It is no secret that over the last decade or so there has been a global revolution for technology, and more importantly the Internet. As we all know one of the most dominant uses for the Internet is for social media sites. In an abstract titled, Social Networking Sites: What They Are and How to Navigate Them, Maria Guzman (2013) states, “Today, over 50 percent of teens and 35 percent of adults in the U.S. are using at least one type of social networking site. If used well, these sites can have many personal and professional benefits. Social networking can be a fun way to communicate with others, and an effective way to expand your social and professional connections.” (p. 1). In my opinion I would not be surprised if the percentage for the use of social media sites among teens and adults is even higher than that. The point is social media sites have in many ways become intertwined within society. It has changed various aspects of the communication process.
The form of marketing I am referring to is known as buzz/viral marketing. It is aimed to produce interest over what is posted on the Internet and this can be good and bad in terms of marketing a product. These messages form upon themselves by the spontaneous action of word of mouth (WOM) and it is very crucial in today’s world of business, considering the rising influence the Internet has on society. The effectiveness of the method “word of mouth” is emphasized in the article, Word-Of-Mouth Marketing Will Change Your Business, the authors Hedges and Chung state that word of mouth marketing “[…] gives brands a powerful and influential way to engage their target audience.” Then they elaborate in the article about how customers are extremely verbal about their opinions specifically when it comes to individual care products like cosmetics.
Buzz/viral marketing has become the most time-efficient channel to market products, websites, and even people such as: artist, actors, and so on. The main point of this form of marketing is to encourage people to convey marketing content to other people. Word of mouth has evolved from buzz/viral marketing and is one of the essential components in relation to buzz/viral marketing being successful. Word of mouth relies on friends, which intends that it is genuine, authentic, and spontaneous.
Also, word of mouth does not work alone it relies on features such as context (time/place), the essential attractiveness, and the basic need for natural appeal to take off. The message being sent must have an effortless transfer. In other words, the process of word of mouth can’t be predictable. When using social media to launch persuasive messages, the messages have to reach a tipping point. In order for messages to reach this tipping point certain things must occur such as: uber influences, and the right kind of people have to start to spread it.
Uber influences are certain people who give your persuasive message the credibility it needs to take off and be spread via buzz/viral marketing. There are three different types of people who are key to making these persuasive messages work they are known as mavens, connectors, and sales people. Mavens are specialized influences, often called early adopters, ahead of the curve, and are considered to be opinion leaders; in other words trend setters. Then there are connectors, who are carriers of the message and are responsible for connecting the message from mavens to others. Connectors generally have large social networks. Lastly, sales people are responsible for selling the idea from the connector to smaller groups. So it is clear for the method of buzz/viral marketing to be achieved successfully many factors must come into play and cooperate cohesively.
Buzz/Viral marketing is becoming the most popular way to advertise. In order to release persuasive messages the means to do so may take the form of video clips, interactive flash games, e-books, images, or even text messages, and various other ways through the Internet. In an article titled, Why Is Viral Marketing So Effective?, Bob Withers (2013) writes about how the professional American wrestler, Chris Jericho, was marketed via Internet in order to
promote his return in 2007. This was accomplished by sharing 15 second video clips, and Withers states, “The videos contained hidden messages and biblical links related to Jericho. On their website, a video required the user to put in his or her name andphone number before playback started. “This then featured the coach and players waiting outside the locker room while Jericho makes a phone call to the user telling him that they just can’t start the season until he buys his season tickets. This led to nearly 200,000 page view phone calls in less than 24 hours.” (p. 3)
This is a great example of buzz/viral marketing put into action in order to persuade people through the Internet. It is key though to remember that in order to accomplish your goal with buzz/viral marketing there are many components that must be involved within the process. If you aspire to really have your viral video to take off and get millions of people to watch and share it, content is essential. As utilized in the Jericho video, the persuasive message should be relatively short and to the point. When the video or whichever form the persuasive message is in the Internet has become a great way to have the message go viral and spread all over the world.
