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How To Create An Effective Buzz Marketing Campaign

buzz marketing definition and examples



Buzz marketing is, basically, when you have a product or service that's worth talking about. People love to talk about things they really like, so if you have a product that people will really like, a lot of buzz can occur. Read on to find out more about buzz marketing and what it can do for your business.
Buzz marketing is when there’s 'buzz' (positive talk or word-of-mouth) about your product, service, or marketing. Buzz marketing can be a great asset to any business because advertising costs can be virtually zero.
The term buzz marketing (or, simply 'buzz') is virtually interchangeable with the phrase 'word-of-mouth marketing'.
In todays article I am going reveal the basics of buzz marketing.



What Is Buzz Marketing?

Word-of-mouth marketing occurs when people (usually, members of your target market) talk positively about your product or service. Word-of-mouth marketing is very close to something called viral marketing, and for good reason: just as a virus can spread, word of a great product can take a life of it’s own and spread like a virus.
If you want to truly benefit from buzz marketing, perhaps the most important idea to keep in mind is this: make sure you give people something to talk about.
There are many possible reasons why people might find your product or service noteworthy, and therefore, talk about it.


Here’s a beginner’s list of things people can talk about. Use this list to try to come up with ideas you can fuse into your product or service:


  • Your product is new. This, in and of itself, might not be enough to create total word-of-mouth marketing, unless your product or service creates a new category or type of product that your market hasn’t seen before.
  • You have a loyal customer base. Die-hard Apple fans will probably buy anything that Apple produces. But if you don’t have a large, loyal customer base, don’t worry, because having a loyal customer base, in and of itself, might not be enough to create buzz.
  • You create product launch anticipation. A great way to create initial excitement and buzz, especially at the onset of the launch of a product, is to announce your upcoming product or service to your market. There’s an entire methodology of doing this, called the Product Launch Formula by Jeff Walker. It basically involves creating a discussion about your upcoming product, giving people something to be excited about, and then, launching your product to great success.
  • Your customer service is out-of-this-world. This extends beyond buzz marketing, and into the realm of reputation management, but it’s very, very important to consider this when creating a buzz marketing campaign. Be sure that your customer support staff knows your market, knows why people will buy your product, and be sure that your support staff also knows how to use your product. Your customer support staff should know your product as well as the creators do.
  • There’s a feature of your product or service that really helps your customers. This, in and of itself, can spark a lot of word-of-mouth. Imagine your marketplace filled with competing products or services that only go so far. Then, along comes your product that helps your customers much, much, more than any competitor’s on the market. There are so many ways to do this, ranging from ease of use to the extent of your product’s effectiveness.
  • Your product is different in some novel way. Look at the Nintendo Wii and how it’s controller interface is now imitated by it’s competitors. Again, there are so many ways to add novelty to your product, even with something like ice cream. I’m sure that some of the more well-known ice cream flavors began as attempts at novelty.
  • You expand the size of your market or reach beyond traditionally-defined boundaries. There’s a great book I read, called Blue Ocean Strategy, that I’d recommend you read. It’s basically about expanding the size of your marketable audience.
  • Your product is innovative. Be careful with this one: your product has to be innovative in a way not that you think is meaningful, but that your customers will find meaningful. Many innovative products have failed because they didn’t find favor with their intended marketplace. However, if you have something innovative that you think people will find meaningful, be sure that…
  • You’re first to market. If you have a new, innovative product, being the first to market it can be a great contributor to buzz.
  • Compared to the alternative, your product or service is affordable. Though this might not create buzz by itself, it’s still something to keep in mind. It can, of course, help you sell more units.
  • You offer some sort of customization. Although, this doesn’t apply to all products and services, there’s something worth noting here: one key to initiating buzz is to appeal to your marketplace in a way that they think is meaningful to them.
  • Your product is affordable. Even if you’re the only one in your category, a product that’s priced too high (or, so low that it’s perceived value is diminished) won’t be purchased, and there won’t really be much buzz either.
  • Your marketing is interesting, and catches attention. The 'Will It Blend' series of videos on YouTube is a great buzz marketing example. Keep in mind that great marketing has to be backed by a great product, and the Will It Blend series is a great example of this, because these videos show that their product will blend through anything. What makes their marketing interesting is that they demonstrate their blenders in ways that a blender isn’t normally used for.
  • Your product is simple to use, and doesn’t require the reader to read a thick manual. If you’re in a market where your competitors’ products are frustratingly difficult to use or not user-friendly, your product could be a welcome relief to your marketplace. "It’s just so much easier to use" can be a buzz marketing phrase that your customers tell to prospective customers. One example of this is the Macintosh computers of today. Many customers will testify that the Mac operating system is more user-friendly and stable than Windows. That’s another buzz marketing example.
  • Your product is easy to find or access. You have an unbelievable guarantee. Remember Domino’s Pizza’s 30 minutes or less guarantee - that, if you didn’t get it in 30 minutes, it’d be free? That’s a great example of "The Irresistible Offer: How To Sell Your Product In 3 Seconds Or Less", which is a fantastic book by Mark Joyner.
  • You position yourself as an expert, and even dare to charge higher fees. If you’re in consulting, why not write a book about your field, and give your book away to prospects, or use your book as leverage for appearing on television? If you’re releasing a make-up product, why not find a celebrity, ask them to try out your product, and endorse it if they like it?.. There's no harm in trying!
A product or service that’s worth talking about - that creates buzz and great word-of-mouth - is usually the result of a combination of all of these.

how to make content go viral



How To Maximize Your Chance of Creating a Buzz Marketing Campaign

First, a word of caution: It’s very hard to predict with exact certainty what people might find meaningful. Having said that, there are many tools and processes you can use to find out what people like. The Blue Ocean Strategy, and The Irresistible Offer by Mark Joyner, would serve as great reads.

The most important thing to keep in mind is that people will get excited about, and spread word about, something that they think is worth talking about. Your product (and, perhaps your marketing) has to resonate with your audience in a way that they find it meaningful.



After Word-of-Mouth Marketing: Reputation Management

What’s the use of great buzz marketing success that doesn’t last? You can put on a great show and attract a lot customers, but if you don’t live up to your claim, or your support is poor, any buzz can quickly fizzle into a myriad of complaints.
Reputation management, because of it’s importance, deserves an article (or, even a book) of it’s own. But the takeaway today is that before you try to create word-of-mouth, you should make sure that there will be great support for your product, so that happy customers remain happy.



What Can Buzz Marketing Do For Your Business?

No-cost advertising is a phrase that encompasses what buzz marketing can do for your company. When people in your market enthusiastically spread positive word-of-mouth about your product or service, you have one of the best forms of advertising working for you.






I hope that you now know enough about buzz marketing to begin your own campaign that generates a lot of buzz. Remember: you have to have something (such as a product, service, or offer) that’s noteworthy. That’s where the buzz will start from. When you have something that’s truly worth talking about, then it’s relatively easy to do buzz marketing.



To your success,
Jonny Tyson

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