I’m coming up with a new design for one of our websites and am running into a snag. I started work on it more today, looking through the web for more ideas, trying some on my own, but nothing. I have a basic skeletal structure, but that’s it. My mind is shooting me blanks.
Part of the dilemma: I could spend time pouring over other sites in our industry, which I have done yesterday for a bit, but promptly stopped. I realized something. How can I make a website that stands out from the rest if it looks just like the rest? I’m not talking about going totally crazy and creating something unrecognizable, but at least something with its own look.
Maybe I should draw inspiration elsewhere from more unlikely sources such as life experience, or something even as obscure as a restaurant menu or a really neat building. Strange, yes, but different, and possibly refreshing, nonetheless. That’s my say of the moment. I’m sure something will come to me soon. Perhaps its best for me not to think about it too hard.
Doing business abroad? Worry about your safety overseas? When people think of potential threats in international waters, they commonly think of either terrorism, plane crashes, or foreign disease. The number one killer may surprise you.
This article by the New York Times has some great insight on the dangers of driving when in a foreign country. Read it and keep it in mind if you are ever doing business overseas.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock and void of a computer with Internet capabilities, you’ve noticed the skyrocketing trend towards user created content. Youtube, Myspace, Facebook, Blogspot, and Flicker have all been familiarized by Internet junkies across the world.
Why is this such a phenomenon? Why does it work so well for marketing? The reasons are simple, and powerful:
- It’s quick and easy - No programming skills required. Just sign up for a site, log in, and if you can read, write, and follow instructions. Your new content is then posted immediately.
- Power - The ability for people to reach millions in an instant and provide a message that can have a significant impact gives the user a sense of power they haven’t had before. It can even give some a sense of importance.
- Freedom, flexibility, and creativity - Users have a medium to reach vast audiences where they can say and show whatever they want. The freedom of expression can com from the form of writing, designing your Blog page, videos, pictures, and sharing them with others with no commitment to others. It’s all on your time, and your message.
- Honesty and sincerity of the message - This is the big kicker for creating buzz. Users aren’t part of a marketing team. They don’t get compensated for talking about products, or if they are, they are up front about it. The message is a sincere one on their thoughts. They are trusted because they are seen as peers. It is the equivalent of a good friend telling you how great a new restaurant is. The message isn’t from a salesman, it’s from a peer. Blogging is a particularly powerful tool for this.
While traditional advertising still has its place, the public should not be ignored. It has been made incredibly simple for them to voice their word, and it holds a strong persuasive value. Companies are taking the hint, and have even created contests revolved around user participation. What companies do you know are benefiting from user created content?
Yesterday, I had the honor of meeting Ben McConnell of Church of the Customer. He gave an excellent presentation on marketing as it occurs out of the hands of “experts” and into the hands of common people.
Lots of great stories were shared as examples of both viral, buzz marketing success and failures. It really got me thinking more about the power of user created content, its appeal, and rampant spread. It really is a brilliant way to market. Yes, the message is out of your control when everyday people talk about you, but the message is free and highly viral. Users eat this up because they get a chance to create, spread a message and get noticed, it’s easy, powerful, and gives them a sense of freedom.
As an added bonus, we received copies of Ben and Jackie’s book, Citizen Marketers. If you have any interest in marketing I suggest you take a look at their site, and their book for a nice refreshing view on marketing.
I recently received a comment on my Blog from another Blogger, Mark, at SpendMeToSchool. At first, the comment looked just like spam, but my curiousity got the best of me and I checked out his site. What I found was quite interesting. The blogger claims that he will choose his profession in life based on a number of votes from readers. The catch is that each vote costs $1. Each occupation is decidedly different, ranging from rodeo clown to stunt man.
While the idea of making money by having others make life decisions for you for cash isn’t new, this was still an interesting site to visit. Will he pull through with the task at hand? Take a look for something interesting.
At Buzzoodle, we encourage many of our clients to Blog. It’s a simple way to create a wealth of content at a fast rate that also raises your credibility. People seem to grasp the idea of posting frequently to generate content and improve SEO, but many seem to forget about one key thing. Networking.
Connecting with other Bloggers is the best way to increase traffic and extend your network. Always remember that blogging is more than just posts and articles, it is a highly social tool. Here are some things you can and should be doing to make your blog a success:
- Comment on other blogs - If you find a blog you like, and have something to say, then by all means, say it! Bloggers love having others comment on their blogs, especially if you have something meaningful to add. It provides a link back to your blog as well.
