“Buzz” that spreads on SNS can be expected to be of great benefit to companies because it does not require advertising costs, can reach a wide range of users, and can obtain high engagement.
As you use SNS on a daily basis, you may be expecting things to go viral. However, even if you are aiming for coincidence, it will not be so easy.
So this time, I will explain what you need to do to create a buzz. Let’s learn about the basics of buzzing and things to be careful of!
What does buzz mean?
First of all, in order to create a buzz, you need to know exactly what it means to create a buzz.
In Japan, the term is used to describe a rumor that spreads explosively on the Internet in a short period of time, attracts the attention of many people, and takes the world by storm. In particular, it refers to the spread of SNS posts and website articles through social media.
For example, on Twitter, the original post is retweeted and spread by a large number of people, and it becomes an explosive topic that is displayed on Twitter’s “Twitter Trends” feature that lets you know the latest topics that are being talked about. means the degree of diffusion. The number of retweets varies from an extraordinary 5 million times to others as high as 10,000 times.
Spreading is not limited to Twitter. Buzz can also occur on social media such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
Buzz etymology
“Buzz” comes from the English verb “buzz,” and the English word has the meaning of something like a bee or a machine making a buzzing noise or making a noise. The origin of the word comes from the sound of a bee flapping its wings and the meaning of something being a lively topic of discussion.
The difference between a buzz and a flare-up
Buzz and flames may seem similar as events, but if you look inside, they are completely different. Buzz refers to content that has a lot of positive topics and is topical, so the information is shared by many people and attracts attention.
On the other hand, a flare-up is when there are a lot of negative topics, criticism and accusations are concentrated, and it becomes a big discussion and problem involving various people.
“Buzz” is generally used in a positive sense, while “Flame” is used when there is criticism or a problem.
Effects of buzz
So, as explained above, if the phenomenon of buzz occurs, what kind of effects can be expected? Let’s take a look at some of its effects.
Increase in popularity
It is true that if it goes viral, it will become more famous. Whether it’s negative or positive. If it spreads on Twitter and becomes a trend, it will be seen by more people and its popularity will naturally increase.
Acquire new customers and increase sales
If a company becomes more well-known, the company’s products and services will become more well-known and more people will become interested in them, which is likely to lead to the acquisition of new customers. You can expect an increase in sales.
Increased number of followers on company official accounts, etc.
For example, if the SNS account that created the viral post gains attention, the number of followers will naturally increase, leading to the acquisition of followers.
Increased engagement with users
Engagement, in a broad sense, refers to an increase in the feeling of supporting your company, or in other words, an increase in the number of fans. In a narrow sense, it refers to an increase in the response rate, such as an increase in likes, comments, and retweets on Twitter and other sites. In this way, in both a broad and narrow sense, it is thought that engagement with users will increase as a result of buzz.
What you need to make a buzz
As mentioned earlier, you need to take measures to create buzz, and if you just manage your SNS on a daily basis, you won’t have many opportunities to do so.
However, even if you are aiming for something, it cannot necessarily be said that it will create a buzz. So what should we do? It’s about sticking to the point and doing what needs to be done. Here, we will introduce what you need to do to create buzz, including actions and content.
Make the theme of your post or article more popular
The theme of the SNS post or article you want to create buzz needs to be one that is likely to generate buzz. For example, it is said that if you are conscious of the following things, you are likely to get buzz.
Make it your own/Familiar themes
Basically, if it doesn’t resonate with many users, it won’t spread or become a buzz, so familiar themes that anyone can make their own are more likely to become a buzz. This is because by seeing it in my own way and empathizing with it, I want to share it and talk to someone about it.
For example, people typically want to share photos and videos of cute animals, babies, and seasonal news. Event items such as Christmas and Valentine’s Day are also standard.
