off seems more than a number discount, while the opposite is true with anything above $100.