Buzzmarketing: Get People to Talk about Your Stuff

Mark Hughes · First published November 29th 2005

As VP of marketing at online retailer Half.com, Mark Hughes didn’t have a huge budget for advertising. Yet he helped drive the number of Half.com users from zero to eight million in just three years. His secret? Making the company a magnet for media attention and word-of-mouth, by any means necessary. Most notoriously, he persuaded the town of Halfway, Oregon, to rename itself Half.com—called “one of the greatest publicity coups” in history by Time.

In this breakthrough book, Hughes offers a practical guide to the art of successful buzz marketing—which many people talk about these days but few truly understand. He draws on real-world examples of companies that got people to talk about their stuff— from Miller Lite during the “Tastes Great—Less Filling” era, to American Idol’s stunning use of buzz to become a global phenomenon, to current companies that find creative ways to break through the ad-glutted marketplace.

Buzzmarketing explores the six secrets of great word-of-mouth campaigns and shows how any company can thrive by pursuing a buzz-driven strategy rather than just hoping for a lucky break. Readers who have enjoyed books like The Tipping Point and Purple Cow will find Buzzmarketing to be the ideal guide to applying buzz to their real-world business needs.

“Buzzmarketing: Get People to Talk About Your Stuff” is a book by Mark Hughes that explores the concept of creating buzz or word-of-mouth marketing to promote a product or service. The book is based on the 80/20 principle that 20% of your efforts will lead to 80% of your results.

1. The Power of Word of Mouth: Word of mouth is the most powerful marketing tool, and creating buzz can make your product or service more attractive to potential customers.
2. Focus on the 80/20 Principle: Focus your marketing efforts on the 20% of activities that will produce 80% of your results.
3. Find Your Influencers: Identify the influencers in your market who can help spread the word about your product or service.
4. Create Unique, Memorable Experiences: Offer unique experiences that people will remember and want to share with others.
5. Make It Easy to Share: Make it easy for people to share information about your product or service by providing them with simple and effective tools.
6. Reward Your Advocates: Reward your advocates for spreading the word about your product or service.
7. Be Controversial: Being controversial can generate buzz, but it must be done in a way that aligns with your brand values.
8. Create Urgency: Create a sense of urgency around your product or service by offering limited-time promotions or creating scarcity.
9. Create a Movement: Create a movement around your product or service by inspiring people to take action and get involved.
10. Measure Your Results: Measure the success of your buzz marketing efforts by tracking the number of referrals, word of mouth referrals, and website traffic. Use this information to refine and improve your marketing strategies.