No advertising color / A theme that allows you to empathize with the story
When a company sends a message, it is inevitably an activity for the purpose of promoting a product or service, so it tends to have an advertising tone. However, unless it is an advertisement, users treat it as a general post on SNS, so it is important to avoid advertising. Also, when announcing a product or service, rather than explaining the product itself, it will be easier for people to empathize with it by mainly introducing the story behind the development, such as the thoughts behind the product. .
Themes with surprises and gaps
In order to generate buzz, it is difficult to create content that is obvious. It can be said that themes that have a certain amount of surprise or gaps that make you think “Huh!?” or “Wow!” and are captivating are likely to create buzz.
informative themes
This is also basic, but if the theme is useful to users, it will be more likely to spread and become a buzz. Knowledge, useful goods, and valuable information that are useful in daily life.
Topic theme
Highly topical themes, such as new information, emergency news, disaster information, and information about current trends, attract people’s attention.
controversial topic
It can be said that topics that generate debate, pros and cons, are likely to become popular. This is because each person wants to express their opinion, so retweets are likely to occur. For campaigns, etc., you can use a survey format where you choose one option from multiple options.
Highly entertaining theme
People are also attracted to entertaining themes. For example, themes that are fun and uplifting, such as cute, funny, soothing, touching, and surprising.
Gain empathy from influencers
Even if it is possible to spread the word to some extent on SNS, it is said that in many cases influencers are involved in creating a buzz. Influencers are people who have a high degree of influence on the internet, not just celebrities who appear on TV. In order to become a buzz, the standard to a certain extent is that someone has tens of thousands of followers on SNS. If you can relate to that influencer, they will share it and it will spread automatically. One way is to interact with influencers on a regular basis.
Research content that goes viral
In order to create posts and articles that go viral, it is important to research what content is going viral. Check out the posts and articles that are going viral on a daily basis, and think for yourself why they’re going viral. It would be a good idea to list the reasons for each post or article. Once you’ve accumulated a certain amount of buzz content, look at the reasons behind them and look for commonalities. Since it’s the same buzz content, there must be something in common. If you can figure out what they have in common, that will help you create a post that will go viral.
repeated trial and error
If you find something common in popular content or come up with an idea, give it a try. I don’t know if it will actually go viral. However, research results and ideas will not start if you just think about them in your head. If you try and fail, find out the cause, create a new strategy, and post. By doing this, you can improve the accuracy of posts that go viral.
Use eye-catching thumbnails
Posts and articles often use eye-catching thumbnail images. In this case, it is important that it is eye-catching. If you can’t help but be drawn to an image when you take a quick look at it, it can be said to have an element of buzz.
For articles, install SNS share buttons on the website
Basically, SNS posts and articles spread and become a buzz through SNS. Therefore, it goes without saying that the first thing to do is to get people to share it on social media. If you want your article to go viral, you need to put a SNS share button on the article or post the article’s URL on SNS.
For articles, set OGP tags
If you want your article to go viral, make sure to set the featured image to display properly when you share it. Generally, when you post a website article to SNS, the SNS function automatically generates a summary of the image, title, and description. At that time, if something called “OGP tag (Open Graph Protocol)” is written in the website source, it will be generated by referring to that information. If there is no OGP tag description, the SNS will automatically select the image, so there is a risk that an unintended image will be selected.
OGP tags are written within <head></head> of the HTML source. Below is an example.
First, declare at the beginning that your page will use OGP. Add the prefix attribute to the <head> tag and write it as follows.
<html lang=”ja” prefix=”og: http://ogp.me/ns#”>
<meta property=”og:url” content=”Page URL” />
<meta property=”og:type” content=”Page type” />
<meta property=”og:title” content=”Page title” />
<meta property=”og:description” content=”Page description” />
<meta property=”og:site_name” content=”Site title” />
<meta property=”og:image” content=”Thumbnail image URL” />
- “og:type” describes the type of page. For the top page, “website” or “blog” is used, and for pages other than the top page, that is, lower level pages, is “article”.
- “og:image” specifies the URL of the thumbnail image that will be displayed when shared on SNS.
