Viral marketing is about crafting messages that captivate your audience, spark conversations, and drive them to act. It involves creating compelling stories and recommendations that resonate and spread naturally among your target audience.
To help you master the art and science of viral marketing, I've gathered a selection of essential reads. These books offer valuable insights, strategies, and research-backed techniques to enhance your marketing efforts and amplify your message.
Here’s a list of must-read books on viral marketing:
Dive into the detailed reviews below to discover how each book can help you harness the power of viral marketing and elevate your campaigns.
Book: Contagious by Jonah Berger
Read this book to help with:
To understand why products, ideas and behaviours catch on!
If you are looking to get a message, product, offering out to people and want this to spread across your audience.
Getting your next marketing campaign heard!
What kind of book is Contagious?
Contagious is a book designed for marketers. It helps you to understand why content is shared and why some content is more popular than others and becomes contagious.
After completing his PhD and over a decade of research Berger believes he has found the answers to why videos go viral, why some products get more word of mouth than others and when negative publicity increases, versus decreases, sales.
After all of this research Berger has developed 6 key steps to understanding why content is contagious. These include social currency, triggers, emotion, public, practical value and stories.
Social currency is influencing others on what we are talking about. People want to look good, smart and knowledgeable to others so in our marketing we need to craft messages to help them with this goal.
Triggers is about reminding people to talk about your product or offering. Is there something in their environment that might trigger them to talk about your product? How can they keep you in mind ready for that conversation?
Emotion is all about getting people to feel something through your content. Whether that’s laughter, surprise or even anger people are more likely to pass on your message if they feel an emotion to it. When we care we share.
Public is all about people seeing your product being used and your idea being put in place. As the phrase goes ‘monkey see, monkey do’ if people are seen using your product others will follow and want to use it as well.
What is the practical value behind your product? People want to know how it can help them and what the benefits are to them. Berger discusses how this is the easiest of the 6 principles to apply as almost all products have something useful about them.
People won't just share the triggers or benefits of the product they share a story. Creating a story gives people a way to talk and share your product. It's about creating a story that will interest people and easy to remember and tell but also ensuring your product is well embedded.
Berger describes these 6 STEPPS as what creates contagious content. They are the ingredients to get people talking and sharing your story.
Quotes from the book
“Harnessing the power of word of mouth, online and offline, requires understanding why people talk and why some things get talked about and shared more than others. The psychology of sharing. The science of social transmission.”
“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.”
“Trigger and cues lead people to talk, choose and use. Social currency gets people talking but triggers keep them talking.”
Contagious book review summary
A book designed for marketers and business owners to enable them to understand how to promote their offering and get it heard and shared by others. Understand how word of mouth and social transmission works and how to leverage this to make your offering a success.
Book: The New Rules of Marketing & PR: How to Use Content Marketing, AI, Social Media, Podcasting, Video, and Newsjacking to Reach Buyers Directly by David Meerman Scott
Why read "The New Rules of Marketing & PR"?
1. Cutting-edge strategies - The book provides actionable insights into modern marketing and PR techniques, including content marketing, social media, and AI, helping you stay ahead in a rapidly evolving field.
2. Practical application - It offers real-world examples and practical tips that you can apply immediately to enhance your marketing and PR efforts.
3. Direct buyer engagement - Learn how to effectively reach and engage with your target audience through innovative channels and methods.
Book summary
"The New Rules of Marketing & PR" by David Meerman Scott is a comprehensive guide to navigating the dynamic landscape of digital marketing and public relations. The book explores how traditional marketing and PR approaches are being revolutionised by new technologies and strategies.
Delving into how content marketing, social media, podcasting, video, and newsjacking can be leveraged to connect with buyers directly and more authentically. Through practical advice and real-world case studies, the author illustrates how to create compelling content and utilise various platforms to build meaningful relationships with audiences, drive engagement, and achieve business goals.
Recommended for
This book is ideal for marketing professionals, PR practitioners, business owners, and anyone interested in modernising their marketing and PR strategies to better engage with today’s digital-savvy consumers.
