 Blogging for Buzz
By: Angela Broderick
Word-of-mouth referrals have been the backbone of sales and marketing since, well, the beginning of sales and marketing. But there’s a whole new buzz about word-of-mouth, and it’s appropriately been dubbed “buzz marketing.” Buzz marketing is the practice of creating talk around a product, service, company or brand. Proof that buzz marketing is growing lies in the recent formation of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (Womma.org). Their mission: “We’re the companies pioneering the art and science of amplifying genuine consumer enthusiasm.” Renowned marketer Seth Godin is a big fan of buzz marketing. Godin’s book, Unleashing the Ideavirus, is filled with analogies of “influentials”. Godin calls these folks “sneezers.” They could be celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, influential members of a particular industry or ordinary people involved in their communities or schools who consciously and consistently spread the word about new things they encounter. Godin claims success in buzz lies in rewarding the efforts of the sneezers. Give away samples or discounts. Create affiliate programs a la Amazon or run promotions that reward early customers for signing up new users. Buzz marketing is hip and hot, and is most often centered around or launched with a “blog”. A blog is a weblog. Bloggers are readers and writers of a blog. And a post is an entry or an update to the blog. Ok, so blogs are hip. You’ve got a business to run, a job to do. Why do you care? You need to pay attention to this trend because blogs break new ground for business. What are they good for? - Interaction
- A clearinghouse of information & expertise
- Getting valuable feedback
- Changing public opinion during times of negative attention
- Collaboration between employees
The essence of a good blog is good writing. Consequently, a blog writer’s style, personality and knowledge must meet the needs of readers. A good blog also requires posting new material and tracking feedback. Part of what makes a blog such an asset is that it brings to business an opportunity to respond. But to respond to feedback you have to track it. Another reason blogs are great Buzz marketing tools is that blog activity is measurable & quantifiable. Also, as a grass-roots medium, blogs allow your customers to interact. Not just the few people you can find to attend a focus group (which, if done correctly, can be quite expensive). Blogs encourage dialogue with current and potential customers. And the personal feel of a blog creates trust. In a world of skeptical consumers, trust is key to establishing relationships, building brands and growing businesses. Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, has done an excellent job with his blog. He talks about things like the challenges with picking a new song to replace the “Hey” song. He draws in the fans with his dialogue and makes them feel a part of the organization. And guess what that results in? More tickets sold. Check out www.BlogMaverick.com to see for yourself. Blogs are search engine magnets. They are filled with opportunities to link to other sites, and to keep “favorite” information in front of new readers. One of my favorite blogs is by a yoga teacher in Brooklyn who loves chocolate and coffee. See www.bccy.blogspot.com to take a look at how she uses links to specialty coffee and yoga sites to draw new readers. It’s cleverly done in the copy in the posts, and also in lists of resources. Again, it’s all in the writing. Here’s a sample of the good and the bad: DON’T: This kitchen gizmo is great, buy it.
DO: Here’s how to do more and better things with the kitchen gizmo. And here are 15 healthy, inexpensive recipes you can make only with the kitchen gizmo. There are basically two ways to set up a blog: hosted or independent. Which to use depends on your budget, technical expertise and time. Independent blog solutions require a background in writing HTML, designing Web graphics or creating websites. It’ll require a budget of $500 to $1,000 to cover software & hosting costs, but you’ll get all the bells & whistles Ð audio, video, mobile, etc. The example of Mark Cuban’s blog mentioned earlier is done independently. From a marketing perspective, the domain name being simpler is an advantage, but the costs of that have to be weighed against what gains you’ll make having a blog. An easier way (and my preference) is Blogger.com. Very simple to log on, create an account, choose your template and get started with your posts. Blogger.com was purchased by Google, which is somewhat of a testament to its future and the future of blogging. Another easy service is www.Typepad.com. Blogs are not, however, a marketing utopia. They actually can be somewhat scary. You have no control of the message, you have to deal with technical concerns that you may not understand, and there’s a host of legal issues to stay on top of. So, like everything else, weigh your options, consider the needs of your target audience and otherwise educate yourself before implementing a blog as part of your marketing plan. Ready to Blog? Consider reading these first:
“All Marketers are Liars: The Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low-Trust World” By Seth Godin
“Search Engine Optimization for Dummies” By Peter Kent
“Complete Idiot’s Guide to Creating a Web Page & Blog” By Paul McFedries Angela Broderick, MA is an independent marketing consultant. Check out more marketing tips and tools online at www.AngelaBroderick.com.
Article Source: http://www.flourishmagazine.com
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