What’s All The Buzz About “Buzz”?

Surely you’ve heard people talking about “buzz” associated with a company, product or service.

Contrary to what appears to be an arbitrary or random display of interest, buzz is actually the result of a carefully cultivated strategy to help an organization benefit from social networking.

Just what is buzz and why is it important?  

Buzz might be defined as the sum of activity and discussion about a product among a group of people at a given time. It’s sort of like a bit of gossip exchanged at a cocktail party among friends. After a short time, lots of people in the room will be talking about the rumor.

The American public is strongly susceptible to word-of-mouth advertising.  If you need a handyman, statistics show that you are far more likely to ask a personal contact for a reference, rather than selecting a source through advertising.

In fact, a study shows that 80% of Americans depend on personal networks as the best sources of information. That tops many other sources for recommendations, including advertising.

But if buzz was easy to generate, every organization would be involved in creating it, and then it wouldn’t be as valued.

Buzz is like……

Buzz is very much like the sun’s role in solar power.  Like the sun, buzz can be harnessed as a source, but one can never truly control the sun, or the interference of clouds. However, one can reap the benefits of the sun’s power. See? It’s beyond control, but it’s worth leveraging.

So, to recap, buzz can help you get the word out more efficiently and more cost-effectively, and can help position your product through well-regarded sources.

Why Buzz Works So Well

Buzz works, very simply, because it’s an inherent part of our survival mechanism. We interact with others to advance our own agendas, improve our knowledge, and avoid risks. Part of our evolution has helped humans discovered the power, safety and advantage of socialization and networking.

Who Starts the Buzz?

As we live and work each day, we move in and out of interpersonal communication networks: some are work-related, some are personal. These networks are key to the promotion of buzz.

All of us know that one person who travels from circle to circle, making acquaintances of our acquaintances. These people, as labeled in sociology experiments and publications, are connectors. The term connector refers to a fundamental part of all networks, from world economies to electronics to the human cell.

Connectors as people help advance the buzz from one group to the next. They are key to carrying a message forward, and are a vital part of keeping social networks together.

Then there are those people are considered important social opinion leaders. The can influence the opinions and behaviors of others informally. They are referred to as hubs.  Although they are opinion leaders, hubs are not the same as satisfied customers or “champions” of a product or service.

Both hubs and connectors can carry your message between social networks, tailoring your message to meet the concerns of each group.

How Do We Get People Buzzing?

Getting buzz started is like trying to hula hoop for the first time. It takes some coordination, some vision and moving in the right direction.

1.     First of all, simplify your message. Make it brief, but make it compelling. Attention is at a premium these days: the average American is exposed to more than a thousand advertising messages each day.

2.     Next, refine that message. Avoid your “rational claim”. Don’t talk about your service, your quality, or your selection. Instead, appeal to customer emotion to separate your company in the marketplace. For example, if you are selling life insurance policies to parents of young children, remind your audience of the security offered by parents who will always ensure the safety and well-being of a child.

3.     Then, think of ways to connect with social networks of your target market. If we look at the life insurance example again, consider connecting with board members at sports leagues, members of parent-teacher associations, camp directors, and more.

4.     Identify the members of these groups who will help spread your message effectively: connectors and hubs.  

5.     Once these social networkers are identified within a given group, look for ways to connect with them, and offer up your message.

6.     Encourage these social connections and interface frequently to build relationships and amplify your message.

Buzz Right In

Social networking is a learned skill, made better when you sharpen your intuition for networkers, improve your level of patience, and practice your messaging competence.

The single most impressive thing about generating buzz is that, when it works, buzz produces like no other form of marketing. All networkers want a “hot tip” a “good deal”, or to be “in the know.”

So, get your target market buzzing and you’re sure to see migration to your product and growth in your sales.