Buzz Marketing
You want to create buzz around your product, service or website, but you don't know where to get started, check this section out for some tips.
The $5 Million Viral Marketing Campaign
Written by Muhammad Saleem on November 6, 2007 | 30 comments
You may not agree with their tactics, but you can't disagree with the money. Here's a look at the Ron Paul army, their (often shady) tactics, and the return on their viral marketing blitzkrieg.
How Not To Inspire Confidence In Your Customers
Written by David Chen on October 10, 2007 | 9 comments
When you're a Web 2.0 startup, it's difficult to build your customer base and fight for legitimacy in the face of more established, entrenched tech companies. But there are certainly things you can avoid to make things easier for yourself.
Nokia Slams Apple Again
Written by David Chen on October 2, 2007 | 4 comments
Nokia has not pulled its punches with Apple in the past, buying AdWords that have reached straight for the heart of Apple fanboys. Yesterday, photos of Nokia poster ads made their rounds on the internet. Today, we examine the efficacy of these ads.
What To Do With a Hit
Written by David Chen on September 27, 2007 | 1 comment
Digg has recently been lit up with stories about Halo 3. Today we discuss some possible courses of action for content producers when a hit like Halo takes over the internet.
Getting Viral With Bob Dylan
Written by Muhammad Saleem on September 22, 2007 | 4 comments
It seems that to promote his latest album, team Dylan has gone viral, and it all started three weeks ago when a friend of mine used the Bob Dylan custom message generator to send me a message.
3 Strategies for Addictive Advertisements
Written by Jay Cross on September 19, 2007 | 3 comments
Ever notice yourself actually hoping to hear or see certain ads (i.e. certain beer and car commercials, mac vs. pc commercials, etc.)? This is called addictive advertising and here are three steps to help you get there.
Anatomy of a Viral Sensation
Written by David Chen on September 12, 2007 | 4 comments
What is it that makes a Youtube video ascend from the ranks of obscure upload to national news? Today we take a look at the elements of a recent viral sensation.
Wikipedia and Topical Seasonality
Written by David Chen on September 6, 2007 | 1 comment
It's not entirely surprising: People have different areas of interest throughout the year. Consequently, they use the internet for different purposes, which can potentially impact how content producers should tailor their material. Today we take a look at some Wikipedia data that reflects this trend.
The Brand Called You: 10 Years Later
Written by David Chen on August 28, 2007 | No comments yet
Ten years ago, Tom Peters wrote "The Brand Called You" for FastCompany magazine, a classic, stunning, and grandiloquent piece on the necessity of and the methods for branding yourself. The piece prompted this recent retrospective from BusinessWeek. Today we take a look at some of the promises and challenges of self-branding in the world of online social networking.
Acuity Mobile - A Mobile Advertising Platform That Could Work
Written by Muhammad Saleem on August 22, 2007 | 6 comments
A few weeks ago the media was reporting that the bane of our internet browsing experience, the pop-up advertisements were set to make a comeback, on cell phones. I had a chance to have a conversation with one of the companies that was inaccurately mentioned as sponsors of mobile pop-up ads - Acuity Mobile.
"Viral" Videos as Marketing Tools
Written by David Chen on August 21, 2007 | 4 comments
Although they were first announced over a year ago, Adidas' adicolor short films received an influx of fresh new hits when one of them hit the front page of Digg's video section the other day. The video, "Pink," directed by Charlie White, is chilling and, some would say, brilliant. But were the films a good investment for the company?
Free Media: It's Cheaper But Not Free
Written by Muhammad Saleem on August 20, 2007 | 3 comments
The term 'free media' is actually a misnomer because while it is much cheaper than mainstream media and traditional marketing, it does cost. Here's a look at free media and how to incorporate it into a traditional marketing campaign.
What Would We Do Without Advertising?
Written by Muhammad Saleem on August 19, 2007 | 8 comments
While a large part of our audience flocks to San Jose to attend Search Engine Strategies Conference and Expo, I wanted to ask an important question and present an illustration to go with it.
The Importance of Marketing Regionally
Written by Muhammad Saleem on August 16, 2007 | 3 comments
More often than not, when we hear traffic numbers, they are in absolute terms. For example, 60% of users visiting social networking sites use MySpace. Figures represented in this way, though tell us enough for marketers with deep pockets, don't help small marketers very much.
The Power of the Brand
Written by Muhammad Saleem on August 7, 2007 | 2 comments
A recently and widely covered study shows us how the power of the brand can change people's perceptions and how they react to your products regardless of their quality.
