Buzz Marketing Strategy Basics

October 30, 2006 | Leave a Comment

What is your strategy?  Your buzz strategy is going to be a combination of working with different kinds of buzz creators and improving your products, services and communications to create more word of mouth. 

The more you understand about what people are saying about your organization, the more successful you will be.

Your entire buzz strategy comes down to these five things.

  1. Recruit Advocates
  2. Train Employees
  3. Entice Influencers
  4. Facilitate Communication
  5. Be Remarkable

If you make every action and every process your organization does have a buzz goal in mind, you will be on your way to getting people talking.

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Blog 

CEO Podcast

October 28, 2006 | Leave a Comment

When I worked at Ernst & Young in an earlier life, we got weekly voice mails that were messages from the top partner telling us what he was up to.  I applaud the effort, as I think back on it.  However, he did go on too long about his travels and such, and most of us never listened to the whole thing.

Now with podcasting, a CEO of a big organization can quickly make a 5 minute weekly podcast and post it in a library on the Intranet.  Text will describe what is in it, so employees can choose to listen.

Having experienced long voice mails from a CEO in the past, I have some idea of what would make a good 5 minute podcast from a CEO to employees.  Here is the breakdown I would do:

  • Intro - Who you are, date, one personal thing (I am in london this week…) - 30 seconds or less.
  • Challenges - This week I would like you to think about how to….. pick something for employees to pay attention to. - 1 minute
  • Successes - We had a huge success this week when we saved a client over $2 M…..go into some detail so people understand the company benefit. - 1-2 minutes
  • Recognize - She has only been with us for 6 months, but Jane Doe has been a star in HR….. - Recogize employees that do not work directly with you.  Really find the successes.  Let people know you are involved and notice extra effort.  1 minute
  • Recap Mission - Quickly recap the mission of the organization as your close.  Define the culture and the customer focus. - 30 seconds

A CEO Podcast for employees is a great tool to help a group build a better culture and not get stale.  Think about what you would like to hear and respect people’s time by keeping it interesting and short.Š

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Blog 

Do other people test out your philosophy?

October 27, 2006 | Leave a Comment

I recently had a conversation with someone that was speaking in his industry.  He is familiar with what we do and has hired me as a speaker for an upcoming event.  The last time we talked, he said he had worked our marketing philosophy into a meeting he had with some clients, and they were very interested in it.

Do you have a philosophy that people can embrace?  Do they quickly get your potential benefit and want to tell other people about it?

For two days after his presentation I saw a 25% increase in website traffic.  I don’t know what he said and I do not know what those people told others, but it was a pleasant surprise.

If you have a raison d’être that people get, you stand a better chance of getting buzz going.

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Blog 

Top Ranked Business Blogs

October 26, 2006 | Leave a Comment

Buzzoodle Blog made the blog feed of University of Maryland that is entitled “Feeds that Matter” for Business.  It is the old blog address, but I will live with that as I try to get all of your to subscribe to this blog. [Insert your favorite begging]

Thanks to Anita Campbell of Small Business Trends - who kicked my a** on the list, for pointing it out to me.

That list is magical in pooling top thinkers in business and making their daily thoughts available to you every day.

Also let me take a moment to thank Kristofer of  Tankar kring.  This time he wrote about me in Englsih so I could read it too.

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Blog 

5 Marketing Cliches

October 24, 2006 | Leave a Comment

Here is a post by Seth Godin about 5 marketing cliches.  I am pointing it out because #5 sums up our entire philosophy here at Buzzoodle.  Like it or hate it, you have no choice if you want to succeed.

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Blog 

Could your email go viral?

October 24, 2006 | Leave a Comment

Your message could go viral and it is not always something you plan.  Viral marketing is when a message starts spreading from person to person rapidly and uncontrollably.  This could be a message you craft to be funny or extremely informative.  Or it could be something that just happens by accident and spreads quickly.

One important note about emails and viral marketing is that the viral and interesting part of the message does not have to be in the email itself.  Your email could just be a way to point someone to something of interest, and they will forward it to a friend.  Or the opposite could happen.  Your email may not go viral, but it might trigger other forms of viral messages that take off.

My Best 5 Minutes of Marketing

The latter happened to us a few weeks after we launched a new company called Buzzoodle.  I am a fan of Seth Godin’s work and just before going home from lunch I decided to send him an email letting him know about our company.  I’d never communicated with him before, and I really did not expect a reply, but I figured there was no down side.

The email was 2-3 sentences long with a link to the Buzzoodle website.  When I came back from lunch, the tech group said the server was either down or there was a DNS attack on the server.  After further investigation, it turned out Seth had added a comment on his blog about the email message and thousands of people were hitting the site in the first hour.  He has one of the top rated blogs on marketing.

Within a week, we had clients in 17 countries and over a year later, I still get hits from the posts on his blog.  That one email has paid huge dividends without ever being forwarded.

It was the best 5 minutes of marketing I ever did, and it did not seem that special when I sent it out.

How to use Email for Viral Marketing

Email can be used in several different ways to create a buzz.

