Love them or hate them or don’t care one way or the other…this morning, we are all just living in the Foo Fighters’ world.
Of course, I am talking about the buzz that the band generated over the last 24-48 hours about a possible breakup and solo career start up by Dave Grohl…that never happened.
Now, I bet that even if you aren’t a Foo Fighters fan or don’t pay attention to music in the least that you know exactly what happened last night when the band made its big “announcement.”
If you didn’t, flip on over to YouTube real quick and check it out.
Because the band went on to put together a 7 minute video trolling rumors of a breakup and even went through the process of “finding” a new singer, Nick Lachey from 98 Degrees.
Great example of using the Internet as a tool to build buzz about you, especially when you are off a promotional cycle.
With a band that is known for pranks and playful videos like “Big Me,” “Learn to Fly,” and “Everlong” a video announcing they weren’t breaking up shouldn’t have been surprising, but it was.
The question then becomes, how does a non, world touring rock band capture some of the same elements in their own branding and marketing?
Understand Your Value:
The Foo Fighters are more than a band to a lot of people, they are an institution that people follow and travel to see.
So their value is far beyond simply a catchy song that is background music to something.
Their value comes in their connection to their audience and the viewpoint that this connection represents.
So when the rumors starting floating around that Dave Grohl might be breaking up the band to go solo, their fans had a heart felt and emotional response to the idea.
Knowing their value, the Foo Fighters were able to use that to generate buzz about their announcement and tension in their relationship.
What can you do, even if you aren’t in a band?
A few things:
Understand how your product or service provides a path to improvement for your clients and prospects.
How does your product improve a business?
What kind of intangible value do you create? Is there an emotional connection?
Take these elements and look to create a connection between you and your clients and prospects.
Be their hero!
Understanding Your Target Audience:
Not everyone is a Foo Fighters fan.
Not everyone is a fan of Dave Grohl.
Not everyone is a fan of Internet rumors and videos.
But you know who is, the people that the Foo Fighters targeted with their big “announcement” video.
And, in a world that is constantly connected through our mobile devices, video makes a lot of sense as a way to meet that audience and engage them in a meaningful way.
They knew that they weren’t trying to get to everyone, so they didn’t try.
What can you learn from this?
A great deal.
Depending on what you are selling, you may have a big or small target market.
What you don’t have is a market that represents everyone?
So you have to pick what you are and what you want to be to your target audience.
Do you want to be the low cost leader?
Are you focusing on the significant value you create?
Are your customers buying at the Executive level?
Or, are they buying at the entry level?
Whatever the answer, make sure that you are tailoring what you do to that specific audience.
You Don’t Have To Go Everywhere
Again, this video announcement was posted on the Internet.
This wasn’t something that was rolled out in a number of different media, even if the “announcement” took on a life of its own.
Instead, the “announcement” went live on the Internet.
Not everywhere!
I reiterate this because we can find ourselves falling into the trap of trying to reach every market in every way manageable, which is both expensive and dumb.
Why?
Because it is expensive, but because it also can give the impression that you are just scattering yourself everywhere.
You don’t want that!
You want to go to where your audience is.
For the Foo Fighters, the best way to reach that audience was going on the Internet.
For you, that might mean going to a conference and speaking, publishing in a journal or magazine, direct marketing…could mean anything.
But what it should mean is that you have been deliberate in your focus on reaching your audience where they are likely to see your message.
What do you think?
What did you take from the surprise?