3 Ads That Guarantee Results
Written by Muhammad Saleem on July 27, 2007 | 26 comments
Here is a collection of advertisements that guarantee results. Truly great ads for which the marketing firm deserves a lot of credit.
Ambush Marketing At Its Finest!
Written by Muhammad Saleem on June 18, 2007 | 3 comments
Today I came across a great example of ambush marketing. Jet Airways, which is one of the leading Indian Airways put up an advertisement telling their customers that they have changed. Check out Kingfisher Airlines' response to this claim.
The Marlboro Man - Tapping in to Popular Culture and Trends
Written by Muhammad Saleem on May 30, 2007 | 4 comments
I was doing some research on online trends earlier today when I stumbled onto something that serves as an excellent example of how a company managed to capitalize on popular trends to increase its sales.
On The Tail of Warner's Viral Campaign
Written by Muhammad Saleem on May 24, 2007 | 3 comments
Warner Brothers' viral campaign for The Dark Knight is going so well that we've decided to cover it from start to end. Like any good viral campaign, we've only seen the beginning and more pieces are developing, falling in place, and further whetting our appetites for the movie.
Tim Ferriss - Social Media and The Social Proof - Part 1
Written by Muhammad Saleem on May 22, 2007 |
As a follow up to Darren Rowse's three-part interview with Tim Ferriss, I sat down with the author (through the magic of instant messaging) of The 4-Hour Workweek, to discuss efficiency when blogging, media training for bloggers, different content promotion methods, social media, and much much more. Here is the first part of a two-part interview. Tim has a lot of interesting insight to share so please read and enjoy.
Learn Viral Marketing From Warner Bros.
Written by Muhammad Saleem on May 20, 2007 | 10 comments
Making a truly successful online viral marketing campaign is not an easy feat to accomplish. So when a golden opportunity to see a brilliant execution of a successful viral marketing campaign - and learn from it - presents itself, we're definitely taking it! Here's how Warner Bros. pulled it off.
Viral Marketing: What's Hot and What's Not
Written by Muhammad Saleem on April 26, 2007 | 4 comments
We at Pronet are big fans of viral marketing. Both when it comes to link building and when it comes to buzz creation. But not all methods of viral marketing are good and not all methods are equally successful. Here's a look at what to think about and what to look for when creating your next viral marketing campaign.
The Most Effectively Marketed Brands
Written by Muhammad Saleem on April 23, 2007 | 2 comments
Brandz Top 100, is a raking system created by Millward Brown Optimor, that ranks the most powerful brands in the world measured by their dollar value. While their rankings aren't too helpful on their own, they can be quite useful when analyzed in the right context.
Going Green Can Make You Some Green
Written by Muhammad Saleem on March 6, 2007 | 4 comments
I was sitting in my university cafeteria with some friends the other day and after finishing my food, while I was waiting for the rest of them to finish, I was looking around the room and there was this girl sitting across from me. As the story goes, I wasn't paying attention to the girl, rather my eyes were drawn to what she was drinking and the green label on the bottle.
Hyperbole Works
Written by Muhammad Saleem on February 13, 2007 | 7 comments
A few days ago Electronic Gaming Monthly published an interview with Sony Computer Entertainment America's president, Jack Tretton, who had some remarks that make you scratch your head (to say the least).
Go elf yourself
Written by Cameron Olthuis on December 19, 2006 | 4 comments
Last week in a post I wrote about some YouTube viral campaigns I highlighted the "Holiday Wishcast" from Coke. In the article I mentioned how I didn't like that Coke was using actual Coke commercials and I didn't think it would have success because of the blatant promotion of Coke. Today I came across another holiday campaign from OfficeMax called "Elfyourself". The purpose is to paste your picture on the body of the elf; the elf will then dance around and sing. You can then send it off to your family or friends.
Track your buzz, manage it and create evangelists
Written by Cameron Olthuis on November 28, 2006 | 4 comments
A few weeks ago Mike Stopforth mentioned in an article that one of his goals before he dies is to drive an Aston Martin. Aston Martin, who was obviously tracking their buzz, saw this and sent Mike an email offering him a day with an Aston Martin. Now, Mike and all the other people that saw this story that are interested in exotic automobiles are now evangelists for life. Aston Martin did not have to do this, as Mike was already an evangelist. But they did and in the process created a little buzz for themselves and also possibly won over a few new customers, or at least future customers.
