The Sociology of Buzz Marketing
Have you blogged yet? If the answer is yes, then you’re either a hip Connector who is always first to be in the know, or an information-hungry Maven who wants to know everything there is to know about blogs, the latest Internet trend. Connectors and Mavens are two of the essential enablers critical to that social and marketing phenomenon known as word-of-mouth, the glue that holds the alternative marketing universe together.
These distinctions beyond the blog world, of course, into the broader realm of alternative marketing in general. Connectors don’t just blog. They troll through YouTube looking for the next great funny video. They know about everything there is to know about the iPhone long before it ever hits shelves, and they have their piece on hold months before it is publicly available, if they don’t get an advance copy.
Mavens don’t just look through the blogosphere. They have email and messaging networks that reach tendrils into all walks of life an social strata. They are the ever curious and the inexhaustible researchers. They go through every bit of information they can get their hands on, and conglomerate it all.
In his best-selling book The Tipping Point, author Malcolm Gladwell asserts that trends, in everything from fashion to crime to media, develop and spread like viruses thanks to Mavens, Connectors and Salesmen. “Mavens are data banks. They provide the message. Connectors are social glue: they spread it. But there is also a select group of people-Salesmen-with the skills to persuade us.”
This third group, the Salesmen, are the key ingredient in buzz marketing. Mavens provide the data and Connectors provide the image, but Salesmen turn the social network into results- namely, sales of whatever product is the next great trend.
An Array of Alternatives
Alternative media, by any other name, including word-of-mouth, is a confusing collection of attempts to reach the consumer while bypassing traditional advertising vehicles. Some refer to it as buzz marketing. Others prefer street marketing, guerrilla marketing, renegade marketing, virtual marketing, ambush marketing, vanguard marketing, ambient marketing, covert marketing, under-the-radar marketing, below-the-line marketing, diffusion marketing or viral marketing.
Regardless of the moniker, alternative media rely on the influence of Connectors, that special category of people who have mastered what sociologists call the weak tie or social acquaintance. The larger their network of social acquaintances, the more power Connectors wield in society, and the better positioned they are to trigger trends. Marketers also know them as influentials, carriers, trendsetters and evangelists. These are the people who’s opinions carry weight, and they have the large networks to make it profitable for companies to get them in on whatever it is that they are selling.
Similarly, Mavens stand at the ready, sharing the detailed knowledge they have gleaned from reams of research, product comparisons and personal testing. As Gladwell sees it, Mavens “are the folks who willingly read the instruction manuals, test drive cars and Beta test software. They are the early adopters, the few who thrive on complexity and simply don’t shut down. Their behavior is distinctive.” Mavens are the detail-oriented types who aren’t trendsetters in their own right. They still provide a valuable service to the alternative marketing industry, however. Someone has to have the details of the product, be able to call them up, and share them on demand.
It is important that Mavens and Connectors are not the same people. We don’t look up to the bean counters of the world; we do not view them as hip and cool. They provide information when we want it, but they don’t make us want the information that they have. It is Connectors that make us want to get the information that Mavens have. It is Connectors that set the trends. When you see that guy on a new Vespa, or that girl with the iPhone, you know you want one. It is at that point that you seek out the Mavens, and perhaps bump into a Salesman along the way, to push you along just a little bit.
Why Word of Mouth Works
The marketplace in the modern world is a large and bewildering place. We are inundated with seemingly limitless options, all of them vying for our attention and business. This intense complexity can cause the average consumer to merely shut down. It is part of the reason for the rise in popularity of DVRs, which bypass traditional advertising, and the growing popularity of viewing television shows on the Internet via a high-speed connection.
Complexity gives rise to confusion, confusion to isolation, and isolation to immunity. Gladwell believes that word-of-mouth works because, in the face of complexity, “people embrace more primitive social bonds and turn to the very personal networks run by Mavens and Connectors.” We turn away from the broad, noisy, confusing marketplace and to our friends and family, people with whom we are personally acquainted. This is a much smaller realm, and one in which the options don’t seem so overwhelming: we are limited to finding out about products that those in our network are aware of.
The initial response to complexity is confusion. As people seek more information for clarity, it merely adds to the data overload. A second response to complexity is isolation-the need to limit social connections and media options to the trusted few. Eventually, people become immune to media influence, responsive only to known influentials.
According to Gladwell, “A great example of media immunity is the telephone. In the beginning, when the phone rang, it was a friend calling. Now we need caller ID to filter out the telemarketers. When e-mail first arrived, we’d rush home to open all four or five of them. Today we cringe at the thought of wading through hundreds of e-mails, many unsolicited.”
One way to circumvent built-up media immunity: reduce market complexity by simplifying the product offering, from fewer SKUs to more versatile products. Combining conditioner with shampoo in a single product was liquid genius. So too was the convenience insight that converted the cap on a bottle of laundry detergent into a measuring cup for the product.
However, another equally valid response is to place marketing within the personal connections network that is word of mouth, and this is the alternative marketing strategy known as “buzz.”
