Top 10 Things You Need to Know To Create A Buzz

Last Wednesday was my day of full networking. I left the studio at 11ish with my boss, David Hightower, and we didn't come back until 4:30ish. However the two events were worth it. After my HSMAI Luncheon, we went to Opera for the hosted ACVB Social Media and PR forum. It was about two hours with an hour or so of networking after wards. The forum included: Liz Lapidus from Liz Lapidus PR; Marlena Reed from Communications 21, and Steve Rice from Ogilvy Public Relations. With a Q and A session, I would have to give the forum FIVE stars (FIVE being the highest) for their answers and how ACVB already had most common questions prepared first. It was well organized I would have to say.

Here is a sheet that I received at the event:

TOP 10 THINGS YOU NEED OT KNOW TO CREATE A BUZZ
by Liz Lapidus PR

1. The single most important thing to remember is to maintain the integrity of your brand. Once you lose sight of that, the rest is just fluff.

2. It's not what you know, it's who you know. Get out and meet people; see and be seen.

3. Make it viral - take a lesson from the Faberge Organic Shampoo commercial: They told two friends and they told two friends and so on and so on. Use every promotional vehicle you have and barter with friends to use theirs. Blog, tweet, Facebook, and more.

4. Don't take yourself too seriously - you may have to take the bullet for a bad idea. Don't fight it. Accept it. Learn to laugh at yourself and move on.

5. Know your audience - don't sell ice to Eskimos.

6. Think outside the box - not outside the realm of possibility. Remember that you're trying to get from point a to point b, not off the charts or into space.

7. Make your message easily accessible (like a top 10 list); it needs to be simple enough for a reporter to quickly grasp, write about and then move on. Time is money and these days most of us are short on both - reporters are no exception.

8. Recycle - there's no such thing as an original idea. Tried and true formulas work for a reason: They're tried and true.

9. There is strength in numbers. Create a network of colleagues who work for and with like minded brands. Constantly reach out of them to create synergies and forge alliances to create win/win results.

10. Have fun but don't try to be funny - not everyone shares your sense of humor. When in doubt - call a colleague within your network and run the idea past him. Then think to yourself: Is he laughing with me or at me?