Creating something buzzworthy can be a challenge, but a challenge worth achieving. If you can create something buzzworthy enough to get everyone buzzing about it and spreading the message virally, then you?ve succeeded in doing something that most marketers only dream of.
Let?s take a look at buzzworthiness from the perspective of the psychology of human motivation. If we can grasp the concept of what motivates us as humans, then we?ll have a better understanding of how to utilize the motivation factors to encourage the viral spread of our message through starting a buzz.
The famous psychologist Abraham Maslow presented what he called the ?Hierarchy of Needs?. According to this hierarchy, if a human doesn?t have their basic needs met, then they will be motivated mostly by meeting those basic needs first, giving less importance to the other needs. Let?s take a look at this hierarchy below:
1. Physiological needs: Food, water, shelter, and sex. 2. Safety: Freedom from the threat of physical and emotional harm. 3. Social Needs: Friendship, belonging, and love. 4. Esteem Needs: Achievement, recognition, and reputation. 5. Self-Actualization: Truth, meaning, and wisdom.
After fulfilling one group of needs starting with physiological needs, then we will become more motivated to fulfill the next set of needs, which graduates us to the next set of needs, until we fulfill self-actualization at the top of the hierarchy. This can essentially be seen as a scale of motivation. The things that motivate us are the things that fulfill one or more of our needs.
So here?s an example of how to easily create a buzz: Give out free food to famine stricken people. Those peoples primary motivation would be to attain food, and if you provide it free, they will be buzzing to get it, because it fulfills their basic needs. Does this example have much relevance to modern marketing? What do you think would happen if you gave out free hamburgers to people at a festival? You?d create a buzz and people would remember you. People walking away with their free burgers would meet other people and say ?They?re giving out free burgers over there?, thus propagating your message virally via word of mouth and creating a buzz.
Okay I admit, there?s another concept here that makes it buzzworthy. The concept is to have something unique about your message/product/service. People will buzz about free burgers because A) it fulfills one of their basic needs, and B) the offer is unique because it?s free. If burgers were always free, then there would be nothing to buzz about.
For people that have their physiological and safety needs met, it is easier to create a buzz through the motivation to meet their social and esteem needs. A few of the greatest examples of viral marketing such as Hotmail, MyJournal, MySpace, and Friendster are all examples of this. These companies created a buzz because they offered something unique that fulfill the social and esteem needs through social communications, and social networking.
In these cases, the word of mouth buzz gets spread even faster because by spreading the word they fulfill their social and esteem needs at the same time as fulfilling it from the service they?re spreading the word about. It works the same even with the example of free burgers. When someone walks away with a free burger, they are inclined to go tell their friends about it, because it will boost their reputation, recognition, and strengthen their friendship. Their friends will be excited and happy to get a free burger thanks to you being the one to tell them about it. This is a key point in buzzworthiness and if understood and implemented with the right ideas and the right messages, can increase your buzz exponentially.
If you have a message, product, or service that is unique and fulfills one or more of our human needs, then you are on your way to creating a buzz. If it is something that is so good that people?s reputation and recognition becomes boosted amongst those they tell about it, then it?s definitely buzzworthy! The only thing left is to tell people to spread the word about it, and make it as easy as possible for them to spread it (ie. Viral tools such as tell-a-friend scripts, hand outs, pamphlets, e-mail forwarding, articles they can freely publish, etc?).
Good luck creating a buzz!
Jambhala Rinpo is a viral marketing enthusiast and experimenter. For more info, tips, and tools on viral marketing please visit his website: http://www.ViralMarketingBuzz.com or his blog: http://ViralMarketingBuzz.blogspot.com
Vangent to Sponsor Human Capital Institute's "High Impact Learning" Initiatives
The Human Capital Institute (HCI), a global professional association and educator in talent management strategies, and Vangent, (formerly Pearson Government Solutions and Pearson Performance Solutions), a leading provider of talent management solutions, announced today that Vangent will sponsor HCI's High Impact Learning education and research track, one of several topics addressed in HCI's Talent Development community of interest, a community HCI considers critical for organizations seeking to leverage human capital.
Crouch, Slavin & Company Adds Human Resources Professional to Team
Crouch, Slavin & Company, a leading professional services firm offering HRMS and accounting applications to businesses in the Southwest, is pleased to announce the addition of Diana Garrett to its professional services staff.
Keep 100% Of The Profits With Private Label Rights
One of the great things about private label rights programs and purchases is that you get to keep 100 percent of the profits. When you consider the costs of other options, this is significant. Take a look.
Anti-aging and Human Growth Hormone What are the Real Benefits to Your Body?
As long as weve been aware of our own eventual demise, we have looked for anti-aging remedies and cures. Science has now found an anti-aging remedy. It is called human growth hormone (HGH).
235,000 Senior Sales Jobs Now Available Through RiseSmart's Human-Powered "Job Concierge" Service
"The best part," says CEO Sanjay Sathe, "is that RiseSmart members don't have to spend their time searching through all these jobs, because our RiseSmart Concierge team does it for them."
Human Capital Institute Announces Pre-Summit Golf Tournament to Support Selamta Project in Ethiopia
The Human Capital Institute (HCI), a professional association and educator in talent management strategies, announced today that its second annual National Human Capital Summit, to be held in Phoenix March 19-21, will feature a Pre-Summit Benefit Golf Tournament on March 18 to support expansion of the Human Capital Foundation's Selamta Project in Ethiopia.
State of Iowa Department of Human Services Goes Live with Global 360
Business Process Management Suite provides universal access to IDHS caseworker information.
ResortQuest Introduces Air Conditioned Golf Carts & Segway Human Transporters to the Island of Hilton Head
Extreme summer heat means golf is a whole new ball game. ResortQuest Hilton Head provides the Southeast’s premier golf along with new technology to keep you cool. Along with Greenwood Development’s cutting-edge philosophy, golf courses in Palmetto Dunes have introduced two new state-of-the-art amenities to all three courses.
SpineSmith Acquires Rights to Tissue Genesis? Stem Cell Isolating Technology for Diagnosis and Treatment of the Human Spine
Adipose tissue has proven to be an abundant source of adult stem cells with the potential to form new bone and regenerate tissue.
CPEhr Releases New White Paper: 'Human Resources Outsourcing: A Boon for Overwhelmed California Businesses'
CPEhr, a leading California-based HR and Professional Employer Outsourcing Firm, recently released a new White Paper detailing the unique employment challenges facing California employers, and the increasingly popular trend of HR Outsourcing. The White Paper demonstrates how outsourcing certain HR functions to a professional HRO or PEO firm can reduce the risk of lawsuits and increase internal efficiencies.