  1. Get people to visit a website
    If you create a funny or interesting thing on the Internet, email is the most effective way to get people to tell other people where it is.  For example, you could post a video on uTube and in a few hours it could have 1000’s of visitors that all started with just a couple email messages.
  2. Get people to pass on the message
    If you have a message that really interests people, they are likely to want to share it with friends.  Let people know in your email that it is not an exclusive offer and they can forward the message.  If you are sending out a crazy sale or truly remarkable offer, encourage them to send it along.  If your message is funny or information that is very valuable to people, it will also be forwarded, probably with or without permission.
  3. Distribute an eBook or other media
    Notice the word mail in email.  Email is also a way to deliver something.  Consider creating an attachment in a trusted format, such as a PDF, and allowing people to deliver it to all their friends via a forward.  A health care agency or insurance company may want to create a “Annual Family Health Checklist” and send it to all of their clients.  In the email let them know they can forward the valuable worksheet to anyone they care for.  Just be sure that the PDF is properly branded and has a clear way to contact you on it.

Remember that email is often a permanent message.  Be careful you do not say something negative or critical that could also go viral and damage your reputation or the reputation of your company.  It is simply too easy to forward it on.

Email is a powerful tool for creating a buzz and getting your message out. Your message is not always going to go viral and triple your sales, but don’t let that stop you. If you are careful with your message, respect people’s privacy and keep reminding them you exist, you are going to have a better relationship with your customers and you increase the odds that one of your messages will end up generating incredible interest and be seen by millions.

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Blog 

Why does WOM get ignored?

October 24, 2006 | 2 Comments

Word of mouth (WOM)  is the best form of marketing, and it is certainly getting more attention than at any other time.  Yet many people still do not give it the attention it deserves.  Why?  Here are some of the reasons I believe it is hard for people to start planning for word of mouth.

  • Too busy trying to be like everyone else
  • Not something they can try for 6 months and stop doing
  • Afraid of bad word of mouth
  • Do not know you can plan for word of mouth and enhance it.
  • Don’t know how to find people to talk about them.
  • Pessimistic attitude
  • Do not believe it can work for their product.

These are just some of the excuses you may using to stop yourself from cashing in on WOM magic for your company.  If you are having trouble getting started, start small and grow it from the ground up.

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Blog 

Too Busy to Blog?

October 23, 2006 | Leave a Comment

Some days I do not blog, but many days I do.  Some days I want to blog but have too much on my mind.  Sometimes I am just too busy to blog.  What do you do on days where you want to blog but do not have time?

  • Blogging takes 5 minutes or less if you already have something to say.
  • Have some emergency back-up posts ready for slow days
  • If you really cannot think of something, read someone else’s blog and comment on their post, as well as link to it.
  • Always blog at the same time each day if possible so you expect it.  I like late at night or first thing in the morning.
  • Remember that you cannot create a masterpiece every time.  Sometimes your simple posts get the most attention.
  • Don’t let the process intimidate you.  Especially if you are just starting out.
  • Form the habit and stick to it.  Much like exercise, once a couple of days are missed, you are unlikely to get back into it until you wake up one day fat.

In case you are wondering, I am just too damn busy to blog today, so I cranked this out.

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Blog 

Success Patterns

October 21, 2006 | Leave a Comment

orange.jpgIf you were my child, and you are not because my kids don’t read my stuff, you would frequently hear me talk about patterns.  I tell them the world is a group of patterns and you cannot control them all because you are a small fish in a big pond.

There are a group of patterns you do have some control over, and that is you.  Who you are.  What you do.  - And the first pattern you need to control is one that recognizes you as a group of patterns and enables you to shape yourself into the most powerful and successful matrix you can be.

That means that you do influence the world around you, although you recognize you cannot absolutely control it. 

The point?  Like it or not, you are a series of patterns.  You do have control over these patterns.  You can pick and choose which patterns to follow every day.  Or you can just stay on auto-pilot.  If you are highly successful already, maybe auto-pilot is a good thing.  You already have those success patterns in place.  But could you be more successful in less time?  Maybe if you get off of auto-pilot and start redefining you.

Word of Mouth/Buzz is a series of patterns.  It is crafting a product or story that triggers enough interest in people to make them pay attention and repeat it to others.

Being successful with WOM or buzz is not difficult.  Learn more ways to communicate with people and make buzz a part of your every day set of patterns.  I strive to spend at least a half hour of buzz every day.  Usually at night or early in the morning.  It is not something I do, it is part of who I am.

Whether you are in sales and marketing or not, make buzz a part of who you are and you will have an important piece of the success pattern puzzle.

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Interesting Buzz, Buzzoodle, Blog 

Are you giving out too much information?

October 20, 2006 | 2 Comments

Giving out too much information is a buzz killer.  I do not mean in the blogging sense, where I do not mind giving away my ideas.  I mean in the personal, face to face sense where 80% of word of mouth happens.

All too often we continue to talk until we take the interest a person had and beat it out of them with a steady stream of more than they wanted to know.

Here are some suggestions for cutting back on this dangerous buzz killer.

  • Listen More, Talk Less
  • Do not give out too much detail.  Leave something for the imagination if it is not essential to know.
  • Ask more questions.
  • Tell stories that illustrate the value of your product or service in real life.
  • Tell people about when you saved the day.
  • Take out the meaningless words that everyone will say - This is an innovative, cutting edge, revolutionary blog post.  BS BS BS
  • Take your time and do not walk all over a question someone asks.
  • Make it clear, simple and interesting so they can tell thier friends.

And breath.  Breathing is good.

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Blog 

Next Page »