Building Your Online Buzz Oprah Style

Remember when viewers just wanted to be entertained or informed? With the creation of reality television and social media websites, those days are long gone. Viewers of today don’t just dream about being around stars; they actually want to become them. Its part of a new trend I discovered while watching the online buzz surrounding Oprah’s recent contest, win Your OWN SHOW, Oprah’s Search for the Next TV Star. As I watched ambitious contestants develop their video entries and share them with everyone they could, it was like watching Oprah’s new show go viral overnight. Whether they realized it or not, beyond promoting themselves all these people were creating a great deal of free publicity for Oprah’s OWN Network.

Getting millions of people to talk about what you are doing without paying them to do it is absolutely ingenious. While there are many ways to accomplish this goal, in this case the solution of choice is sharing the spotlight with your audience. Today, limiting yourself to traditional marketing won’t get you very far. Similar to Oprah, you’ll find many companies are creating online platforms for their viewers to develop content, share ideas, vote on topics of interest, and let their voice be heard. Take a look at Pepsi’s We Inspire Project for Black Women or their Refresh Project to improve the world; all examples of how companies are using social media tools to build their buzz online.

Can you build your online buzz Oprah style? Even without having Oprah status, it is absolutely possible to get online viewers excited about who you are and what you are doing.

• If you are selling a particular product, you can give away a shopping spree. Ask your customers / online viewers to submit product videos, post them on you tube for buzz and select the best one. You can go a step further by asking contestants to get people to vote on their videos. Similar to the Oprah example, when asking others to vote for them, they are simultaneously promoting themselves and your business.

• Ever heard of the 50 Million Pound Challenge created to motivate more African Americans to lose weight? How about you create a own challenge unique to your business. Make is something that can really help to improve the lives of the customers in your market and that will motivate many to participate with their friends and family. Remember that people have to see real value in your challenge if they are going to commit to participating.

• On her website CreatingFame.com, Social Media Expert Laura Roader talks about how to make you and your business famous using social media. For those who sell a particular service, (like coaching for example), Laura recommends that you give your readers an opportunity to share their issues with you in exchange for an opportunity to win free services or deals. In addition to learning more about your customers, building an active discussion shows others how popular you are and how valuable your information is to others. At the end of the day, before they buy what you are selling, most new customers want to see that other people find value in what you do.

Quick Project:
Take an hour of your time, sit down and think about how you can engage the viewers in your circle and use that activity to build your buzz online.

Quick Click:
I am all about DIY Buzz Building… as a matter of fact, that is exactly how I built my online presence and turned my online side hustle into a full time work at home business. If you are ready, I can show you how to  Find Customers, Make Sales, and Drive More Traffic to your website.

Quick Reading:
Build Your Business By Building Your List
Really Simple Sales Solutions
How to Drive Traffic and Customers to Your Website