To be more specific a great site that is used to take advantage of buzz/viral marketing is YouTube. The central objective of video marketing on YouTube is for one to benefit from the web site’s traffic. There are numerous methods to increase views on videos posted on this site which involve multiple forms of social media. By posting and sharing the link on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and many other social media sites your video can go global in a matter of minutes. Then this is when the process of word of mouth can be beneficial. If your friends have seen it, then they can share it on their social media sites.
Buzz/Viral marketing is only one of many ways to successfully market your product. It’s a new form in advertising that can be very effective if done correctly. Although, Buzz/Viral marketing is a complex term to define, considering it is used in multiple frameworks to define
assorted ideas. The concept of buzz/viral marketing can be compared to the same nature of starting a rumor and then watching it spread like a forest fire. Buzz/Viral marketing is just another marketing approach but the results that can accumulate from it can be astounding.
There is a major impact occurring from the buzz/viral marketing that I find very interesting. In this post I noted instances where messages have taken off from using this evolving concept of marketing but those do not even compare to the millions of messages that have been spread via the internet. Everyday people post on social media sites something as simple as, “I got food poisoning from Dominos!!!” and this one post could persuade hundreds of their friends who read that post through the aspect of word of mouth. The Internet is a powerful thing and can be good or bad for the marketing of products. The Internet is not only creating a new form of marketing but it is creating a new form of communication as a whole and is slowly transforming our society.
Buzz/viral marketing has become the most time-efficient channel to market products, websites, and even people such as: artist, actors, and so on. The main point of this form of marketing is to encourage people to convey marketing content to other people. Word of mouth has evolved from buzz/viral marketing and is one of the essential components in relation to buzz/viral marketing being successful. Word of mouth relies on friends, which intends that it is genuine, authentic, and spontaneous.
Also, word of mouth does not work alone it relies on features such as context (time/place), the essential attractiveness, and the basic need for natural appeal to take off. The message being sent must have an effortless transfer. In other words, the process of word of mouth can’t be predictable. When using social media to launch persuasive messages, the messages have to reach a tipping point. In order for messages to reach this tipping point certain things must occur such as: uber influences, and the right kind of people have to start to spread it.
Uber influences are certain people who give your persuasive message the credibility it needs to take off and be spread via buzz/viral marketing. There are three different types of people who are key to making these persuasive messages work they are known as mavens, connectors, and sales people. Mavens are specialized influences, often called early adopters, ahead of the curve, and are considered to be opinion leaders; in other words trend setters. Then there are connectors, who are carriers of the message and are responsible for connecting the message from mavens to others. Connectors generally have large social networks. Lastly, sales people are responsible for selling the idea from the connector to smaller groups. So it is clear for the method of buzz/viral marketing to be achieved successfully many factors must come into play and cooperate cohesively.
Buzz/Viral marketing is becoming the most popular way to advertise. In order to release persuasive messages the means to do so may take the form of video clips, interactive flash games, e-books, images, or even text messages, and various other ways through the Internet. In an article titled, Why Is Viral Marketing So Effective?, Bob Withers (2013) writes about how the professional American wrestler, Chris Jericho, was marketed via Internet in order to
promote his return in 2007. This was accomplished by sharing 15 second video clips, and Withers states, “The videos contained hidden messages and biblical links related to Jericho. On their website, a video required the user to put in his or her name andphone number before playback started. “This then featured the coach and players waiting outside the locker room while Jericho makes a phone call to the user telling him that they just can’t start the season until he buys his season tickets. This led to nearly 200,000 page view phone calls in less than 24 hours.” (p. 3)
This is a great example of buzz/viral marketing put into action in order to persuade people through the Internet. It is key though to remember that in order to accomplish your goal with buzz/viral marketing there are many components that must be involved within the process. If you aspire to really have your viral video to take off and get millions of people to watch and share it, content is essential. As utilized in the Jericho video, the persuasive message should be relatively short and to the point. When the video or whichever form the persuasive message is in the Internet has become a great way to have the message go viral and spread all over the world.