- Link to other blogs - If you read a blog or post that you like and is relevant to your site then spread the word about it on your blog. Bloggers who track their stats will check out who is linking them and check out your site. Think of it as a way of saying, “Hi, I’m a fan of yours”.
- email - If someone has their email posted, feel free to say hi. It doesn’t have to be elaborate. You can simply introduce yourself and express your appreciation for what they’ve done.
- Trackbacks - This is a powerful tool. They allow you to link back to other blogs, where a portion of your post will be shown and linked to. It’s best practice that your post is relevant to the source, provides a link, and proper acknowledgement, to the original site when doing so.
- Respond to your comments - If someone writes a nice comment on your blog, respond back! This is a part of what makes blogs organic. You can have a conversation building on your blog, and work on relationship building as well.
- Participate in contests - Some bloggers post blogging contests or projects for others to join in. For example, someone may post on the top ten ways to market to teens. The idea would be to have other bloggers write their top ten and link back to the source. The original blogger then posts the best results with a link back to that site. This is a great way to get exposure, meet new people, and have fun.
Remember, writing posts is just a small part of the big picture of blogging. By taking advantage of the power of networking that’s possible with this, blogging can be a vital tool for marketing you or your company.
A growing trend in the business world involves taking advantage of virtual back office assistants. They allow business owners to focus on their core competencies and have services take care of the rest. Affordable, one stop services make this a compelling option for startup businesses and small business owners.
Anita Campbell just wrote a nice article about one such company, My Business Assistant, on her Blog. Check it to find out more on this growing trend.
Shawn Hessinger at Bootstrapme wrote an interesting post on business mantras. He references work from Guy Kawasaki, and this is becoming a fun project. He mentions using mantras that are short, sweet, and to the point. Can you sum up your business in a few words?
Ron McDaniel said it best about our company, Buzzoodle, in his post when he said, “Everyone is a Buzz Marketer’. This is a philosophy we live by here. We believe anyone can create great buzz for their company or themselves. It just takes time, devotion, and lots of enthusiasm. We help other companies create that buzz, and get their employees motivated to create buzz as well (like the mantra says, everyone!).
What are some other interesting mantras companies can use?
- Gatorade - Quenching thirst.
- Nintendo - Whole family gaming.
- Arby’s - Fast Food made different.
- Apple iPod - Little big music.
Shawn Hessinger invites others to participate in this as well. Post your own thoughts on mantras, your own mantra, or ideas for other companies. Be sure to give a nod to bootstrapme for the great idea.
One of the best things a company can do to create a lot of buzz is to exceed expectations. Recently, Sony did just that at the Game Developers Convention.
President of Sony Worldwide Studios Phil Harris was the keynote speaker that night and sent the message that had game developers and gamers alike floored. How did they do it? They introduced a robust new online system called “Home”.
Home is a system that combines the best of both worlds from Xbox Live achievement system and Second Life’s online world. Players can create and customize their own character and interact with others in a fully realized virtual world. Lounges with simple games like pool, bowling, arcades, and more are all fully realized and interactive.
Power is given to more than just the gamer, though, which is where the brilliance comes in. Game developers can use the virtual world to display trailers for their upcoming games, banner ads are literally banners in the virtual world and aren’t limited to just advertising in the game industry. Sony gave them full flexibility to create their own online environments for players to visit, lending itself to more creative freedom for marketing. Users will be able to navigate areas from their favorite companies and chat with other players inside, play games, etc. Sony gave developers full freedom to advertise and create as they pleased within this new system. This creates a very friendly, enticing platform to work for.
The introduction of a new trophy system gives a nod towards 360’s achievement system, gives a win-win situation as well. Players are happy to have their bragging rights visible in a room full of trophies, developers are happy because other players see it as well, bringing more buzz for their game.
I could go on and on about how Sony really listened to both game players and game developers this time and not met their expectations, but exceeded them and turned us all for a loop, but I’ll let the presentation do the talking. Check out the speech for yourself on Gamespot for a glimpse at the future of PS3’s gaming. As an added bonus, you’ll see footage of another innovative title, Little Big Planet, that shows the brilliance of giving people simplicity, flexibility and control in gaming. Sony has finally made itself a very strong contender for XBox Live, it will be interesting to see how they fare against each other. This is a prime example of creating huge buzz by giving us all the unexpected.
Disclaimer: The image in this article is from gamespot.com. Please visit their site if you wish to see more.
Ron McDaniel just wrote an interesting post on 99 web tools for creating buzz. Here is an excerpt from his post, showing Blog directory tools.
There are plenty more listed on his post. Check it out on his blog page. There are lots of valuable tools listed there. Feel free to add some as well!
