Buzz marketing has been, well, a “buzz word” in both public relations and general marketing since before social media was born. As the internet and social media embed themselves more into our lives, the buzz surrounding businesses and people is amplified tremendously.
Having the right strategy is not simply about broadcasting the loudest. It involves crafting the right messages that can resonate on different channels. It includes sentiment monitoring and properly-positioned responses to everything being said about you, good or bad. It requires an often-precarious tightrope act to walk the line between being interesting enough to share without being offensive and creating a disaster.
In short, buzz marketing in concept is easy but in execution is a practice that is mastered by a select few. At Hasai, we’ve demonstrated time and time again that we can walk the line, blast the right message, and respond accordingly for our clients. It’s not hard in theory. In practice, it’s almost impossible.
The Buzz Marketing Tightrope
In July, 2011, the social media marketing team for the movie “Limitless” tried to walk the line on Twitter. They latched onto a popular but controversial hashtag and attempted to play with humor while selling copies of the movie. The results could be a case study in social media marketing failures.
They should not be faulted for the attempt. How often are movies able to make a splash through social media after they’ve left the theaters. Many do a decent job of getting the initial buzz going, but after the run it’s hard to keep buzz going. They attempted and failed, but at least they took a shot.
The goal in buzz marketing is to be buzz-worthy without offending. There’s a difference between offending and being offensive. Sometimes, depending on the goal and client, being a little offensive is okay. Polarizing messages can often gain respect from both sides and are discussed more often and openly than generic boring messages. Still, crossing the line and offending can be worse than not using social media at all.
Social Media Venues
One of the things that Hasai has done well is to give the proper exposure and build the right kind of buzz by placing content on the right venues. Exposure is often a challenge because what a client finds interesting isn’t always something that large publications find interesting. Positioning a message is often more difficult than coming up with the message in the first place.
Our strategies as we apply them to clients are diverse in style and delivery but use the same basic premise – craft the right message and expose it in the right places.
Contact us now and learn more about what Hasai can do for your business today.