To be more specific a great site that is used to take advantage of buzz/viral marketing is YouTube. The central objective of video marketing on YouTube is for one to benefit from the web site’s traffic. There are numerous methods to increase views on videos posted on this site which involve multiple forms of social media. By posting and sharing the link on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and many other social media sites your video can go global in a matter of minutes. Then this is when the process of word of mouth can be beneficial. If your friends have seen it, then they can share it on their social media sites.
Buzz/Viral marketing is only one of many ways to successfully market your product. It’s a new form in advertising that can be very effective if done correctly. Although, Buzz/Viral marketing is a complex term to define, considering it is used in multiple frameworks to define
assorted ideas. The concept of buzz/viral marketing can be compared to the same nature of starting a rumor and then watching it spread like a forest fire. Buzz/Viral marketing is just another marketing approach but the results that can accumulate from it can be astounding.
There is a major impact occurring from the buzz/viral marketing that I find very interesting. In this post I noted instances where messages have taken off from using this evolving concept of marketing but those do not even compare to the millions of messages that have been spread via the internet. Everyday people post on social media sites something as simple as, “I got food poisoning from Dominos!!!” and this one post could persuade hundreds of their friends who read that post through the aspect of word of mouth. The Internet is a powerful thing and can be good or bad for the marketing of products. The Internet is not only creating a new form of marketing but it is creating a new form of communication as a whole and is slowly transforming our society.
References
Chung, S. & Hedges, T. September, 2009. 2013. Word-Of-Mouth Marketing Will Change Your Business.http://www.gcimagazine.com/business/marketing/57035912.html
Guzman, M. 2013. Social Networking Sites: What They Are and How to Navigate Them. http://ianrpubs.unl.edu/epublic/live/hef602/build/hef602.pdf
Withers, B. 2013. Why Is Viral Marketing So Effective?http://www.articles3k.com/article/99/216122/Why_Is_Viral_Marketing_So_Effective/
Chung, S. & Hedges, T. September, 2009. 2013. Word-Of-Mouth Marketing Will Change Your Business.http://www.gcimagazine.com/business/marketing/57035912.html
Guzman, M. 2013. Social Networking Sites: What They Are and How to Navigate Them. http://ianrpubs.unl.edu/epublic/live/hef602/build/hef602.pdf
Withers, B. 2013. Why Is Viral Marketing So Effective?http://www.articles3k.com/article/99/216122/Why_Is_Viral_Marketing_So_Effective/
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ReplyDeleteBuzz/Viral marketing is the newest and greatest type of marketing done through the many different social media sites people use everyday. This new form of marketing allows for businesses to reach out to individuals they would not come in contact with on a daily face to face basis. With Buzz/Viral marketing, individuals are reached and become aware of businesses, products, and what they have to offer them. However, there are many different types of buzz/viral marketing that an individual should know about in case they are planning on using this new form of marketing.
ReplyDeleteThere are many different types of buzz/viral marketing methods one may use in order to market to the audience they are hoping to interest. Chain letters can be used as a form of buzz/viral marketing. Chain letters are very common to those that have email or social media sites. Those that send or receive chain letters most likely have a reason for sending/receiving them. The chain letter has a subject that interests them. By companies using chain letters, they are marketing to those interested in their products and relying on their customers and potential customers to help them advertise to others that may also be interested. If interested in getting the name of your business in everyday conversation, a chain letter would be a great place to start.
Another great form of buzz/viral marketing is the undercover form. According to weburnist.com, this form of marketing is done through an undercover message that is not immediately apparent and is presented in a cool or unusual way (Chapter 6:10 2013). An example of this type of buzz/viral marketing would be the KONY campaign in 2012. KONY posters were placed all around the country hoping to make Americans aware of Joseph Kony in Africa. The posters said very little and the creators wanted individuals to become curious of the topic and research it more. This allowed individuals to get personally involved in the issue. If one did not know who Joseph Kony was, he would be a mystery to them and the poster would not make sense. Although this is one recent example of how buzz/viral marketing can be used in undercover form, it is not used for many businesses due to customers having to dissect the subject.
