People love talking about whatever makes them look good to everyone else. There’s a remarkability about revealing a secret or something esoteric. The urge to self-share seems to have been embedded in our systems since we were kids. Kids wallow in anything that has joy as a by-product. It is clear, no matter the project or medium employed, one thing is certain; they will share it with others.
This innate desire to share things has followed us through our lives. We tell friends about new clothes we just bought, show family our new blog drafts and followers about whatever we are watching or drinking or doing… the list goes on. There are exceptions of course, nonetheless, there is a good reason why the age of social media is in full bloom. People can’t stop sharing what they think, like and want.
Revealing information about self is intrinsically rewarding for some. Unsurprisingly, the average person will rather share whatever seems entertaining over whatever seems boring, “cool” over dull, witty over dumb and so on. Thus, word of mouth is a great tool for making a good impression, (think the haute Prada purse or the new limited edition sports car).
Look at word of mouth as a kind of currency; social currency. People use social currency as a way to get positive impressions from the people in their environment, similar to the way they use money to acquire goods, services and products.
“To get people talking about them, companies and organisations need to mint social currency.”
For the consumer, the most powerful marketing tool is often personal recommendation. A testimonial of sorts from a fellow end user of a product can be all the convincing that is required.
For the producer, it doesn’t end at just churning out great content. Give people a way to make themselves look good while promoting your products and services. This brings to mind Jonah Berger and the 3 recommendations he has for making this happen.
Inner Remarkability
Remarkable things mint social currency. For something to qualify as remarkable it has to be extraordinary, interesting, novel and even extreme. Still the most important trait of a remarkable thing is that it is “worthy of mention.” Worthy of remark. Since remarkable things are usually noteworthy, you have to mention it.
The desire for social approval is a fundamental human motivation. Products/ideas that are remarkable provide social currency for those who seem outstanding. Sharing remarkable stories, products, ideas makes people seem entertaining, in the know and once again, “cool.” Remarkability explains why people share videos of kids giving a flawless rendition of a song as well as a man effortlessly mimicking a chicken. Both, although on different ends of the spectrum, are worthy of mention.
It is possible to find out the remarkability of a product or idea by thinking of what makes that thing stand out. The key to finding the inner remarkability of an idea/product is to find what makes it interesting, novel, effective at what it does, mysterious or even controversial. Can it do what no one would have thought possible?
A product, idea, service doesn’t have to be inherently remarkable as it can be imposed from the outside. The great thing about remarkability is it can be applied to anything.
Remarkability provokes discussion. Emphasise what makes your product truly remarkable and you’d get people talking about it.
Leverage Game Mechanics
Simply put, game mechanics are elements of a game that make it fun and interesting. These elements tell players where they stand in the game and how well they are doing.
Think about your favourite game, it can be a mobile app, a sport or a computer game, have you ever wondered why u can’t stop playing it? Tangible evidence of one’s progression, like going up a level in the game is internally motivating as well as rewarding.
By increasing motivation, the game spurs people on to be more engaged with it and rack up more rewards. Good game mechanics also motivates us on an interpersonal level by encouraging social-comparison.
Building a good game involves quantifying performance and being able to publicize achievements/rewards. Some games have built in metrics to show how you’re doing while comparing yourself to others. When a product/service doesn’t do this, it needs to be gamified. Effective status systems allow people to easily show off their achievements, like allowing them post to Facebook and other social sites about their accomplishments.
Giving rewards also works on a similar principle, reward recipients like to show it off or brag about it. How can they do this without mentioning who or where they got it from?
Manipulate Exclusivity & Scarcity
People are suckers for exclusivity. The endless craving for an “inside scoop” on almost anything is a largely insatiable part of the human experience. It remains a huge tool for gaining and keeping customers. To get people to feel like insiders of your brand, aim to employ scarcity or exclusivity, or even both.
Scarcity refers to how much of a need or want is readily available. Things can become scarce for any number of reasons including high demand, limited production and restrictions on the time and place of acquiring.
Exclusivity is also about availability albeit in a different sense. For you to have access to a particular thing you must attain a certain criteria. Exclusivity isn’t just about spending power or societal status as people tend to think in these terms. It’s also about knowledge, possessing specific information or being associated with people who do. There are certain kinds of exclusivity money can’t buy neither can status get you except you have the required information or know someone who does.
Scarcity and exclusivity can help products/services be more desirable. If something is difficult to obtain, then people will believe it must be worth the effort. Limited availability makes people think they have to act urgently.
Both concepts can also imbue consumers with the insider-feeling. If people get what others need, it makes them feel unique, special and of high status. This in turn makes them like the product in question and proceed to tell others about it.
Thus, they are allowed to spend their social currency because of the “special knowledge” they have. When something isn’t easily available, people value it more and spread the word about the gains of the social currency of having it or knowing about.
The truth is people are happy to talk about the products and companies they like. They willingly do this for free, every day of their lives without any incentives.
Nonetheless, managers and companies alike always default to monetary incentives, gifts or some perk to get customers to take action. This can have the effect of dissipating their intrinsic motivation to be moved to act of course, but the exclusivity that comes with being tagged a “winner” goes a long way. As a result, the buzz generated will be proportional to the monetary incentive they receive.
Social incentives like social currency are more beneficial in the long run. By harnessing people’s desire to look good in the estimation of others, you get them to spread word of mouth testimonials of your product, for free. Shared experiences can be shaped and steered to aid business growth. It would be folly to not to put this to good use for your company.
