Social media users come across hundreds of ads on a daily basis, but only a few of them are powerful enough to intrigue them. This overwhelming amount of ads has made it tough for brands to stand out in the eyes of consumers. When launching a product or service, most brands resort to buzz marketing to gain consumers’ attention by creating hype around it.
Buzz marketing is a promotional technique where word of mouth is maximized before an event to build excitement or “buzz” around something. It creates anticipation and interest in the audience. This is typically done to boost sales and get publicity so the message reaches a broader audience.
This post is about effective strategies for creating buzz around a product and driving business growth through it.
The Power of Buzz Marketing
Buzz marketing is a powerful marketing tactic as it can offer plenty of benefits to businesses seeking growth:
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- Raise more brand awareness.
- Increase website traffic.
- Build more demand for the product being launched.
- A sense of urgency is created in people to get their hands on the product as soon as possible.
- Generate more leads and conversions.
- Boost sales.
- Gain more tiktok followers as well as on other social platforms.
- Increase engagement on your socials.
- Build a loyal following and community that advocates your brand.
Notable Examples of Buzz Marketing
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Old Spice
One of the most popular viral marketing campaigns of all time is Old Spice’s “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like”. Old Spice was quite renowned before it went out of the game due to new entrants doing well in the market. This campaign rekindled their essence and leveled up their game once again, creating a whole new brand image admired by consumers.
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ALS Ice Bucket Challenge
The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge was not intended to be a viral marketing stunt initially, but it turned out to become one. Lots of brands leveraged this trend for growth as well.
It all started with Charles Kennedy, a golfer being nominated to do the challenge by a friend. His cousin also suffered from this disease so he decided that the funds raised by this challenge would be used in research for ALS.
People kept jumping on the bandwagon, nominating one after the other. That’s how $220 million was raised for ALS-related organizations in 2014.
10 Effective Strategies for Creating Buzz
Here are some powerful and effective strategies for creating buzz around an event or product to stimulate business growth.
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Take Influencers on Board
There is no denying the power of influencer marketing and the way it has changed the course of consumer purchase decisions. People trust influencers’ feedback and recommendations regarding brands and products. So many businesses have experienced exponential growth, thanks to influencer marketing.
Giving your new product in the hands of an influencer is undoubtedly a great way to build anticipation in the audience. It will create the buzz you want around your product. Influencers’ feedback and reactions are valued by the audience. They are considered authentic and are easy to relate to.
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Email Marketing
Emails can be used to build hype by sharing teasers and updates with your target audience. Go out of the way with your copywriting to strike people’s attention. Use compelling phrases and communication techniques to build curiosity in the audience. Offer them incentives and early bird discounts on new products to keep them hooked. Share important links to drive traffic to your website so people can have a look at what the hype is all about.
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Make It Interactive
If your content for the viral marketing campaign encourages user interaction, the reach and engagement levels for the campaign will soar. There are several ways to make your content interactive. Ask relevant questions about the product to get customer feedback beforehand. It will also give you insights into their needs and preferences and help you with the development process as well. Create branded hashtags on social media or interactive pop-ups on your website to let everybody know something is cooking. Inspire some sort of action to get user-generated content that helps establish your authenticity and build trust.
Some noteworthy examples of interactive buzz marketing are Lays Pass A Smile, Share A Coke, and ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.
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Create A Branded Hashtag
Creating a branded hashtag specifically for hype-building is a fantastic strategy to be used. It groups all the launch-related content in one place and makes it easier for people to look for it. Besides that, when someone is resharing relevant posts, they can use the hashtag to show their love and support for your business. A branded hashtag can be used to grow your YouTube likes. It helps develop a sense of belonging in your audience and encourages more people to participate in the hyped discussion.
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Take Pre-Orders
Start taking pre-orders for newly launching products already. It is one of the best ways to sustain the buzz and generate sales even before the product is already launched. Offer early-bird discounts and incentives to book as many pre-orders as you can. Pre-ordering keeps the consumers waiting for the product to be launched so they can get their hands on it before everyone else does. This strategy is mostly employed in automobile companies, tech gadgets, and the fashion industry. Depending on your product category, you can improvise it according to your goals and needs. Make sure you deliver what you promise at the end of the day. If you fail to do so, all the buzz will be relapsed.
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Use the Scarcity Approach
The scarcity approach has been used in the field of marketing for ages, and it has always worked. In this approach, a sense of scarcity is created around the product to get people in FOMO (fear of missing out). When they hear that the product is only limited, they get worried about its availability. So they rush to get their hands on it before it runs out of stock.
When you are launching a new product, mentioning limited edition, limited stock, or might not be restocked later helps boost sales to a great extent. It also creates buzz about the product being premium and exclusive so more people are intrigued to buy it or look forward to its launch.
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Timing Is The Key
When you are looking forward to a product launch, timing is the key to making the buzz marketing strategies successful. Choosing the right time to disseminate each message and adjusting it according to the various stages of the marketing funnel is crucial to making the most of your marketing efforts.
It’s also important to avail any and every opportunity you get to showcase the strengths of your business. If there’s low competition around it, or the public’s interest is inclining towards it, you should definitely grab the chance to launch your product in the market. Stay updated regarding any events relevant to your product or business.
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Collaborate With Early Adopters
Every target market is classified into early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards in times of advancement. In order to create buzz around your product, your primary focus should be on early adopters. It’s great to collaborate with some of the early adopters and invite them to test your product or share a prototype with them. Their feedback will create excitement and influence the early majority who become the opinion leaders to influence more people into buying the product.
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Build Suspense and Anticipation
Create suspense around the new event or product to keep people hooked on it. The suspense will keep them waiting for the final launch so they can experience what the buzz is all about. Share product teasers and little details here and there without revealing the whole thing to the public before the designated time. Let suspense and anticipation do their job. The suspense will lead people to explore any details they could get their hands on and talk about it to their peers. By the time of actual launch, your product would have gained much reputation and recognition from a massive audience.
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Have A Big Launch Event
To conclude the buzz, conduct a big launch event. It could be both online or offline. Along with buzz around the product, you can also build up excitement around the launch event as it draws closer. Invite thought leaders, industry influencers, celebrities, and brand ambassadors to draw attention and hype towards the event. Have a magnificent product reveal and make it interactive for the audience. Let them experience the magic you were busy creating for quite a while.
Summing Up
As social media has evolved, it has become really difficult to stay on top of the minds of your consumers always. Buzz marketing has emerged as a great way to attract people’s attention towards your brand. Many businesses are leveraging the impact of it to thrive in the digital space. We have shared some of the most effective marketing strategies you can use to create buzz when you are working to launch a new product, service, or event. Hope you enjoyed reading this post towards the end!
