The viral effect: positive, awe-inspiring stories

February 9th, 2010 Lois Kelly Posted in Activating change, Communicating, Conversational Marketing, Language, Research, Word of mouth No Comments »

cause Ripple

Just what causes a story to go viral?  New York Times Science writer John Tierney reports today on a new in-depth University of Pennsylvania study  that found:

  • People share articles that inspire awe
  • Positive stores are more likely to be shared than negative
  • More emotional stories are emailed more often
  • Stories about anxiety travel, but no where close to those that inspire awe

Having done my own studies on what people like to share and the power of meaning making (Beyond Buzz, 2007), I found this new study  validating and insightful — especially learning more about what the heck is awe inspiring.

The UPenn researchers used two criteria for an “awe inspiring story”: the scale of the story is large and it requires the reader to see the world in a different way.

The researchers also found that people like to share awe-inspiring stories not to impress others, but to realize a type of “emotional communion.”

Emotion in general leads to transmission, and awe is a strong emotion,” said Dr. Jonah Berger of UPenn. ” If I’ve just read this story that changes the way I understand the world and myself, I want to talk to others about what it means. I want to proselytize and share the feeling of awe. If you read the article and feel the same emotion, it will bring us closer together.”

One of my most popular blog posts over the past few years  had nothing to do with marketing but was about an awe-inspiring 18 hours in an urban hospital emergency room. The resulting comments, calls and emails created an extraordinary emotional communion with friends and strangers.

Three weeks ago I finished writing a new book about an awe-inspiring journey. It was the most fulfilling writing I’ve ever done, and it’s the marketing project I’m most eager to get moving. Why?  There’s nothing more satisfying than emotional communion, and the buzz that goes with it.

Good lessons for all we marketers who  too often rely on a heavy-on-the-logic, light-on-the- emotion style of business communications.  To realize the powerful possibilities of social media our content needs to be emotional and show what’s possible.

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A word of mouth story based on fear

February 6th, 2010 Lois Kelly Posted in Conversational Marketing, Dumb company stories, Word of mouth 1 Comment »

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If you think your company is boring…

December 18th, 2009 Lois Kelly Posted in Activating change, Communicating, Conversational Marketing, Language, Point of View & Messaging, Word of mouth No Comments »

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A CEO’s Twitter advice

December 8th, 2009 Lois Kelly Posted in Communicating, Conversational Marketing, Leadership, Smart company stories, Social media strategy, Word of mouth No Comments »

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Non-profit marketing with simple video

December 8th, 2009 Lois Kelly Posted in Activating change, Communicating, Smart company stories, Word of mouth No Comments »

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Employee attitude matters more than advertising

December 2nd, 2009 Lois Kelly Posted in Advertising, Communicating, Marketing effectiveness & measurement, Research, Word of mouth 2 Comments »

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Did PETCO kill the squirrel?

October 26th, 2009 Lois Kelly Posted in Advertising, Dumb company stories, Word of mouth 2 Comments »

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How to be a word of mouth supergenius

October 21st, 2009 Lois Kelly Posted in Communicating, Conversational Marketing, Social media strategy, Word of mouth No Comments »

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More egoboo

October 21st, 2009 Lois Kelly Posted in Social media strategy, Word of mouth No Comments »

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A social media knowledge benchmark

October 12th, 2009 Lois Kelly Posted in Books, Communicating, Conversational Marketing, Language, Social media strategy, Word of mouth No Comments »

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