Archive for Using Controversy
Playing the Fame Card for Buzz
Posted by: | CommentsMost people love the idea of having a taste of fame, even if only for a short time, and Fame-by-Association is almost as exciting. You can harness this common desire in people and use it to drive traffic to your website in a lot of fascinating ways.
We’re going to share one “Make ‘em famous” trick to get some serious buzz for your brand.
"Do you secretly wish you were...?"
Have you ever been in the right place at the right time and been interviewed by a local news anchor who just happened to be on the scene for some bit of breaking news? What did you do as soon as you got home? You called your friends and family and excitedly told them, “I’m going to be on the news!” Then you made SURE you were sitting in front of the TV when the news came on, even if it started at 4 pm, and you didn’t MOVE until you saw your mug on the screen at 6:24 pm, right before the weatherman gave his final wrap-up.
Afterward, the phone would ring with friends and family on the other end gleefully exclaiming, “I saw you on the news!” You’d laugh about how stupid you looked, how ridiculous you sounded, or how different the anchor looks in person. And you loved it.
Ahhh. Sweet fame, so fleeting.
The novel buzzmarketing idea we’re about to share with you takes its cue from the desire most of us have to get just a taste of fame. And if you have a video camera, a computer, business cards and a website, it’ll cost you less than $20.
Step One: Go to Zazzle.com or a similar personal designing website and design a simple T-shirt with a quirky, interesting slogan on it like “What Do The Neighbors Think?”, “Tricky Questions” or “Man On The Street.”
Put your website’s address on the T-shirt in a very large font. You want “observers” who gather around or walk by to remember your website!
Step Two: While you’re waiting for your T-shirt to arrive in the mail, start thinking of interesting questions to ask people on camera. Think of questions whose answers will either get people heated, excited, or puzzled, or questions that will make them laugh. Make them controversial, or questions that test their knowledge of current events. Most recently, for example, is the Lady GaGa phenomenon or the sudden appeal of vampire movies — those topics make for great questions, if you target your questions to your audience.
Step Three: Once you get your T-shirt in the mail, put it on and hit the streets for your “Fleeting Fame” participants. Take your video camera and business cards to a populated area like the town square, the local grocery store, or the mall. For the most bang for your buck, think of places where you know there will be people who would actually USE whatever you sell on your website. For example, if you sell medical supplies, don’t go to the mall on a Friday night and talk to teens if you want your buzzmarketing campaign to have the most payoff.
Step Four: With the video camera running, ask random people for permission to ask them a simple question. When you get their “Yeah, sure,” ask your pre-planned question and record their answer.
Tell each participant that they can log on to your website in the next couple of days to see the final video, and if they make the final cut, they’ll see themselves and others answering the same question. Give them two of your business cards, one for them and one for a friend. To cover your bases, have them sign a simple release form.
"I can't believe she said that!"
Step Five: As soon as you can, edit your video to get the best video clips, or just upload the whole thing to your website. Draw attention to the video by placing it next to a picture of you wearing your T-shirt, holding your video camera.
Put the video on your homepage, or embed it on a page that you think will drive sales. If you choose that route, place a colorful banner or link on your website’s homepage, and next to the picture of you wearing your snazzy new T-shirt.
Note: If you want to get even more exposure and you have the money, get extra T-shirts made, but this time with “I was on [insert name of your program]” — again, with your website address prominently featured.
Either give a T-shirt to everyone who answers a question on camera, or send them to the people who end up being featured on your website. They’ll wear those T-shirts with pride, because they want people to go to your website and see them “on camera.”
Step Six: Sit back and wait for the buzz — and hopefully, for all the potential clients you just gave a reason to visit your website.
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Michelle handles all Social Media for New England Multimedia. You can contact her by email, on our Facebook, or on our Twitter.
Use “Adolescent” Humor To Get Video Buzz
Posted by: | CommentsVideo Buzz holds the top spot in the internet’s secret weapons for getting your message heard in the millions of competing voices. It’s well-known that a video that catches the attention of just one viewer and inspires him to pass it on can be the beginning of a wave of publicity for your product or service. “Going viral” is every amateur video producer’s dream.
Since studies repeatedly show that 80% of respondents will click on video advertising, and over 50% of those viewers will do something with what they see, using video to advertise and market yourself online can leverage your visibility and drive people to your website in ways that traditional advertising never will.
One of the easiest ways to get buzz for your message is to put together a video that ties in your product, service, or message with humor. If you can make your viewers laugh, they’re likely to pass your video on to their friends. The way Buzz Marketing works is by getting people talking about you or your brand to their friends and colleagues, so your name is on the minds and tongues of as many people as possible. Well-done humor is a winner every time.
One universal way to make people laugh is by getting unsuspecting people to say embarrassing things without their realizing it. Teenagers have long amused themselves and their friends by asking customer service desks to use the store’s PA system to page an innocuous-sounding name that, when spoken out loud, is vulgar or otherwise shocking. On the long-running TV series “The Simpsons,” one repeated joke had Bart calling Moe’s Tavern and asking Moe to page patrons with names like “Amanda Huggenkiss” or “Mike Rotch.” Most of us laughed at the adolescent humor, because we remembered being party to the same joke when we were teens.
Hardee’s, a national chain restaurant, used this kind of humor to tweak America’s funnybone with an ad for a new dessert they added to their menu — a product called “Biscuit Holes.” To deliver the punchline, they set up a sample table in a busy mall and invited people to compare two different treats, Biscuit Holes and Donut Holes. The samples were labeled “A Holes” and “B Holes.” The taste-testers were videotaped expressing their opinions about which “hole” tasted better, and why.
You’ll have to watch it to get the full effect, and see why TBS viewers gave Hardee’s Biscuit Holes ad the top award for “Funniest Commercial of the Year“:
Did you laugh? And do you want to let your friends in on the laugh? You’ll probably pass the video on!
If you choose the “funny video” route to try to get buzz, make sure your brand is tied in with the humor. Either insert your brand name at the end of the video, or have the actors say your product name several times throughout the piece. When your video is done, put it on your website, on as many video hosting sites as possible, in your email newsletters, and on your social media profiles. Send it to your friends, your family, your neighbors.
Everyone loves to laugh, no matter their demographic. Cross your fingers that everyone else will find you as entertaining as you find yourself!
Note: Because I want your comment to stand, please read our simple comment policy before replying! Thank-you!
Michelle handles all Social Media for New England Multimedia. You can contact her by email, on our Facebook, or on our Twitter.
