One way to create buzz is to publish articles you write in many different places for different industries.  By no means do I target the Tire Industry, but I know the good people at Tire Review Magazine and I know that their clients could benefit from some buzz, as many of them are small businesses that rely on word of mouth.

Read my Tire Review – Word of Mouth article here.  And consider submitting an article if you have something valuable to say to their audience.  Tell them Buzzoodle sent you.

Sometimes timing just does not let your plans go smoothly. My book, Buzzoodle Buzz Marketing, just launched and I am knee deep in fixing technical issues with another product we have.

Good thing there is a long tail!

While my buzz effort will be limited this week, please go to Amazon and get yourself a copy. If you have a copy coming from me from advance copies, they should be in shortly and I will get them out to you.

The book is much the same theme as this blog, but more organized and with many more actionable items. It is written for non-marketing people. Marketers and business owners can use it to get more people involved in creating buzz and increase their visibility.

If you buy a copy and send me a testimonial, I will post it on this blog. Be sure to let me know your biggest successes from the book.

I was reading an article on CNN about Organic Chocolate.  One portion of the article talks about a guy selling chocolate from the trunk of his car.  Yuck!  I would not buy chocolate from someone that opened up his trunk and was selling home made stuff.  Of course, it may be a metaphore for selling in farmers markets and such.  I am not sure.

That got me thinking though.  The Internet is the new trunk of your car.  I do not know if you are storing your products in a warehouse or under your bed.  If your Internet Trunk looks good, your price is good and your product is good, I am going to be happy and tell other people.  The Internet helps you take the shady out of very small businesses.  That means global buzz is possible for everyone.?

Sometimes during speaking engagements, people ask me to define buzz.  So here is a post to let you know how I think of it.

Buzz is word of mouth, online and offline, that has caught on and is spreading faster than is normal for such a message.  I often call it word of mouth with the volume turned up.

You cannot force it to happen.  You can only create better messages and more messages to increase the odds that it will happen.

Here is a list of things that you can do that will make word of mouth happen more frequently for you.

• Turn Customers that Complain into Fans – Some studies suggest that unhappy customers that are made happy create more buzz for you than customers that have been happy all the time.
• Give people things to talk about – Craft stories that anyone could repeat.  If they illustrate a way that you benefited someone in a big way, all the better.
• Make people look smart – Give people information that they can repeat that will make them look smart.
• Make people feel special – Do you remember people’s name when they come into your business?  Do you remember their kid’s names?
• Thank People – Amazingly, people get the sale and get too busy looking for the next one.  Thank people publicly if you can and follow up with them for feedback and testimonials.
• Make Good Talkers Honorary Ambassadors – If someone is out talking you up and you find out about it, have a plan to make them feel a part of the group and enhance what they are already doing.  For example, you could have a special discount card, or send them samples of new products when you get them in.  You can invite them to an appreciation party you have each year.  The options are endless, and the more you make them feel like an appreciated member, the more you will get good buzz.
• Don’t let them forget. – Do not let people forget about you.  Get permission from them and create communication channels so you keep fresh in their mind.  This can be with email, mail or occasional calls, depending on your time.

This is too funny from Dan Tudor at Landing the Deal.  I have seen a few of these before, but the list is fun to read. 

In many ways, I am less a marketer and more an educator.  I enjoy writing, thinking, speaking and training.  I love creating buzz for our company and those products I really like and care about.  I do not take clients if their product does not get me excited.  (We will set up a blog for anyone, but we will not help with the buzz unless the product is good.)

So I am telling people day in and day out, this is not hard.  Have a good product.  Help people.  Care about your clients.  Write. Promote. It is not hard.

Establish yourself as an international expert. It is not hard.

Write a book. It is not hard.

Blog. It is not hard.

Network and speak. It is not hard.

Then people say to me, “It is not hard for you because you are a writer and a speaker and an international expert….”

I made myself that and it was not hard.

I did not have any big clients this time in the elections.  It is not something we advertise, but we do help people create positive buzz and win elections.  Several weeks ago we got 4 leads for people that wanted to use Buzz Marketing to win.  Guess what…. it was too late.

So how do you start today and create a relationship with your constituency so when a new election comes up, it is not something to worry about?  Dave Ruller is the city manager where I live and he uses a software package our company owns to create buzz.  It is a blog/website combo where he constantly publishes his thoughts and work.

Does it open him up to criticism?  Absolutely.  Can you accuse him of not communicating with people?  Absolutely not.

His post today lists how he prioritizes his day and what things he is working on.  Get what is in the top quadrant?  Blogging!  His blog is as important as downtown revitalization because he understands the importance of letting the community know what he does.

Is the world talking about him?  Maybe not.  But he is the most accessible city manager the people in this city have seen.

Who Creates Buzz?
There are three primary kinds of people that will create word of mouth about your company.

• Influentials – They may not actively talk about you often, but when they do it carries a lot of weight.
• Advocates – Your customers and friends that love your company and what it represents.
• Employees – Most employees do not think to create buzz, but they can with guidance and encouragement.

If your goal is to create word of mouth and buzz, you must have different strategies for these different groups. Influencers must be enticed to create some buzz, Advocates must be encouraged to create buzz, and employees must be educated on the importance of creating buzz and how to do it. If you understand your goal and approach, you will be very successful.

I found this blog post by the Amateur Gourmet via the Guy Kawasaki blog.

I emailed it to everyone in the office, just because it is funny and different.  Will it make me eat white truffles at Alain Ducasse?  Probably not, mostly because it is a long drive and I do not want to eat talking truffles.  But it made me read about it, and that is a start.