Say hello to ReviewMe Roy
Written by Neil Patel on November 16, 2006 |
Last week Text Link Ads launched a service called ReviewMe which competes with PayPerPost. I am not sure how successful ReviewMe will be but their marketing plan has been pretty effective at creating a lot of buzz.
YouTube crashes Smirnoff's Tea Partay
Written by Cameron Olthuis on November 1, 2006 |
Wow, there are some great stats that come from a MarketingSherpa Poll that shows viral marketing is bigger than we initially thought. I can't believe that 80% of people are using tell-a-friend links as marketing techniques. That is obviously a pretty good indicator that it's working well too. This is also a good indicator that SMO works as a whole. Look at some of the other numbers too.
Two-thirds of US economy is driven by buzz
Written by Cameron Olthuis on October 5, 2006 | 2 comments
The Word of Mouth Research Blog from WOMMA points to an interesting study from A McKinsey & Co. strategy consultant named Renee Dye which shows that buzz drives two-thirds of the US economy. The study is from back in 2001 and was published by the Harvard Business Review. Here are the key findings...
Creating buzz through creativity
Written by Neil Patel on September 30, 2006 | 1 comment
Nissan recently released a commercial for their 4x4 vehicles in Europe, but unlike most car commercials they did not waste time talking about how cool their vehicles are or all their great features they have. Instead they created a creative commercial that represented Nissan's "natural" 4x4 ability.
Don't forget to listen to what your customers are saying
Written by Cameron Olthuis on September 28, 2006 | 1 comment
Do you hear what your customers are telling you? Listening to the feedback from your users is important; the feedback that they can provide can prove invaluable to improving your business. It's the real people that are actually using your products/services that are able to provide the best feedback. Your product, service or website directly benefits them, since they are the ones that are actually using it. This is especially important when you are launching something new and you do not really know exactly how things are going to go.
Everyone is an influencer
Written by Cameron Olthuis on September 27, 2006 | 8 comments
Lately, I have noticed that when it comes to tracking your buzz a lot of companies are only focused on tracking the so-called influencers. The problem that I have with this approach is that today, everyone is an influencer. You never know at any given time who can influence who and in what way. The barriers to publishing online are so low right now that anyone at anytime can damage your reputation, and they have a number of channels they can use to do so. That is why it is important to track everything and everyone, not just the influencers.
Creating buzz with how to guides
Written by Neil Patel on September 13, 2006 |
Writing how to guides is a great way to educate people as well as a great way to build links. Last week Chanpory Rith from LifeClever wrote a unique how to guide on dressing like a Mac which drew a lot of buzz.
When venture capitalists compete, you win
Written by Cameron Olthuis on August 23, 2006 |
I can't tell if this video is a joke or not but I found it rather amusing, but regardless, I guarantee it's going to create some buzz, it is too controversial not to. The concept behind this video is that this company is tired of companies competing with each other for VC money, so he's inviting VC's to compete with each other to see whose money they'll take.
10 things you should be monitoring
Written by Cameron Olthuis on August 16, 2006 | 25 comments
Tracking your buzz is really something that is becoming more and more important over and will continue to increase in importance as time goes on. Everything is going social right now and messages fly around the web at a million miles by hour. In order to manage your reputation you need to track the right things, so here's a list of 10 things that you absolutely need to be monitoring.
Reputation monitoring 101
Written by Cameron Olthuis on August 11, 2006 | 2 comments
Over the last couple of years social media has really taken off and participation is growing at a super fast rate. At any given time there are millions of people writing blog posts or content to put on the web. The minute these people write something and post it, an audience is already there and waiting to read it.
How to keep your buzz warm
Written by Cameron Olthuis on August 2, 2006 |
Staying warm with buzz is as important as the buzz itself. If you can keep it going the effect will keep snowballing. In addition to having a solid product in the first place, you need to also manage your buzz. Managing your buzz well will also help keep it going. One company that's been red hot with buzz lately is YouTube, let's take a look at how they are keeping their buzz going.
1000 free pizzas for Googlers = priceless marketing
Written by Neil Patel on August 1, 2006 |
As a business you deal with vendors that you rely on heavily. So when your vendor does a great job, what do you do? You buy them lunch! This is exactly what one company did to Google; the Cambrian House was so pleased with Google they bought the Googlers 1000 pizzas.
Viral marketing creates some buzz
Written by Cameron Olthuis on July 26, 2006 | 2 comments
Buzz marketing has been creating a little bit of buzz of its own lately. It seems like every time I refresh my feed reader there's a new article about buzz marketing from a major publishing company.
