If buzz was tactile and something you could hold in your hand or kick with your foot, what would it feel like? What would it look like? How would you recognize it?
Another name for ‘viral marketing’ and ‘word of mouth,’ buzz is an idea that has many terms because nobody agrees on its definition and scope, so allow me to provide an example.
Concentrate on this image, picture the newspaper as an allegory for your corporate or personal brand, and imagine what people are saying about it:
Photo credit: Southbank Steve @ Flickr
Forget about social networking and online media for a moment.
Buzz is spread through headlines. The larger the headline, the more important an editor thinks the content is worth reading. The smaller the headline, the less valuable the content is to the typical reader.
But here’s the key: If you interpret that photo literally, it’s irrelevant how large or small a headline is or how many images and ads are there, for if your foot is on it, you’ll never see it.
Your goal is to feel the buzz under your foot.
Before I continue with this train of thought, I’d like to gauge your thoughts.
- Think about your business or organization and determine if you believe in your mission statement.
- Write your mission statement in a short sentence that a 13-year-old can understand without looking up words in a dictionary.
- Add a comment below with your name, an optional email address (seen only by me so I can follow-up with you personally) and provide a website or blog address that will be linked to your name. In the text box, share with me your simplified mission and any related thoughts.
With each new comment, I and other readers (yes, that’s YOU) will share our thoughts and provide feedback on your mission and how we feel your buzz. Make sense?
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I was under the impression that a true mission statement was for the employees, not the customer. It provides values, practices, and morals employees should believe in so they use as guidelines to instill great work ethics and customer service. Our websites are very new and we don’t have a set mission statement, although we probably should. Could always use new feedback.
I completely agree with keeping it simple. I think 7 words is the maximum for a mission statement.
Bryan´s last blog post..“Rich Is A Religion” by Mark Stevens, 2008
Craig – If the mission statement is for the employee, why is it printed in the annual report and plastered at the end of every press release, not to mention provided to venture capitalists when requesting initial funding?
The mission statement, like the vision statement, is indeed a guiding principle — but for customers to believe in the company and purchase their products, not for employees to instill morals and receive a paycheck.
As Bryan mentioned in his “mission statement” link, if the customer doesn’t agree with the company’s mission statement, then there’s a disconnect and as the old saying goes, “The customer is always right.”
Which goes back to the buzz and why many companies can’t feel it.