People are being bombarded with marketing messages, from the time they get up in the morning and switch on the radio or TV, to the time that they venture out into the real world, to the time that they eat their TV dinner before crashing for the night. As an entrepreneur, you had better make sure that you have a message that people want to hear, with the ability to crash through all the other “noise”.

You might have a great product or service, one that you fully believe in, with all your heart. Your challenge is to create a marketing campaign around that product or service which causes everyone to sit up and take notice. You need to try and create social acceptance and viral buzz.

One of the first things that you have to bear in mind is that creativity does not have to be expensive. Some canny marketers make sure that they send out their direct mail message in an envelope containing an unusually-shaped gizmo. It doesn’t really matter what the object is, but the very shape of the package will cause the recipient to pay attention and open it.

One of the most important things to bear in mind is that you need to connect with your audience, in the right place and at the right time. Think about your product or service and the message that you want to portray and work out when and where you should communicate. Create an “ah-ha!” moment for them.

As you know, the Internet is your best friend. Get active. As a marketer, you can use the wonders of Facebook and Twitter to begin fan pages and create conversations. Always make sure that you provide great value and never hard-sell. Commence conversations with people of influence. Look for extroverts who use or would be interested in using your product or service and interact with them to tap their influence within the community.

Make sure that your product or service is socially acceptable and “cool”. Both your product and your message need to be realistic and beneficial. You stand the best chance of creating a viral buzz if you are seen as creative, giving, relevant, adventurous and trustworthy.

Make sure that your product or service can be transmitted or transferred to your prospect with little or no effort. You should also ensure that you can scale up your enterprise accordingly. There seems little point in trying to create a viral buzz if your infrastructure is not ready to handle the consequences!

Remember, that creating a marketing buzz takes some ingenuity and innovation. Above all else make sure that your message is authentic, as consumers will see right through this otherwise and you can create more damage than goodwill. Use the power of the Internet, wisely!

Leave a comment and tell us how you created a marketing campaign that everyone is talking about.

Matthew Toren