This document discusses techniques for generating buzz and leveraging social media. It explains that buzz is a form of viral marketing and word-of-mouth promotion. Several social media tools for creating buzz are discussed, including Twitter, Digg, and StumbleUpon. Case studies show how nonprofits have used these tools to drive traffic to their websites in a cost-effective manner. The key themes emphasized are making friends, being timely and consistent in posts, practicing reciprocity, and sharing relevant content.

1. Generating Buzz:
Tools and
Techniques
Laura Norvig
Leveraging Social Media and Web 2.0 for Nonprofits

2. We Are Media Project:
The Social Media Starter Kit for
Nonprofits
Visit the WeAreMedia wiki for additional
resources and to connect with other
nonprofit social media practitioners via
http://www.wearemedia.org
Funded by the Surdna Foundation

4. WHAT IS BUZZ?
• Word of Mouth
• Tell a Friend
• Viral Marketing
Flickr Photo: abardwell
www.wearemedia.org | Building the Buzz | Laura Norvig | @lnorvig

5. TRUST AND BUZZ
• Source is reliable
• Source is
authoritative
• Message is
authentic
Flickr Photo: paranoid monk
www.wearemedia.org | Building the Buzz | Laura Norvig

6. SOCIAL PROOF AND
BUZZ
• Blog posts with lots of
comments get more
comments.
• Digg submissions with a
high Digg count (combined
with a catchy headline and
summary) get Dugg before
the content is viewed (even
if the content is never
Flickr Photo: Mr. Jaded
viewed).
– http://www.copyblogger.com/social-media-
change/
www.wearemedia.org | Building the Buzz | Laura Norvig | @lnorvig

7. THE COST OF BUZZ
• Tools are cheap
• Time is money
Flickr Photo: M.ADA
www.wearemedia.org | Building the Buzz | Laura Norvig | @lnorvig

8. MISS MANNERS AND
BUZZ
• It’s a cocktail party
– Make others feel important
– Be smart, witty and funny!
– Be relevant
– Put your best foot forward
• Being awesome is the best
way to SEEM awesome
Flickr Photo: Pete Lambert
www.wearemedia.org | Building the Buzz | Laura Norvig | @lnorvig

9. CASE STUDY IN BUZZ
http://tweetsgiving.org/
• $10,000
• 48 hours
• 364 donations
• 3,000 gratitude tweets
• 40% from twitter + 30%
direct visits + 9% search +
6% Facebook and
StumbleUpon = 85% of all
visits
www.wearemedia.org | Building the Buzz | Laura Norvig | @lnorvig

10. THE TOOLS OF BUZZ
• Twitter
http://twitter.com
• Digg
http://digg.com/
• StumbleUpon
http://stumbleupon.com
Flickr Photo: lambchops • FriendFeed
http://friendfeed.com
www.wearemedia.org | Building the Buzz | Laura Norvig | @lnorvig

11. Buzz Tools: THE BASICS
• Why are you using it?
• Who will use it?
• How will you know you are
succeeding?
SET UP YOUR ACCOUNTS TO
Flickr Photo: kastner REFLECT THE ANSWERS TO
THESE QUESTIONS
www.wearemedia.org | Building the Buzz | Laura Norvig | @lnorvig

12. TWITTER IN PLAIN
ENGLISH
www.wearemedia.org | Building the Buzz | Laura Norvig | @lnorvig

13. TWITTER: THE TIPS
• Meet People
• Have Conversations
• Make it Easy
Flickr Photo: jusgre
www.wearemedia.org | Building the Buzz | Laura Norvig | @lnorvig

14. CASE STUDY IN
TWITTER
www.wearemedia.org | Building the Buzz | Laura Norvig | @lnorvig

15. TWITTER: THE APPS
• Desktop Apps
– Twhirl: http://www.twhirl.org/
– TweetDeck: http://www.tweetdeck.com
• Mobile Apps
– Twitteriffic: http://iconfactory.com/software/
twitterrific
– Twittermobile:
http://www.twittermobile.co.uk/
• Other
– TwitterFeed: http://twitterfeed.com/
Flickr Photo: comicbase – Tweetscan: http://www.tweetscan.com/
– TweetStats: http://tweetstats.com
www.wearemedia.org | Building the Buzz | Laura Norvig | @lnorvig

16. STUMBLEUPON
www.wearemedia.org | Building the Buzz | Laura Norvig | @lnorvig

17. STUMBLEUPON: THE TIPS
• Make friends
• Be consistent
• Generosity Rules
Flickr Photo: sean drellinger
www.wearemedia.org | Building the Buzz | Laura Norvig | @lnorvig

18. CASE STUDY IN
STUMBLEUPON
• 894 visitors
in 3 days
• 1264 in 10
days
• 2,000 views
of home
page in 3
days
www.wearemedia.org | Building the Buzz | Laura Norvig | @lnorvig

19. DIGG
www.wearemedia.org | Building the Buzz | Laura Norvig | @lnorvig

20. DIGG: THE TIPS
• Make friends
• Be timely
• Generosity rules
Flickr Photo: mbrubeck
www.wearemedia.org | Building the Buzz | Laura Norvig | @lnorvig

21. CASE STUDY in DIGG
• 1,500 page views
month 1
• 44,000 page views
month 2
• 29,000 page views in
one day
www.wearemedia.org | Building the Buzz | Laura Norvig | @lnorvig

22. Increase Traffic
http://www.slideshare.net/danielle.brigida

23. WHAT’S THE THEME
• FRIENDS!
• TIME!
• RECIPROCITY!
• RELEVANCE!
Flickr Photo: the garlands
www.wearemedia.org | Building the Buzz | Laura Norvig | @lnorvig

24. If you remix this presentation,
please add your remixed version
to the wiki.
Thank you