93% of word of mouth happens offline. Jonah Berger's STEPPS framework explains why people talk about some things and not others -- and how to engineer it.
About the book
Jonah Berger's research-backed STEPPS framework -- Social Currency, Triggers, Emotion, Public, Practical Value, Stories -- breaks virality down into six psychological levers that can be deliberately built into a product or campaign rather than left to luck. The insight that reframes everything: sharing is self-presentation, high-arousal emotion (not just positivity) drives spread, and a story only works as a vehicle if the brand can't be removed from it without it falling apart (the Trojan Horse test).
Best used for
—Auditing a feature or campaign against all six STEPPS drivers to find what's missing
—Designing a shareable moment that makes the sharer look good, not just promotes the brand
—Testing whether a brand story would survive being retold without your product in it
“I can't remember the last time a business book had me up all night reading.”
— Paul Pessolano, Goodreads
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