Fast, Easy Ways to Create Buzz
Jan. 31, 2011
Who’s created some of the most buzz on social media in the past six months? The on-the-field heroics and off-the-field charitable work of Tim Tebow.
Ironically, in the wake of the Tiger Woods’ unfortunate situation, you might recall the buzz over the CBS decision to allow a certain commercial in its 2010 Super Bowl broadcast. The commercial featured then-college football star Tebow and his mother for an organization called the Focus on the Family in an anti-abortion appeal.
Mr. Tebow’s awards include: The Heisman Trophy, the Maxwell Award as the nation’s top football player, the Davey O’Brien Award as the best quarterback in the U.S., and the James E. Sullivan Award as the nation’s most outstanding amateur athlete in any sport.
But many advertising professionals questioned the feasibility of his endorsement.
In response to an article at AdAge.com about whether such an endorsement would hurt Mr. Tebow’s potential for getting future endorsements as a pro, I wrote:
“…it will largely depend on his success on and off the field. The Tiger Woods’ situation has created a void in this sector. If he stays true to his values in words, deeds and play on the field, he’ll be in demand.
Not many of the abortion rights groups are likely to watch football or buy products preferred by fans.
Mr. Tebow is ostensibly a very special young man in that he knows he is and for what he stands – and a great football player with a winning smile. In the main, core values and acting with conviction are what ultimately matter to mainstream Americans.”
A Tebow testimonial might not work for you. It’s important to pick the right people to be your centers of influence to create an online buzz.
OK, so you don’t own a large company and can’t afford to pay a college football star to record videos to endorse your products. So what can you do? Two adages come to mind.
Start with a famous quote by the nation’s 26th president, Theodore Roosevelt: “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
In other words, focus on making the most of your assets.
There’s another old saying I learned from a family friend and employer, Andy Andrews, as a kid growing up in Palm Springs. He hired me as a bus boy at the Palm Springs Tennis Club. He also used to treat us to tickets to spring training games to watch the then-California Angels.
In one game, I was stunned to see Willie Mays drop three fly balls in the high desert sky – meaning it was very bright sunshine and hard to spot fly balls. It was quite an event for me as an impressionable young man because the centerfielder was at his peak. Baseball fans continually argued whether he was as good as Mickey Mantle.
And I couldn’t wait to tell friends at school about I saw. That was probably buzz the Say-Hey kid could do without.
During the excitement, Mr. Andrews said to me: “It isn’t what you know that counts, it’s who you know.”
For generating business, it was an admonition I never forgot.
Sports figures have traditionally been in demand as spokespersons.
So what if you don’t know a Tim Tebow to provide the most influence for you? Who can be a candidate to be your advocate for creating buzz in a word-of-mouth campaign?
In keeping with President Roosevelt’s advice look for a popular but respected blogger to be your advocate.
If you have salespeople, consider what Best Buy does. The chain encourages its customer service people to blog about products after trying them out. You can do this in your company by providing incentives, such as a 15 percent discount on products.
Also, look for prominent people in your community to provide testimonials. You’d be surprised if you just approach them and ask.
Loyal customers often will gladly provide word-of-mouth testimonials.
On your Web site you can enable social networking platforms.
Oh, and remember the Federal Trade Commission requirement for bloggers to disclose whether they’ve received an financial benefit for their blogs.
This is not a substitute for paid marketing but it’s a valuable, inexpensive option to create buzz.
From the Coach’s Corner, here’s a link to more tips:
How to Profit: Word-of-Mouth Advertising, Customer Service
“While it may be true that the best advertising is word-of-mouth, never lose sight of the fact it also can be the worst advertising.”
-Jef I. Richards
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Columnist Terry Corbell is also a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services (many are available online). For a complementary chat about your business situation or to schedule Terry Corbell as a speaker, why don’t you contact him today?
