Viral Marketing and How to Craft Contagious Content

About this course: Ever wondered why some things become popular, and other don't? Why some products becomes hits while others flop? Why some ideas take off while others languish? What are the key ideas behind viral marketing? This course explains how things catch on and helps you apply these ideas to be more effective at marketing your ideas, brands, or products. You'll learn how to make ideas stick, how to increase your influence, how to generate more word of mouth, and how to use the power of social networks to spread information and influence. Drawing on principles from his best-selling book, "Contagious: Why Things Catch On," Professor Jonah Berger illustrates successful strategies for you to use buzz to create virality so that your campaigns become more shareable on social media and elsewhere. By the end of this course, you'll have a better understanding of how to craft contagious content, build stickier messages, and get any product, idea, or behavior to catch on.

Created by:  University of Pennsylvania

• Taught by:  Jonah Berger, Associate Professor of Marketing

  The Wharton School

Language English How To Pass Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. Coursework

Each course is like an interactive textbook, featuring pre-recorded videos, quizzes and projects.

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Connect with thousands of other learners and debate ideas, discuss course material, and get help mastering concepts.

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University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (commonly referred to as Penn) is a private university, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. A member of the Ivy League, Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and considers itself to be the first university in the United States with both undergraduate and graduate studies.

Syllabus


WEEK 1


What Makes Ideas Sticky?



In this module, you'll start to learn what makes products, ideas, and behaviors contagious; in other words, why they catch on. You'll explore the science behind why some things become popular while others fail. You'll also discover the key principles, or six SUCCESs” factors that make messages stick. Finally, you'll learn how to make any idea more memorable, whether it’s a pitch to your boss or a lesson you want students to remember.


8 videos expand

1. Video: Course Introduction
2. Video: Contagious: How Things Catch On
3. Video: Making Messages Stick
4. Video: Simple
5. Video: Unexpected
6. Video: Concrete
7. Video: Credible
8. Video: Emotional Stories

Graded: Attributes of Stickiness Quiz

WEEK 2


How Social Influence Shapes Behavior



In this module, you'll examine how social influence shapes everything people do: from the products we buy and candidates we vote for to the food we like and careers we pursue. You’ll learn how people use others to help them make choices and how companies leverage this power to shape the products and services we use. You'll discover when people are more likely to conform, or do the same thing as others, and when they are more likely to diverge, or do something different. At the end of this module, you'll understand how to avoid being influenced by others and how to use influence to make yourself more successful.


5 videos expand

1. Video: The Power Social Influence
2. Video: Normative Influence
3. Video: Using Social Influence to Increase Success
4. Video: When Social Influence is Anti-Social
5. Video: Conformity or Divergence?

Graded: Theories and Practice of Social Persuasion Quiz

WEEK 3


The Power of Word of Mouth



This module will teach you about the power of word of mouth. You’ll learn why word of mouth, or person to person communication, is 10 times as effective as traditional advertising. Further, you’ll discover why some products or ideas get talked about more than others. Why some online content goes viral or some things get more buzz. You’ll learn the six key STEPPS that drive people to share, and how by understanding those drivers, you can make anything more contagious.


8 videos expand

1. Video: Word of Mouth
2. Video: Why Word of Mouth Matters
3. Video: Social Currency
4. Video: Triggers
5. Video: Emotion
6. Video: Public
7. Video: Practical Value
8. Video: Stories

Graded: Strategies for Effective Referrals

WEEK 4


Social Networks



In this module, you'll learn what social networks are, and how they shape the spread of information and influence. How the patterns of social ties between people determine what we do, and what catches on. How people we’ve never even met can influence our tastes and preferences. You’ll learn about how strong and weak ties help get people jobs, and whether to concentrate or spread out marketing resources when launching a new product. By the end of this module, you'll not only be able to analyze the success of popular products, ideas, and services, but also apply these insights to make your own stuff more likely to catch on.


6 videos expand

1. Video: How Social Networks Spread Information and Influence
2. Video: What are Social Networks?
3. Video: How Networks Shape the Spread of Information
4. Video: Sprinkler vs. Waterfall Strategies
5. Video: Social Ties and Active Sharing
6. Video: Course Conclusion

Graded: Understanding Social Networking Behavior Quiz