How soon should you start buzzing? 10 Tips

October 15, 2006

As a general rule of thumb, I like to create buzz for something before it is available.  However, it is not the same kind of buzz before release and many people trying to do their own Buzz Marketing need to understand the difference.

For example, I started seeing movie trailers for Flicka a long time ago (more than 6 months, I believe) and my daughter has been asking to go.  I honestly thought we somehow missed it and it should be coming out on DVD soon.  The initial excitement (for my daughter, don’t worry…) is long gone.  I do not think it was a huge mistake, but it did create a sense of a let down instead of excited anticipation.

So what should you do before a product is released?

  1. Keep some secrets.  Tell people enough to get them excited but not enough to make an I’m not interested decision about the product before it is available.
  2. Build relationships - Blogging or newsletters where you can capture an audience of people that are interested in your topic, and you know will be interested in your product when it is released.
  3. Build online advocacy - Get people to interview you, link to you, talk about you… but do not leave them with nothing in the end.  If you are talking about your upcoming product and it is not available for 6 months, you would have been better just talking about the general topic your product addresses and getting people to subscribe to your rss or sign up for more information.
  4. Remind your audience - In the case Flicka, imagine if they’d sent a poster to my daughter with the release date on it. She would have looked at it every day and the energy level would have grown instead of shrunk.
  5. Don’t put all your energy up front - Selling almost anything is a long haul.  Don’t put so much energy up front that you are exhausted once you can really start selling it. 
  6. Save your big budget for after people can buy. - Create lots of free buzz before your product is available.  Use your marketing dollars after people can really buy.  - The exception to this rule is in products like movies that have a short life span.
  7. Recruit Advocates - Recognize the people that are truly excited about your product and help them be better advocates.  Give them insider tidbits.  Keep their energy level high. Publicly recognize them.
  8. Make it a cause - Create a cause around your product.  Sell the cause before the product is available. I could book all my travel online, but I use Coleman Travel because they have a cause.  All profits go to helping people with mental illness. 100%!
  9. Have a focus group - The closer you get to release, the bigger your focus group should get.  Have them review and assess your product.  Give them permission to talk about it, but ask them to keep some things secret until the release date.  (No one can keep a secret, don’t worry.)
  10. Train every person you can - Do not wait for your marketing or sales team to start building buzz.  Get the designers, writers, programmers and anyone else in the development process excited and give them permission to start buzzing.  If you are not sure how to do that, get my book, Buzzoodle Buzz Marketing.

I see so many people get all excited and create so much buzz for a product before it is avalalbe and then, when it is not an immediate hit, they give up.  Dreams of best sellers are gone.  The reality is that the pre-buzz is just the start.  If you are not familiar with the Long Tail, read that, pace yourself and set realistic expectations.

- Thank You!

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Blog, Branding, Interesting Buzz, Marketing ROI, Small Business 

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Comments

6 Responses to “How soon should you start buzzing? 10 Tips”

  1. Bruce Silver on November 9th, 2006 9:21 am

    terrific prospective for a novice buzzer launching a new b-2-b website for employers nationwide.

    Thnx

  2. Ronald Lucero on December 26th, 2006 1:53 am

    I am a Buzz Marketing evangelist. I am looking at it as a new medium for selected products and clients we manage. They seem to be not ready yet for this marketing strategy. Companies may have been doing the activity but they may have no knowledge that they are already doing Buzz Marketing. I am eventrepreneur and an alternative media strategist and I would like to use it as an official service/product to some prospects and existing clients.

    I would also like to ask as to how I can apply it to political candidates? I will appreciate it for giving me tips and advice.

    Many thanks

  3. Ron McDaniel on December 26th, 2006 10:03 am

    I think many of the things done by a buzz marketer are things business owners have been doing. Creating the strategy, training them in how to get the story out in more ways, improving the story and getting more people involved all lend themselves to more buzz.

    With political situations, it is just a matter of training staff and other advocates on how to connect better and spread the story. The problem I run into here is that people involved in elections call us two weeks before the vote, and that it too late.

    Hope that is helpful.

  4. Ronald Lucero on January 1st, 2007 11:19 am

    Thanks Ron. Happy New Year!. This year 2007 I would like to start off some couple of projects and campaigns with a slice of Buzz Marketing strategy. I have been contemplating to introduce the idea to the people and clients I know, mostly general manager and marketing manager, in a high end industry like automotive, laptops, gadgets, etc.

    In regards to the political situations, I am very much serious about this since the next local election in the Philippines will be in May 2007 and I have introduced the idea into a couple of friends who are siblings of political candidates. Traditional communication to voters may still be very effective, but the candidates are interested in welcoming new ideas. The bottom line is they must win (which I cannot guarantee of course :)).

    Ronald Lucero
    Eventrepreneur/Buzz Marketing Evangelist/New Media Strategist

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  6. Michael Cruz on March 14th, 2008 8:28 pm

    I think the information here is excellent. I’m about to launch a new website and I really never gave any thought to Buzz Marketing. Kudos!

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