So everybody knows the Super Bowl is coming. I can see all the signs in my neighborhood - people lining up at the grocery stores for snacks, soda pop, chicken wings (my fav are the lemon pepper!). Flags waving in yards. Big screen TV boxes next to trash cans for Thursday pickup.
It's on.
Now I'm not going to try to sway you one way or the other on which team to hoot and holler for. In fact, I don't even know much about football (okay, I heard that...and yes, I am a proud American). BUT what I do enjoy?
The commercials.
Even if you've never watched a Super Bowl game in your life, I bet you've seen the commercials. Frankly, they're the best part of the whole celebration. I always tell my husband, "call me when a commercial comes on!" ... then I head in to watch. The New York Times says the Super Bowl is the biggest day of the year for advertising.
Ever thought about why? I have - and I thought it might be fun to write about in terms of ways to create buzz for your business. So here's a few tips on creating buzz Super Bowl Style:
Plan Ahead
Advertising companies start not just weeks, but months in advance. It takes work to create a promotion campaign that will connect with the right audience and generate actual sales. Right - at the end of the day, the commercials aren't there just for you to enjoy; they're meant to entice you to take up the offer. It's about getting results in the form of sales.
Think about this with your next promotional campaign. How much time are you putting into researching ways to reach your audience? What is the offer you're making and how will you measure success? Just because people "like" your posts, that's not always equivalent to dollars for your business. Make the connection by planning your campaign well in advance.
Make It Connect
Remember the Darth Vader commercial for Volkswagen? Hilarious and cute, right? It caught the attention of people watching because they could either see themselves as the boy pretending to be a famous character, or as the parents having fun watching their child play. Viewers could connect with something in the ad.
When you create promotional campaigns, are you telling a story? Does it tag something in the hearts, minds, or pockets of your audience? What emotion are you trying to evoke? Think about how your message connects through your marketing campaign.
Leak Information in Advance
Why share tidbits about your next program or event? Why would you leak information before you're ready to deliver the product? Because it works, says Fast Company in this recent article about pre-game content.
In the article, they talk about how last year, 34 campaigns were released in some form or another on YouTube before the game. “Marketers saw the amount of buzz and views they were able to generate before the game even started, and realized that they can get much more out of their Super Bowl investment if they build a digital strategy around it,” says Suzie Reider, Head of Industry Development at YouTube.
That's pretty interesting, hunh?
What kind of buzz can you create? You might not give away the entire program idea, but what if you shared a short tip series related to your topic? How about a video teaser?
Think of creative ways to generate buzz for your business. Even if you're not a football fan, you can work it Super Bowl style!
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About the Author: Tanya Smith is a creative online business strategist and coach specializing in showing independent service providers how to simplify, save time & stand out with simple strategies that engage more quality leads and clients. Her company Be Promotable provides fresh actionable strategies and virtual resources to promote business owners as power players in their market. Get free tools to simplify and stand out online at: www.tanyasmithonline.com
