5 Tips and a Story from The Buzz Factor's Mark Hughes

Mark Hughes, host of the nationally syndicated talk radio show "The Buzz Factor" and CEO of Buzzmarketing (and author of a book by the same name), has a "secret" insight into how WOM spreads. "People want great stories to tell," he says, "And you can provide them those stories if you imagine the conversation." Here are Mark's five tips on creating a great story.

Tip #1. Don't just think about consumers
The store managers in the above story have an obvious impact on the employees. When the employees hear the fun story the manager shares, they, too will be motivated to spread the word.

Tip #2. Create a story
The more of a tale the manager has to tell, the more likely he is to tell it to others.

Tip #3. Be hilarious, taboo, unusual, outrageous
All of these attributes help fuel word of mouth.

Tip #4. Remember, they want to be the center of interest
Anyone sharing a story shares it for a reason: generally, it's to be the center of interest for a few moments. Any detail in your story that will help them maintain that focus is a good thing.

Tip #5. "Imagine the conversation"
If you can imagine a conversation taking place with your brand as the framework, you can create successful word of mouth.

A Story
Of course, Mark had a story to tell about where he put these tips into action.

"In the course of a couple days with a client, I discovered there was a national manager's meeting for the largest hardware store retailer in the U.S.. Now this retailer has our client's product in every single one of its stores.

"Every year, this retail chain has a national managers meeting, and 100 closely invited vendors are allowed special access to the store managers. A trade show of known, trusted vendors, where interaction takes place with the single-most important person with the ability to move product in that hardware store.

"But my client was planning to treat it like any other trade show."

Mark asked if he could coordinate a campaign where one of the buzz marketing components revolved around the national store managers meeting. The client said, "Sure. Would it have impact?"

Mark taught his client to "imagine a conversation": The store manager returns from the national managers' meeting. Employees ask him about it. He talks about the corporate line (point of purchase, merchandising), then searches for something with more water cooler cache, and says, "And then there was this..."

That's where the client comes in, says Mark. "If you’ve created a ready-made, spoon-fed buzz story so remarkable, so hilarious ... this conversation [between the store manager and his employees] could be your story, which weaves your brand along with it."

More about Mark:

Web site

Buzz Factor web site

Read 2005 WOM vs. Ads presentation (PDF download)