WHAT'S THE BUZZ ALL ABOUT?

LEARNING HOW TO CREATE BIG BUZZ FOR YOUR BIZ

The real power of word-of-mouth marketing is that it's built on credibility.  It has always been the most powerful form of marketing.  When the message is coming from someone we trust, who we relate to, and whose opinions we've benefited from before, we are likely to act upon it.  Most of us trust what we hear on the news or read in our favorite magazines.  The editorial power of news reporting, whether in print, radio, or TV can motivate someone to trust in a brand, purchase a product, or at least find out more information.  Public Relations strategies are all about getting the messages about your business to those news sources and to provide ample opportunities for your organization to be in the public eye.  A great public image and connection to the public that matters to your business is paramount in spreading the word about who you are and what you do.

Even more credible than reporters and news sources are the people you turn to every day for advice and opinion…your friends, neighbors, co-workers, and acquaintances.  When you’re looking for a great place to eat and one of your friends is a foodie who’s eaten everywhere in town, are you going to call her or randomly pick a place from the phone book?  If you’re taking a trip to Italy and want to find a perfect hotel, are you going to ask your friend who knows you and your likes, who’s been to Italy, or choose a hotel from a travel website banner?  The answers are clear.  Harnessing the power of what people do naturally…sharing information and talking about what they love…is how the buzz begins to spread. 

Buzz is the energy and excitement behind a brand that can propel it from virtual anonymity to being the talk of the town.  And with today's technology, buzz is spreading faster than ever as people communicate through text messaging, email, chat rooms, discussion boards, and blogs.  So, if we want the world to know all about us, we have to build awareness and brand recognition through good Public Relations, spread the message through Buzz Marketing (which is increasingly easier to do), and maintain and support our brand through other marketing techniques.

How do we do these things, you ask?  Well, it depends on your business or organization, what you’re willing to do to stand out and be heard, and taking a good, honest look at your current image, communications, and actions.  Now I get to answer your questions, as many of them as I can.  Please be as specific as possible and if the answer demands a more thorough discussion, I’d be happy to follow up with you by phone or in person.

Thanks readers and remember we are dedicated to teaching you how to CREATE BIG BUZZ FOR YOUR BIZ!

Corissa DeSaulnier runs a unique firm, dedicated to helping smaller organizations brand themselves through public relations and word-of-mouth marketing.  Having previously owned another business in Los Angeles, she understands what it takes to stand out and be heard.  Her background in business, counseling, communications, and relationship / conflict management, serves well the public relations focus of the BUZZ PR & Promotions firm, where they strive to bring together businesses and their consumers in a mutually beneficial way.

Ms. DeSaulnier sits on the board of the Southern NH Women’s Business Network and is a Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce Ambassador.  She also supports a variety of other community organizations and initiatives through fundraising and volunteering.   She is passionate about helping other women accomplish their dreams and speaks on a variety of topics serving that purpose.  After years in California, she moved back to NH to fulfill her dreams of joining the local business community, being near her family, and being closer to nature.  The move home generated an excitement and enthusiasm in building a vibrant community in the greater Manchester area, where she resides with her partner, Mark St. Laurent.   

QUESTION: I have heard that buzz marketing is the practice of gathering volunteers to try products, then sending them out into the world to talk up their experiences with the people they meet in their daily lives. How do you distinguish between volunteers and/or paid representatives, and the kind of "buzz marketing" you are referring to?

ANSWER: Thank you for your question. There are a couple of different styles of buzz marketing. Both major styles can spread word-of-mouth about a product or brand. The style you're referring to is considered synthesized word-of-mouth. This is when companies get volunteers and sometimes paid representatives to talk about their products among their friends and colleagues. Bloggers are being targeted now to spread the word about products they are incented to try because of their market reach. This is not dissimilar to providing magazine editors products in the hopes they will like them and write about them. The reach of influence of a publicist can affect whether an editor "likes a product" and decides to cover it. This same type of influence may be seen in campaigns where volunteers are given products to try and talk about. The only backlash with this, is that people on the receiving end of this information may find it disingenuous and deceiving.

