It is no exaggeration to say that if you’re not social, it’s like you’re not even there. Social media has become critical in creating a buzz around new products/businesses and marketing in general.
Creating a buzz around a new product or service is an integral part of any online marketing campaign. The aim of buzz marketing is to get people talking about your brand by raising awareness of your business in exciting and engaging ways. If you can get enough of the right people onboard then they will act as brand advocates and influence others to check out or purchase your product. It’s estimated that a staggering 80% of our purchasing decisions are based on recommendations!
There are a number of techniques the savvy online marketer can deploy to create that all important buzz that will have customers and prospects swarming round their product.
“What’s In it For Me?”
Online shoppers are a shrewd bunch. As soon as we open our web browser there is a seemingly unlimited amount of information available to us and oodles of companies trying to grab our attention towards their products. With all that choice attention spans are mercilessly short and you’re going to have to provide an incentive for some people to promote your brand. Social media competitions are a great way to do this and prove to be popular.
One third of all global consumers surveyed in a recent poll entered a brand or product sponsored contest in the last month. Chips maker Lay’s designed a great campaign around the creation of a new flavour. Their “Do us a flavour” app had over 740,000 users trying to design the new flavour.
Avoid “The 100th person to retweet this wins…” it’s a dull approach to competitions and bit of a Twitter no-no. Be creative.
Blogs
OK I realize it is a bit self-indulgent for the author of a blog to recommend blogs. But if you don’t believe me about the value of the blog then look at the big boys: 34% of the Fortune 500 companies have a public facing blog and the number using blogs has increased year upon year.
Blogs are simple to start up and you will be surprised and how many people will read them and the buzz they can generate. Playstation.Blog is an excellent example of a corporate blog where game developers invite feedback from fans as they construct games. The developers get some great insight and the fans feel part of the creative process.
Real-World Success Stories
Numerous organizations have successfully implemented digital transformation through effective change management. For instance, LEGO Group revitalized its business by embracing digital technologies and fostering a culture of innovation. The company’s strong leadership, clear vision, and employee engagement contributed to its remarkable turnaround.
Interaction Creates Attraction
As cheesy as that sub-heading may be, (I love a rhyme) interaction with users is arguably one of the most important parts of generating buzz and attracting more interest in your brand. Invite comment on your posts, ask for feedback on your product, join groups, upload videos of the product in action and engage with your followers whether that be on Twitter, Facebook or any other social platform.
Once meaningful conversation gets going and more people become involved that is when a real buzz will start to centre on your product.
Influence the Influencers
This is a becoming a big trend particularly on Twitter. If you can get someone influential- an industry expert, journalist or if you’re really lucky Justin Bieber- to endorse your product this will help greatly in building that buzz around your event/product. These influencers often have thousands of followers and can greatly increase awareness of your product.
Don’t forget about Joe Bloggs your brand advocate though, they are just as important as the influencers.
Conclusion
When creating a buzz through social media around anything be it an event, new product launch, or a business launch it’s vital to remember you are building an online community centered on your product/business. It’s that community which will propagate your marketing efforts and ultimately the social media community who will create the buzz for you, summarized neatly with 4C’s:“Customers, Conversations, Community, and Commitment.”
By Sam Shedden
