The Anatomy of Buzz
July 10th, 2008 by Alec McNayrPosted in Advertising, Business, Community, Marketing, Online, Strategy |
My mom has no idea what 3G mobile technology means.
But she knows that the Apple iPhone 3G comes out tomorrow. The buzz is on her lips, and everyone’s lips.
My personal measure of marketable buzz is: if my parents are talking about it, it’s big.
How does Apple consistently generate such big buzz? How does any company or movie or product or restaurant or web service generate it, and how do they measurably turn it into revenue?
Being in the viral video business, I have a vested interest in creating tactics for generating buzz about my videos and media, be it for marketing clients or for personal entertainment projects. Here are the characteristics of buzz:
#1 Buzz is Real, But Fleeting
Screenwriter John August and Ask A Ninja’s Kent Nichols have been downplaying the importance of film festival buzz on their blogs.
From Kent:
“I view awards [and film festival wins] as a karmic thumbs up that I’m going in the right direction. Nothing more, nothing less.”I agree with them in that buzz alone does not create a career, or even a job, but it can generate a first step into a different world. Once in that world, of course, you need to back it up with talent, training, and hard work.
#2 Buzz is Triangulation
Buzz is hearing about something from multiple channels on multiple levels. Media, social, and personal.
Iron Man was a perfect example of a buzz-worthy summer blockbuster movie. The industry said it was good. The commercials made it look good. The reviews were good. All that is standard mass marketing, however. Those media outlets can be bought. The most important component to buzz can’t be bought…
The most important component to buzz, of course, is people. Regarding Iron Man, people I actually connect with said it was good: friends, strangers, acquaintances, bloggers. Then my mom said it was good, and there you go. Buzz achieved.
Iron Man
#3 Buzz is Buzz-Worthy!
Believe the hype! Buzz only works if the thing is actually worthwhile. The iPhone really is as cool as promised. Many friends say its the best device they’ve ever owned bar-none. But there is nothing lamer than buzz for something unbuzz-worthy. But that’s subjective, so be sure to narrow your buzz projecting to audiences that fit your product.
Case in point: Bon Iver. I’m the perfect audience for the indie rock album. So, when I heard about it on public radio, read about it on Pitchfork, and saw it on a friend’s iTunes shared folder, that was enough buzz for me. The media matched my tastes and my friend brought it home. I bought the album on iTunes.
Bon Iver
Takeaway on buzz: generate media and talking points for all kinds of talkers. Reporters from big media. Bloggers. Message boards. Casual fans using Facebook or MySpace. They’ll spread messages to all levels of people, and if it all coordinates on one set of ears, you’ll get the buzz you’re looking for.
5 Responses to “The Anatomy of Buzz”
By Maz on Jul 11, 2008
FYI, Bon Iver is playing two shows at the Troubadour in August.
By Mom (aka JoAnn McNayr) on Jul 11, 2008
Ahem…I do so know what 3G means…3rd generation.
AND…the 3G iphone is the third generation of mobile phone standards and technology, superseding 2G, and preceding 4G. It is based on the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) family of standards under the International Mobile Telecommunications programme, IMT-2000.
3G technologies enable network operators to offer users a wider range of more advanced services while achieving greater network capacity through improved spectral efficiency.
So there :) After all..I do work for an IT dept..
(and can google wikipedia with the best of them.)
You rock - so buzz that.
By Alec McNayr on Jul 11, 2008
I love it. It’s not too often that you get called out on your own blog by your mom, but a) I love that she’s reading this, and b) she’s right.
It actually fits because she is in the crosshairs of Apple’s buzz machine: she works with guys (mostly) in an IT department that feed on tech news. Of course, she’s going to get the triangulation of commercials and conversations about the iPhone.
I’m surprised she hasn’t bought one already.
Go Mom!
By David Das on Aug 6, 2008
Commandment #1: Thou shalt not diss thy mother, father, or antelopes belonging to any kin in thy blog postings, else grave peril shall befall thee.