How You Can Use Online Tools to Buzz Like Apple, Inc.
Buzz like Apple (image from iStockPhoto)
On Monday, Apple had a keynote at their Worldwide Developer Conference in San Jose, California. Like most Apple events, the conference was ripe with buzz about what Phil Schiller, SVP of Worldwide Product Marketing, would be announcing to the crowd of approximately 4000 developers and countless fans following the conference via live Video/audio/text streaming around the internet. There ended up being some pretty significant product releases that were discussed, including a new operating system with support for Microsoft Exchange, and an iPhone model dubbed the 3Gs.
The folks at Apple are masters at creating buzz for their products, and very often leapfrogging the competition in the ways they innovate. It’s not that Apple necessarily releases ground-breaking products every time they hit the stage, but they’re able to identify and assemble consumer products with which their customers can connect more than the competition can. Their brand is associated with leading-edge, quality technology, and it’s taken years to foster that identity.
What does Apple teach us?
It got me to thinking: how can I apply Apple’s MO to my own company, and generate buzz for new products or sites that I might be releasing? I’ve got several things in the works, and once things are released I want my customers to know about it. I certainly don’t have the money or the following to warrant a Worldwide Developer’s Conference, but what tools could I use to get people to listen to me and start talking about it? Keep in mind, these steps are probably applicable to both new services and new products, though your presentation may vary a little.
Step one: Plan
In order to create buzz, you have to have a plan for your product. A planned release date that you can communicate openly to people matters, but a planned date to announce a product is equally important and a little bit more buzz-worthy. You’ll notice the buzz around Apple products never occurs around a release date…it occurs around an announcement. The announcement of the iMac…the announcement of the iPod…the announcement of the iPhone. Even if the actual availability of the product is several weeks away, the announcement gets people talking about it.
I am weakest in this area personally, as I take more of a “ready when it’s ready” approach. This is great because it ensures that I have the time to make sure everything is working properly prior to showing off my work, but it doesn’t create any buzz, because no one knows what…or when…to look for something from me.
And remember, don’t necessarily aim for perfection of the product as your metric, because your product will never get released. Everything I have ever seen released always have room for improvement, including the aforementioned iPhone. The first version wasn’t perfect, but it appealed to enough people to show that there was a market, and improvements could be developed as time went on. Customers are the best test market to have, because they’ll give you the best feedback on your device.
Step two: Communicate
Now that your plan is in place, be sure to communicate important dates, specifically your announcement date, to your customers and prospects. It’s their word-of-mouth that will get your product to sell among people who aren’t in your customer base, so catering to them is important. Don’t necessarily give all the details of your new product (or even its name); Apple alludes to a lot of things in its buzz machine but never gives any details, even a name, to the products that create the most buzz. There are several outlets on the web you can use to communicate your intentions:
- Social Media – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Merchant Circle, Digg, StumbleUpon, etc.; they all are important for reaching out and connecting with customers in a social way, but they’re also important in communicating new things coming from your company. Go out and create a company page on Facebook if you haven’t yet (it’s free) and encourage your customers to become fans of your business. That way, they’ll get information whenever you post it.
- Newsletters – While I’m not personally a big fan or user of newsletters, that doesn’t mean you can’t use them. If you have a newsletter, use it to communicate intentions with your customers and get them talking. They may even give you feedback that could shape how the product looks by the time it’s released.
- Blog about it – A blog is a perfect medium in which you can talk about why you feel there’s a need for your product without necessarily mentioning your product. If you have an established readership, they’ll be able to fill in the blanks and because they feel like you’re sharing a secret with them, they’re more likely to talk about it with others (strange how that works, isn’t it?).
- Update your web site – Let people know something’s coming. Add a page. Give your product a code name and paste it all over. Once it’s announced, have a formal name ready and let your customers judge, based on features, whether your product is worthy of their dollars.
Step three: Announce
At your planned announce date, have an event, or at the very least, a blog post, giving all the secret details of your new product. You should be able to provide specific details of how your product will be able to help consumers and prospects. You may not have the resources to hold a gigantic event in a local convention center, but certainly as a small business there are resources you can use that can have as much of an impact on your customers.
- Update your Web Site - Make the product release visible from the front page of your web site with an overview of how it can help people, and provide a link to a specific product page that gives more details on its features. Be sure to provide contact information where people can get more details, perhaps even an email that specifically takes questions for the announcement (e.g. announce@yourdomain.com)
- Podcast – Podcast about your new release, and take the opportunity to talk about it openly with customers. Be sure to send links to the podcast to your customers, and post links on social media outlets so that people know it’s coming.
- Webinar – If you can demo or talk to people about how your new product works, that’s great, but to create a way for people to see it without leaving the comfort of their desks is even better. Using a site like DimDim, you can create a free or relatively inexpensive online meeting, and allow people to see more information about your product and interact with you as they’re presented data. Customers will feel more involved.
- Beta-test (if possible) – In software, it’s called beta-testing, but it might be something different in your industry. Select some of your best customers to try out your new product or service before it’s released to the general public and allow them to provide feedback. Your best customers feel privileged, like they’re really providing feedback in the direction of your company…and your new product should be properly vetted before it reaches market.
- Tweet – All other social media outlets are good for announcements, but the nature of Twitter allows you instant access to bunches of people that could be interested in your product, and doing it about once a day (maybe twice) won’t be too obnoxious. Be sure to use or create hash (#) tags that relate to your product so that people can find it more easily (I briefly touch upon hash tags in “Support Problem? Twitter to the Rescue“).
Step four: Release
If you’ve planned and created the appropriate amount of buzz, your release date should be relatively uneventful for you as a company (except that you’ll now have a million people knocking down your door asking, “where’s your new sprocket??? I must have one!”). All your ducks should be in a row by this point; that is, your web site should be able to accept orders if that’s where you’re selling your new product, and everything about your ordering process should have been tested and re-tested (you did plan for testing, right?). If you are a small company and have created a sufficient amount of buzz around yourself, you likely have one shot at getting a new customer. If their buying experience is not near perfect, they are unlikely to come back.
Apple has years of experience behind them, and resources to create buzz like no other company. As a small business, you may not have access to the same resources, but there are tools that can help you get off on the right foot. When you’re doing something that will be game-changing for your business, be sure to take a step back before you start and plan. You must understand and cater to the most important part of making your product succeed: your customers.
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Looking forward to using some of these ideas for GetRentWiz.com. We’ve got a great product but don’t have the most experience when it comes to selling it! Going to be a great learning curve!