Natural word-of-mouth is when people spread the word about something they find interesting, exciting, unique, fun, exhilarating simply because they do. Everyone does this. People are naturally inclined to share this type of information in order to inform, share, educate, and some times... feel superior to others. The strategy involved in the buzz marketing we are mostly involved in, is to perpetuate natural word-of-mouth. This is achieved by building buzz into a company's brand and providing the buzzers (staff, consumers, vendors, media) the information they need to spread the word. Natural buzz can also be instigated by creating a great promotion, event, or special program for buzzers to pick up on or be part of. There are many ways to coax and support natural word-of-mouth that will lead to genuine buzz that spreads and builds on it's own. If you're interested in learning ways your company or organization can build natural word-of-mouth, please call BUZZ PR & Promotions at 603.703.1123. Thanks and happy buzzing!

QUESTION: As I work with the smallest businesses in the state, that often have limited marketing budgets, what would be the one piece of advice you would give to help them launch a "Buzz Marketing" initiative?

ANSWER: Thank you for your question. The one piece of advice I would give small business owners when launching a buzz marketing campaign is to make sure buzz is built into your brand first. This requires knowing how to communicate who you are and what you do to your target audiences. It means your image matches your product and your actions speak louder than words. You have to be able to back-up what you're buzzing about, otherwise it won't lead to solid, long-lasting relationships.

Imagine you meet someone for the first time and what they say, how they appear, and how they act is not really who they are. You'll probably figure this out the second or third time you meet them. How would you be left feeling about that person? Maybe a little duped or misled. You may have the wrong impression of them and miss out on getting to know a really great person. Or you could feel mistrusting of them and not want them in your life.

Businesses are like people. If you want to create a great relationship with someone, you present your best attributes first, stay honest about your faults, listen and get to know the other person, make them feel important and special to you, and act genuinely. And who can have a good relationship without good communication? If you are communicating who you are and what you do in an honest, straightforward, exciting and interesting way, most people will stick around to hear more and get to know you. These are the ways to gain trust, loyalty, and credibility. By applying the same strategies to your business, as you would to yourself in building relationships, you will be able to back-up all the buzz, so that it's not just hype.

Taking that good, honest look at your brand and what you have to offer is priority #1, so that your efforts aren't futile and the savvy consumer market feels satisfied with what they're getting. Once you have established a solid buzz brand you can start spreading that buzz among your target audiences through promotions, events, and campaigns that keep people buzzing...and keeps you, busy as a bee.

For more information on how BUZZ PR & Promotions can help small businesses, please contact us at 603.703.1123. Thanks and happy buzzing!

QUESTION: Are there specific "buttons" to push, or guidelines to follow to create a successful "buzz" campaign?

ANSWER: Buzz, although an intangible concept and feeling, can definitely be achieved through some specific "buttons", as you put it. If you think about it, buzz is the energy that comes from people talking about something they're excited about. That's the first button. If you get people excited about something, they will talk about it with other people. If you think about what is inherently exciting about what you do or offer, that's your best jumping off point. If there's nothing exciting about your product, create some excitement by offering a special promotion or incentive program.

People also buzz about what is unique and interesting to them. Are you creating a new trend? Is your product (goods or services) state-of-the-art? Have you had high profile clients try your product and love it? Again, these all build the excitement in your product by hitting a slightly different button. It's natural for people to talk about what is taboo as well. Button #3. If you make the taboo subject fun and not too serious, people will love to spread the word and you won't get into trouble with your messaging. Anything outrageous and hilarious will also get people talking. Fun promotions and events with crazy characters allow people to break a bit out of the norm and align with your company's sense of fun. The final button, that when pushed really gets people talking is creating an element of secretiveness and exclusivity. If you spill the secret to a select group of people they are definitely going to tell others about it. People can't resist sharing secrets and feeling like they are in-the-know.

If you can "hit" any of these buzz buttons, you will get people talking about your brand and product. Be careful to know your target market and what kind of messaging they would respond best to. You can make almost any brand or product exciting, interesting, funny, taboo, and secretive by focusing on specific attributes and keeping your creative mind open. Remember- people love to talk. Give them something to talk about by hitting one or more of these buzz buttons and you will be giving them exactly what they need to spread the word about you.

For more information on how we help companies just like yours Create Big Buzz for their Biz, please contact BUZZ PR & Promotions at 603.703.1123. Thanks and happy buzzing!