Understanding The Power Of The Buzz

Written by:Salvador Tripp

The air is buzzing with news about a great new marketing technique that has it roots in centuries of advertising. It's an effective strategy that has shown in the past that it can greatly improve results for anyone who owns a business. The strategy is known as buzz marketing. More technologically advanced marketing methods are usually the talk of the town, but none of them can even compete with the effects of buzz marketing. That’s because personal recommendations and testimonials are still the best form of advertising. The tactic of buzz marketing can be employed regardless of the size of the company. The results can be amazing.

Buzz marketing is the process of making people aware of a product through everyday casual discussions. To get the ball rolling, an advertiser will give a regular member of the public, who is known as a buzz agent, a sample of their product or a trial usage of a service. When the agent has become familiar with the product, it is time to start chatting. Different campaigns may evoke different conversations, but the point is for the agent to talk about the product to the people that agent encounters in a day.

There is a code of conduct to which all buzz agents must adhere. The key regulation is that they need to be truthful about their experience with the product. They are asked to disclose the bad right along with the good. Most agents are also asked to alert the public to the fact that they have been given a free sample in exchange for their service as an agent.

When the buzz agent reports back to the company, the marketer gathers the data gleaned from the agent's conversations. They can determine the effectiveness of their campaigns and the quality of their products.

Buzz marketing boils down to the most basic human instinct which is natural curiosity. If there is news, people want to know about it. It doesn’t matter what it is. People are in love with gossip whether it is celebrity gossip or local gossip. They want to keep up with the groundbreaking stories that are taking place. The aim of buzz marketing is simply to send their product spiraling into the public via these gossip channels.

People also like to hear tales about other average people who overcome obstacles to succeed. A marketer worth his weight will be able to take such a story and relate it to the product at hand, making the product memorable as part of a memorable story. The marketer makes the story interesting and attaches the product to that story. The gossip train takes it from there. The buzz can even be transmitted along social media lines.

Social media is a good way to make the conversation go around the world. Twitter and Facebook are the leaders, and have proven to be superb transmitters of buzz. Another great approach is offering free samples, giveaways, or drawings. Everyone loves a great promotion, and entire sites are devoted to passing on the buzz about great deals.

For a buzz campaign to truly succeed, the marketer needs to hone in on a unique aspect of the product or company. Without that hook, the product will be mired in a pit of similar products that nobody notices. The catchy aspect of the campaign could be the newness of the product's features, the company's history, or some ingenious way the product was used. It could even be a giveaway or other catchy idea, such as the pizza campaign of long ago promising free pizza if it wasn't delivered in 30 minutes or less.

The key to success, though, is that the product does exactly what it claims to do. Many products can be sold if positive buzz is generated both online and off. A great marketing campaign is worthless if the product is junk. The only buzz that will be achieved will be negative and the marketing efforts will go down in flames.

The idea of buzz marketing is an effective strategy gleaned from the wizened tactics of old. Companies that use this generally free and highly powerful form of advertisement must carefully plan a solid marketing and business plan. For well-prepared companies with something exciting to say, buzz can be their best friend.