With the use of businesses on social media hoping to reach out to fans and customers, the use of Incentivised viral form has also increased. This method of buzz/viral marketing engages customers and individuals using social media to spread and promote their company with the hopes of winning a product from the store they are promoting. According to an article posted by a University of Oregon student this can dramatically increase referrals (Buzz Marketing 2013). This method also gets referrals interested in the competition, which opens doors to other referrals referring people. This can be looked at as a tree that now has many branches and limbs of other individuals interested and aware of the products. Many small locally owned stores use this technique to get more fans and customers interested in the products they have to offer.
Buzz/viral marketing is a new form of marketing many companies are embracing. With the use of social media and Internet, this form of marketing will only increase. These methods have been seen being used through different ads and companies throughout the world. These methods do work and help bring more information and awareness to customers.
Works Cited
(n.d.). Buzz marketing. Retrieved from http://journalism.uoregon.edu/~tbivins/J496/readings/WOM/defs.pdf
(n.d.). Chapter 6: 10 different types & kinds of guerrllia marketing. Retrieved from http://weburbanist.com/2008/06/19/different-types-of-guerrilla-marketing/
Response to: What’s the Buzz?
ReplyDeleteCaroline’s blog stated that buzz-marketing is using word-of-mouth to spread news or information. Buzz-marketing has become popular within the social media world, involving websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instragram. Others ways of knowing news and up to date information would be through daily newspapers or online sites, such as Yahoo, that display news stories every day. With the internet being so accessible and right at your fingertips, there are ways to always have instance updates via social media and news websites. Is this immediate sense of knowing that represents the buzz/ viral market negatively affecting other ways of communication, such as newspapers?
Advertising is easy and convenient through the buzz/viral market because people are just able to update a status with information instantly. Recommending a place to go or customers sharing a store’s merchandise online through Facebook is immediate advertising that is not costly. In 2011, according to Newspaper Association of America statistics, online advertising was up $207 million industry-wide compared to 2010 (Edmonds). Print advertising was down to $2.1 billion (Edmonds). With the print advertising becoming lower, this could possibly mean that there will be no more hand held, printable newspapers that you receive daily.
Total U.S. newspaper revenue is projected to slip at a combined annual growth rate of 2.9% between 2013 and 2017 (Sebastian). More people are now looking at the news online rather than picking up a paper every morning. Newspapers websites drew more than 100 million unique visitors in 2012, according to the Newspaper Association of America (Sebastian). They also saw a 7% boost in unique visitors between the ages of 21 to 34 (Sebastian). This statistic shows that the younger generation is more likely to get news updates from the internet rather than reading a printed paper. As more people go to newspaper websites, digital advertising is expected to increase through 2017, growing at a compound annual rate of 9.7% between 2013 and 2017 (Sebastian). But the gains won’t be enough to offset the 7.8% compound and decline in print ads (Sebastian).
In conclusion, buzz/viral market is very popular and is becoming more and more known every day. With newspapers declining, there soon could be no more printable papers or ads and only digital advertising. The internet has improved and made society much more efficient, which in turn helps the buzz/viral market has play a huge role in how we communicate today.
Works Cited
Edmonds, Rick (2011). Newspapers: Building Digital Revenues Proves Painfully Slow. The State of the News Media 2012. Retrieved from: http://stateofthemedia.org/2012/newspapers-building-digital-revenues-proves-painfully-slow/
Sebastian, Michael. (2013). Paywalls or No Paywalls, Newspaper Revenue Declines Seen Through 2017. Ad Age. Retrieved from: http://adage.com/article/media/newspaper-revenue-declines-2017-pwc/241860/