Can you remember a time when you were with your friends or family and you saw something on TV that was directly related to something you or your company produced? Can you remember the feeling of pride that overtook you?
Well I can.
We created a website for one of our clients that had several lead generation tools built in. These tools provided a huge benefit to the site’s
visitors and ended up generating so many leads the company decided to shift their marketing budget almost entirely to the web. When we heard this news we were really happy to hear how our plans were delivering such excellent results.
Then it happened…..
I was watching a Detroit Tiger’s game with my wife and was heading to the kitchen during a commercial break when I stopped dead in my tracks. I looked at the TV screen on my way through and saw the website we had created on the screen. The entire commercial was talking about how the viewers could visit the website address and use the tools to improve their situation.
WOW! I was so excited to see our work being featured on TV… even if it was only a commercial.
I am sure you’ve had similar experiences where you proudly stated, “my company did that for them” or “hey, that’s my company they’re talking about!”
How would you like to re-create that same experience over and over?
Well you can!
The following are seven steps you can follow to generate as much buzz as you’d like to. The title of this article is a bit deceiving since it only addresses “Online Buzz.” The beauty of the Internet is it has expanded far beyond simply online. With web 2.0 and social media invading our personal lives, the buzz completely transcends the Internet.
Step One: Create a Compelling Story
I’ve heard the saying, “Words tell, but stories sell” at least a million times but, until recently, I didn’t realize how true it is. If you simply look at the psychology of a sale, you’ll realize the most important part of making a sale is when you make a connection with your prospect. When you do, they realize you understand them and what they need.
Think about the last time a sales person was telling you a story and it sounded exactly like your situation.
I am sure you immediately let your guard down and felt a close connection with that person.
I am not telling you to make up stories. People have pretty good BS meters and if you’re making something up, they’ll detect it in a heart beat, and you’ll ruin any chances of developing a relationship with them EVER!
Make sure you stay in touch with your customers after the sale to monitor the results they receive from your product offering. This isn’t just good business practice, it will also give you success stories you can use to relate to each of your buyer personas. That is as long as you are producing success stories! 🙂
If you’re launching a new product, or you’re working on spreading the word about an incredible success story you’ve produced, it’s important to keep your audience in the loop. If you create a compelling story, you’ll have people anxiously waiting for the next chapter.
Step Two: Ask for Input
You should value feedback from your buyers above everything else. The only way to build a successful business is to understand what your buyers want, and then give it to them. There is no better way of getting to know what your buyers want, then asking them.
If you are thinking about a new product roll out, or want to know an area your buyers could use your help, ask them!
If you can weave these responses into your story, you’ll find you can make a much bigger connection with your prospective customers since they’ll see how hard you work to ensure their wants and needs are met.
Once you’ve created your story it’s important to spread it throughout the Internet in different places. It can be similar to an information scavenger hunt except, you’ll be leading them from place to place to get the next piece of the story.
Step Three: Blogging
Every company should have a blog for their company. I know, I know, you don’t have the time to blog and don’t think anyone cares about your day to day adventures anyhow.
Well, you are wrong on both counts. It only takes a few minutes to jot down your thoughts in your blog each day, and you’d be amazed at how long your buyers or potential buyers will follow what you publish. They may read your blog for months before initiating the first contact.
It’s even easier to have content for your blog entry if you’ve crafted your story ahead of time. You can use these blog posts to tell pieces of the story along the way.
Step Four: Youtube
Everyone prefers to consume information differently. There are some people who don’t have the time or patience to read through paragraphs of content. Although it may only take them 3 minutes to read, they’d rather spend 10-15 minutes watching a video on YouTube.com. I’m quite sure this includes many of your clients.
If you can create video testimonials with clients who are part of the story you have created, you’ll gain instant credibility. Putting these videos on You Tube will create yet another opportunity for your potential buyers to find you. You’d be amazed how many people include YouTube.com in their repertoire of searching for a potential solution.
Step Five: Online News Releases
The old days of having to wine and dine journalists to get them to write a story about you is over. We now have the ability to craft our own news and have that story reach millions of people immediately, with online news release services. The story doesn’t have to be some earth shattering news, but does need to be compelling if you want it to be well received.
There are several online news release services out there. Some of these services are free and others have a nominal fee associated with them. I personally recommend PR Web since we’ve received excellent results with their service.
Step Six: Article Writing
An excellent way to get your story out is through a series of topical articles. When you are writing these articles make sure you write them as though you are communicating with one of your buyer persona’s directly and focus on the benefits they’d like to receive.
Every company should engage in writing articles to showcase your expertise and help differentiate yourself from the competition. This will also help increase the content on your website and increase the likelihood your potential buyers will find you.
Step Seven: Social Media
Last but not least . It doesn’t matter whether you choose Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, or another social media site as your primary means of expanding your contact base.
You just need to be doing something!
Facebook just reached the 200,000,000 subscriber mark, which means, if it were a country it would be the fifth largest on earth! There are a number of ways to spread your story though social media sites. You can start fan pages, join groups, share photos and videos, keep people updated on your status, or simply use it to keep a grasp on what’s most important to your potential buyers.
If you follow these steps and apply these tactics, you can create an incredible buzz online in less than 30 days.
Make sure you aren’t simply creating buzz for the sake of creating buzz. Take the time to create a detailed plan so you can capitalize on the traffic this awareness creates.
One thing that’s creating quite a buzz, our upcoming event, Hubspot on Tap!