Alternative Marketing Media
Alternative media, by any other name, including word-of-mouth, is a confusing collection of attempts to reach the consumer while bypassing traditional advertising vehicles. Some refer to it as buzz marketing. Others prefer street marketing, guerrilla marketing, renegade marketing, virtual marketing, ambush marketing, vanguard marketing, ambient marketing, covert marketing, under-the-radar marketing, below-the-line marketing, diffusion marketing or viral marketing.
Viral Video
Perhaps the most well known alternative advertising technique is the viral video. Short videos, usually humorous or controversial, are created. These videos are different from traditional commercials in that the goal is generally to entertain the audience, not to inform them about a particular product. While information transferal often occurs as well, the aim of the viral video is to amuse. The idea is that getting the product into the public consciousness is the best thing that you can do; if people are curious, they will look up the details themselves.
This model makes the consumer active in the process of advertising. The consumer seeks out the product, meaning that they are already putting forth more effort than the traditional television-watcher. Because the consumer has been active, the likelihood that the particulars of the product will stick with them is greatly increased, meaning that when the consumer does need to purchase something like the product, they will be more likely to remember the particular product that they viewed the viral video for.
Blogs
Blogs are another method of reaching an audience that is tuned out of the traditional television commercial and print advertising markets. According to NetLingo, the Internet dictionary, blogs are a frequent, chronological publication of personal thoughts and web links. When compared with the slick production values of corporate web sites, blogs have the same homespun appeal as fliers stapled to telephone poles: crude but credible.
Blogs are the voice of the everyday person. Anyone with an Internet connection can establish a blog. Some of the more intrepid and well-entrenched bloggers buy webhosting services and create their own websites with nothing but their blogs on them, but this is not necessary to enter the blogosphere. Free blog capabilities are available on social networking site such as Myspace, Facebook, and LiveJournal. Additionally, many smaller sites where people interact with each other offer blogging capability to their members. Literally anyone can become a blogger.
Blogs have also begun to enter the marketing sphere. They are an essential part of the buzz-creating mechanism, especially among the hip young Gen Yers. Young people and professionals increasingly turn to the Internet for services their parents’ would never have thought to be available them through the computer. Phonebooks are online; directions can be obtained. News consumption increasingly occurs online. This makes the Internet a great place to go to attract new consumers, and blogs, because of their homespun appeal, the perfect vehicle to build credibility.
Captive Audience
Companies such as TransitTV are working another angle of the alternative marketing universe known as the captive audience. They have installed 8,400 screens on over 3,000 public transportation vehicles in five major US cities. These screens reach the “captive audience.” You can’t get away when you’re sitting on a bus, in a restroom stall, or in an elevator. There are no DVRs to fast forward through commercials; you can’t even turn the television off like you could before the advent of the DVR. Companies offering these services know exactly what they have to give advertisers, and advertisers are buying it up.
By providing an audience that can’t get away, that is completely captive, TransitTV gets rid of the worst of traditional advertising headaches. By having only one channel, they avoid the “channel surfing” flipping from channel to channel to avoid commercials. There is no other channel for viewers to change to. Of course, there is no DVR on a screen in a bus. There is no way to “skip” the commercial. Just like the rest of the programming, the audience has no choice but to watch the advertisement.
TransitTV also offers “accurate measurement.” They offer accurate demographic breakdowns and profiles, as well as measured and accurate meters of advertising success. They monitor the rate of return for advertisers using their network.
The Street Team
One branch of the alternative marketing movement that has been getting more and more attention, and becoming more and more popular, is making marketing personal. Advertisers seek to create personal connections with the people that they are seeking to entice to purchase their product. This can be done in many ways, but the most solidly constructive is the creation of “street teams.”
Street teams are paid conversationalists. They go out into a market, generally large cities, and hit the streets. They chat up people they pass, touting a particular product or brand. They paper a city with fliers and posters for that product. Often, they hand out free sample or even full-size versions of the product being touted.
This model is the first step in creating buzz. You have to get people talking about your product to create the word of mouth network that will make your product take off. Advertisers have discovered that one way to start the network of personal connections that is buzz is to force personal connections between your consumers and your company.
Buzz
All of these methods of advertising are aimed at creating “buzz,” the underground swell of excitement about a new product or a particular brand. Word-of-mouth now influences two-thirds of all consumer product sales, according to a May 2001 report by a reputable marketing firm. Once the exclusive province of renegade boutique agencies bringing counterculture products to market, viral marketing has literally spread like a cold, becoming a staple in even the most traditional provinces.
One of the factors behind this movement is pure, simple economics. The cost of a 30-second television spot is now pushing $450,000 for a single airing during primetime viewing hours. That is a very large chunk of change, and it includes nothing but the airtime. It does not include production costs of the ad itself. Manufacturers are becoming game to try an alternative that boasts a price tag just a fraction of that amount. No expensive media buys, pricey location shoots or costly creative sessions.
-
More Useful Links!