Buzz points by SNS
Depending on the type of SNS, the key points and things you should do to create buzz will change. Let’s know. Here we will explain the points that create buzz on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
1. Twitter
When it comes to buzz, it’s Twitter. It is said that a post that has gone viral is said to have received more than 10,000 retweets within a few days.
Keep your posts as simple as possible
Twitter is characterized by its immediacy and short posts. The posts that go viral are often just one word or very simple. A common pattern of Twitter spread is that even though it is just a one-word tweet, it attracts many people and spreads along with images and videos. Try to keep your posts very simple and in one word as much as possible.
Surprising content
Rather than having people read it as text, Twitter is more effective in creating a momentary impact that is startling and interesting, making people think, “Huh?!”, “What is this?”, and “What does it mean?”. The key is to create an element of surprise, such as, “This kind of company is tweeting about this kind of thing.”
Disseminate useful information
Various things are happening, such as the new coronavirus and natural disasters, but one way to provide people with a sense of security is by disseminating useful information. This means leveraging the immediacy of the information to provide highly newsworthy information while also incorporating useful elements.
Setting up an OGP Twitter card
There is an OGP setting method specifically for Twitter. When you post an article on social media, make sure it looks like it’s going to get more buzz. By specifying the following in the meta tag, when you post the URL of an article on Twitter, instead of just linking to the URL, a set of images, titles, etc. will be displayed as if a card was inserted. and the way it looks changes. It’s called a “Twitter card.”
<meta name=”twitter:card” content=”Card type”>
<meta name=”twitter:site” content=”Twitter username”>
<meta name=”twitter:title” content=”Article title”>
<meta name=”twitter:description” content=”Article summary”>
<meta name=”twitter:image” content=”URL of image to display on card”>
“twitter:card”
“twitter:card” is a tag that allows you to specify one of four card types. The four types that can be specified are “summary”, “summary_large_image”, “app”, and “player”.
-“Summary”…The title, description, and thumbnail are displayed.
-“summary_large_image”…Same as summary, the title, description, and thumbnail are displayed, but the image is displayed larger.
– “app”…For apps. The app’s name, introduction, app icon, rating, and price are also displayed.
– “player”…Display media such as video and audio.
Figure: What it looks like when “summary” is set for “twitter:card”
You can also specify other content to display on the card. Specify your Twitter username, article title, article summary, and the URL of the image you want to display on the card.
2.Facebook
It is said that business-oriented posts are more likely to be shared on Facebook than on Twitter. Of course, all of the things I mentioned earlier in the section “What you need to do to create buzz” also apply to Facebook posts, but on Facebook, you can create buzz by adding elements that are “useful for business.” It is thought that one feature is that it makes it easier to For example, if you want to create buzz by posting knowledge or articles that are useful for your business, one option is to choose Facebook.
3. Instagram
In order to become popular on Instagram, it is said that it is important to be featured in the list of posts that appear when you tap the magnifying glass mark labeled “Discover.” Discovery shows personalized posts for each user. Users will see posts similar to accounts they see on a daily basis.
So how do you get featured on Discovery? It is said that several elements are required for this.
Number of saves
In order to be featured in Discovery, the number of “saved” posts is important. What is listed in Discovery is a feature that Instagram recommends to users, so the posts must be “useful” and “highly attention-grabbing.” Therefore, in order to get the number of saves, the key is to create mechanisms and posts that will get people to save, such as increasing the number of followers on the official account and disseminating useful information.
home rate
It is also important that the account has a high home rate. Home rate is the percentage of your account’s posts seen by your account’s followers. If many followers are viewing posts from your company’s account, Instagram management will determine that your account is of high quality. This is also said to be a condition that makes it easy to be published in discovery.
4. YouTube
On YouTube, when the number of views increases explosively, it becomes a buzz. In order to create buzz on YouTube, you need to think about increasing the number of views. What kind of video should I make? In short, it’s about creating videos that users want to see.
