Have you ever tried to create a “Buzz” on one of your products or services? It can definitely be a challenging task. But it’s a challenge you should be up to taking on! Buzzworthy content gets people talking, sharing and acting. This one act is a marketers dream!
So what exactly is it that causes something to become buzzworthy? Let’s dive into the human mind and dissect the psychology of the “buzz” and motivation! If we can get a better handle of what it is that drives humans, we will have a better idea of how to use these concepts to encourage buzzworthy ideas.
Think back to high school psychology. I’m sure you will remember the very famous psychologist Abraham Maslow. You probably were exposed to his now infamous “Hierarchy of Needs”. We learned from Maslow’s hierarchy that if human’s basic needs aren’t met, they will be most likely motivated to meet those basic needs first. This means they will put less importance on the other needs. Here is a friendly reminder of his hierarchy in case you forgot:
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.
Let’s take a closer look at this. If you start with the most basic of needs (the physiological needs) and those needs are met, they will be more motivated to fulfill the next group’s needs (the safety needs). They will move up through each group until they arrive and fulfill the self-actualization stage. Another way to look at this is a sliding scale of motivation. What motivates us are the things that will fulfill the most immediate needs we need met.
So how does this apply to your business? Let’s start with an obvious example of how to create a buzz. One way to create a buzz: Give out free food to a starving crowd! Their primary motivation would be to EAT, and what a buzz that would create! How does this example relate to today’s marketing? Let’s have a closer look: What if you were to hand out free hotdogs and beer at a baseball game? Do you think it would create a buzz? People would walk away with a free beer and hot dog and tell their friends about the experience. They would probably say something like “Man, you gotta go to isle 34, they are handing out free beer and hotdogs!!!” This would create a viral word of mouth buzz and get people excited!
So it’s easy to see how handing out free food would create a buzz, but how does this apply to the other needs. What if you had something unique about your message, product or service?
Let’s say most people’s physiological and safety needs are met, how do you motivate them? You can create a buzz through their social and esteem needs. Have you ever heard of this new trend the kids are calling “Facebook”? Do any of you remember Myspace? MSN? ICQ? These are all examples of viral marketing that tapped into the social and esteem needs. These companies offered a new way for kids to fulfill their social and esteem needs through use of technology and social communications.
In the case of these social sites, buzz spreads even faster because not only do they fulfill the social and esteem needs; they are fulfilling it on the very same service they are spreading the word about. Tie it back to the beer and hotdog example; they are more likely to go tell their friends about their experience because it will most likely boost their reputation, get them noticed and build friendships. Their friends will be excited about the opportunity to get a free beer and hotdog and it’s all simply because they spread the word about what happened. This is a critical point in understanding buzzworthyness. If you grasp the concept and apply the right motivation with the right message you can drastically increase your odds of it creating a buzz.
If your message, product or service can fulfill one or more of our human needs, is presented in front of the right person whose specific needs it meets and has a unique concept to it, you are on headed in the right direction. Now, you just need to make it easy for people to spread the word and give them a reason to spread it and you will have your hands on something buzzworthy. Just remember though, you may have to tell your users HOW to tell people about what you have. Try to create viral buzzworthy “tell-a-friend” scripts, create awesome handouts/pamphlets, learn to use social media to build a buzz, give them articles and information to share with friends and family. If you can accomplish this, you are on your way. I can hear the buzz happening already!
(On that note, don’t forget to share this article! Be sure to tell your friends about this blog. I mean, you DO want to build your reputation and credibility with your friends right? Of course they want to read awesome content like this, and of course you want to be the first one to share it with them! Go ahead and hit share… Send this to your friends, you will thank me later! )
To you and your success,
Ryan Smith -Chief Content Creator
Great info for any business owner!