Five things you will learn
1. Effective content marketing - Strategies for creating and distributing valuable content that resonates with your audience.
2. Harnessing social media - Techniques for leveraging social media platforms to build brand awareness and engage with your target market.
3. AI in marketing - How artificial intelligence can be used to personalise and optimise marketing efforts.
4. Podcasting and video - Best practices for using podcasts and video to enhance your brand’s reach and connect with your audience.
5. Newsjacking techniques - How to capitalise on current events and trends to gain media coverage and increase visibility for your brand.
Book: Hacking Growth by Morgan Brown and Sean Ellis
Why read "Hacking Growth"?
1. Proven growth strategies - Learn from successful companies about how they achieved rapid growth using innovative, data-driven approaches.
2. Actionable insights - Gain practical advice and techniques that can be applied to drive growth in your own organisation.
3. Data-driven approach - Understand how to leverage data and experimentation to optimise marketing and product development.
Book summary
"Hacking Growth" by Morgan Brown and Sean Ellis offers an in-depth exploration of how some of today’s fastest-growing companies achieve remarkable success through growth hacking. The book outlines a systematic approach to growth that combines marketing, product development, and analytics.
Brown and Ellis delve into the methods used by companies like Airbnb, Dropbox, and LinkedIn to experiment with and refine their growth strategies. By focusing on data-driven decisions, cross-functional teamwork, and rapid iteration, the book provides a roadmap for implementing growth hacking principles in any organisation. Readers are equipped with the tools and frameworks necessary to identify growth opportunities and implement effective strategies for scaling their business.
Recommended for
This book is recommended for entrepreneurs, marketers, product managers, and growth professionals who are looking to understand and apply growth hacking techniques to drive success and accelerate their company's growth.
Five things you will learn
1. Growth hacking fundamentals - The core principles and tactics used to drive rapid growth and scale a business.
2. Data-driven decision making - How to use data and analytics to guide your growth strategy and measure success.
3. Cross-functional collaboration - The importance of integrating marketing, product, and engineering teams to achieve growth objectives.
4. Experimentation techniques - Practical methods for testing and optimising various aspects of your business to find what works best.
5. Case studies of success - Insights from successful companies that have employed growth hacking techniques to achieve breakthrough results.
Book: Viral Marketing: The Science of Sharing by Karen Nelson-field
Why read "Viral Marketing: The Science of Sharing"?
1. Cutting-edge insights - Karen Nelson-Field’s research delves into the science behind why and how content goes viral, providing data-driven insights that challenge conventional wisdom.
2. Practical strategies - The book offers actionable strategies for harnessing the power of viral marketing, making it a valuable resource for marketers looking to optimise their campaigns.
3. Authoritative voice - Nelson-Field’s expertise in the field, backed by her pioneering research, ensures a credible and enlightening read for those interested in the dynamics of social media and digital marketing.
Book summary
In "Viral Marketing: The Science of Sharing", Nelson-Field explores the mechanisms that drive viral content and how marketers can leverage these principles to enhance their campaigns. The book is rooted in extensive research and data analysis, presenting a comprehensive examination of the factors that contribute to a message's virality.
Nelson-Field dissects the anatomy of viral content, revealing that emotional appeal, shareability, and timing are crucial elements. By separating myths from facts, the author equips readers with a clearer understanding of what truly makes content go viral and how to apply these insights effectively. This book challenges traditional views and offers a fresh perspective on the science of sharing.
Recommended for
This book is highly recommended for digital marketers, content creators, social media strategists, and anyone involved in the creation and dissemination of online content. It is also beneficial for students and professionals interested in understanding the impact of social media on marketing strategies.
Five things you will learn
1. The role of emotion - Learn how emotional triggers can significantly increase the likelihood of content being shared.
2. The importance of timing - Understand how timing affects content virality and how to optimise your posting schedule.
3. Shareability factors - Discover the key elements that make content more shareable and how to incorporate these into your marketing strategy.
4. Data-driven insights - Gain insights from real-world data and research on what drives viral marketing success.
5. Myth-busting - Identify and debunk common myths about viral marketing to better align your strategies with effective practices.
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