Currently, most of the people who post videos that are viral, that is, have a large number of views, are people called YouTubers. It is difficult for companies to participate in this field. As expected, “advertisement colors” inevitably appear, which tends to weaken support from users. Even if it doesn’t go viral, there are some videos that get a lot of views, so there’s probably room for consideration.
Disadvantages and precautions due to buzz
When companies work on creating content that goes viral, they need to fully understand the disadvantages that going viral brings. Please also check the precautions.
Even if there is a fine line between a fire and a fire
As mentioned earlier, buzz can be both positive and negative. Being negative can be a very fine line between causing a fire. This is because there are many people who criticize it, and it can spread. Furthermore, even if the content is interesting, if it is seen by many people, it may become offensive to some people. To spread means to spread within Japan or the world. If the virus does not spread as a result, it may cause ripples if it touches the eyes of those who were not exposed to it. You need to create content with this in mind. For example, it is important to carefully check in advance whether it contains discriminatory content or whether it contains content that criticizes or denies some people.
Additionally, if something goes viral, even content that is not particularly problematic may become the target of criticism. Please be aware that any content carries the risk of becoming a hot topic.
Some cases suffer from reputational damage
After it becomes a buzz, it can lead to positive results such as increased popularity, acquisition of many new customers and fans, and increased sales. However, there are many cases in which the company suffers from reputational damage. The more well-known you become, the more likely you are to become the target of criticism. If you want to avoid reputational damage, it is better not to aim for buzz.
Buzz can damage your brand image
If you focus on creating buzz, you tend to start getting more and more elaborate with your content and it tends to go beyond your brand image. If this happens, the brand image that you have spent so much time building could be damaged. You should be careful and set rules to ensure that you do not go beyond the boundaries of your brand.
The company’s image may deteriorate as it is perceived as a company that engages in flame marketing.
If you engage in activities that are explicitly aimed at creating buzz, the public will eventually find out that you are engaging in buzz marketing. However, as mentioned earlier, there is a fine line between creating a firestorm and creating a buzz, so the public may think that your company is engaged in “flame marketing.” Flame marketing is a marketing method that intentionally creates flames to obtain advertising and PR effects. If a company intentionally makes posts that are sure to attract criticism, such as expressions that are likely to cause a stir, it will inevitably be seen as a company with “low morals,” and the company’s image will deteriorate. Flame marketing should generally be avoided. Also, even if you are aware that you are conducting buzz marketing, you must keep in mind that there is a risk of being perceived as flame marketing.
Examples of companies that went viral
1. McDonald’s The “Rice Burger” sold by McDonald’s Japan for a limited time became a hot topic as it was a new product that replaced traditional bread with rice. Many people reacted and created a buzz on SNS.
2. UNIQLO “UTme!” provided by UNIQLO is a service that allows you to create your own T-shirt designs. It brought out the creativity of customers and became a buzz as many people posted their own designs on SNS.
3. Starbucks Starbucks ran a campaign encouraging Frappuccino customization for a limited time. Many people make original Frappuccinos and post photos of them on SNS, creating a buzz.
summary
“Buzz” comes from the English verb “buzz”, and it means to make a buzzing noise, such as a bee or a machine, or to spread rumors, and gossip explodes on the Internet in a short period of time. It is used to mean that the topic spreads and takes the world by storm. In particular, it refers to the spread of SNS posts and website articles through social media.
By creating a buzz, you can expect effects such as increased name recognition, increased sales by gaining more fans and customers, and increased engagement.
In order to create buzz, you need to make the theme of the post or article easy to create a buzz, gain sympathy from influencers, research content that will generate buzz, repeat trial and error, and use eye-catching thumbnails. For articles, this includes installing SNS share buttons on the website and setting OGP tags.
If something goes viral, there are risks such as a firestorm, reputational damage, and damage to your brand image, so you should be careful not to take things lightly and prepare carefully.