Movie marketing 101
Written by Cameron Olthuis on July 25, 2006 |
Pick up the phone and spend a half-hour with a leading industry blogger. That's what Universal did and they're making waves because of it. This week one of their employees took a half-hour out of their day to call Chris Thilk, owner of Movie Marketing Madness blog, to talk about Miami Vice. This was one simple gesture that's going a long way.
Dr. Google
Written by Cameron Olthuis on July 15, 2006 | 1 comment
Did any of you read the open letter to Google where Andy Beal complained that AdWords was giving him a headache? Well Google responded by sending Andy a package with a letter and a small bottle of pain relief. What a brilliant PR move by Google!
Customers have a louder voice
Written by Cameron Olthuis on July 5, 2006 | 1 comment
There's a big shift taking place in the customer service industry, we - the consumers - are taking back control. Recently there's been a couple of videos released that show just how painful the customer service experience really is. This isn't anything new, we've all experienced it firsthand for ourselves, but now with the power of viral marketing (good or bad) these companies are exposed in a whole new light, and it's sending a very powerful message .
Marketing 2.0: Gathering a crowd
Written by Neil Patel on July 1, 2006 | 4 comments
Crowdstorm is a yet to be released new social shopping website that allows you to research products, read other people's opinions on products and see what's hot. A unique thing about Crowdstorm is the way they have been marketing their company.
Sleeping Comcast technician gets fired
Written by Neil Patel on June 26, 2006 | 4 comments
Last week I posted about a Comcast technician who fell asleep on someone's couch during a house call. David Dalka, a reader of Pronet Advertising, was talking with Comcast tech support about a problem he...
Buzz can hurt too
Written by Neil Patel on June 22, 2006 | 2 comments
A lot of people use the power of buzz marketing because it can do wonders for their business, but there is also a dark side to buzz marketing where it can hurt your company's reputation.
Viral marketing for links
Written by Cameron Olthuis on June 13, 2006 | 3 comments
Link building was once the most tedious, labor intensive processes of search engine optimization. It's funny because inbound links also happen to be one of the more important aspects to your search engine rankings. Fortunately, it's not so tedious anymore. Thanks to the social web, link building through buzz marketing is now possible.
The web slinger and the Internet
Written by Neil Patel on June 12, 2006 |
Usually when a new movie is coming out, studios start promoting it everywhere. They put up billboards, TV commercials, online banner ads and anything else they can think of that can create buzz.
Are you tracking your company buzz?
Written by Cameron Olthuis on June 7, 2006 |
Word spreads like wildfire within the social media scene. In just a matter of minutes your company's reputation can be damaged. If criticism or nasty rumors about your company gets out in the blogosphere and you're not paying attention, forget about it. Your brand will suffer a devastating blow.
Google Buzzed
Written by Neil Patel on May 23, 2006 |
Do you remember when you heard from your friend, or that notorious "somewhere", that Google gave better search results? Next thing you know, you are going to Google.com to look for things on the Internet. Now, people are telling each other to just "Google it" when trying to find some information on the web.
Boot Camp Marketing
Written by Neil Patel on April 13, 2006 |
I'll be the first to admit that business as usual is a horrific bore. Normal marketing has become so blah that whenever anybody steps outside of that and has a little fun, the crowd responds. Apple is a perfect example of a company that had a little fun out there and took advantage of creativity and innovation to get people off their chairs and make some noise. In case you haven't heard yet, Apple released software that allows their computers to load Windows XP. This caught a lot of people by surprise (although there were rumors) and instantly resulted in a rampage of buzz and excitement.
Staying warm with your Buzz
Written by Neil Patel on April 10, 2006 | 1 comment
Buzz is like a campfire. Weak products will cause your fire to flare up and die quickly, whereas good products will burn for awhile. Also, if you don't know how to build or take care of it you'll just end up with a pile of black sticks. Here are some tips for staying warm with your buzz.
Blog Relations
Written by Neil Patel on February 10, 2006 |
Many companies are trying to use the power of blogs to market and introduce their company to others. The companies that are able to successfully use this new medium are doing so by paying attention to blog posts and their comments.
Got Crunched?
Written by Neil Patel on January 27, 2006 |
With the recent comments about Mike Arrington and his TechCrunch postings on Ning and Tello, I thought it would be appropriate to discuss what it really means to get Crunched.
