Best way to create buzz about your agency 

With the Internet and social media now on the scene as a way to effectively communicate to your clients and prospects, creating a buzz to attract new business can be accomplished more cost-effectively than ever by direct marketers. Mark Hughes, author of “Buzzmarketing: Get People to Talk About Your Stuff,” outlines four key ways to create word of mouth advertising going.  

. It begins with your agency story 

Every agency has stories to tell.  Often those stories involve anecdotes about customer experiences with the agency. But there are other sources. It could be a story about the agency’s history and how it has survived wars, pestilence, depressions and recessions.  It could be a story about statistics---the amount of claim dollars paid out this year or within the last five years. It could be a story about the founder of the agency or the historic building where the agency is housed.  But remember, it must be compelling, even remarkable. It must have news value---a story that could be featured in the local paper.

. Make sure your story shows personality

 Hughes says marketers who want to create effective buzz must tell stories “showing personality rather than slick, corporate-sponsored stories.”  He advocates for stores that tie in with what people are writing about and reading about today. 

. Use multi-channels and an integrated communications strategy 

Tell your stories in newsletters, direct mailers, over social networks, on your Web site, in your e-zine electronic mailings.  You have more opportunities than ever and many are low-budget media. 

. Policing your story, product and services 

In this book, Hughes claims that “23 written complaints can create 10,000 enemies” ergo many customers will not complain directly to the source, but won’t hesitate to complain to others on the Internet.  He urges marketers to pay attention to complaints and respond in a proactive way to any customers who drop hints about their dissatisfaction.  

---Recommended follow up:  Buzzmarketing: Get People to Talk About Your Stuff by Mark Hughes