Some Knowledge

We live in a world in which we are surrounded by hype.  Advertisers and other people trying to change our opinions or attitudes are everywhere in the media.  Politicians, salesmen, sports stars, celebrities and news people all want to change the way people think and act.  How do they go about this?

Since the invention of the printing press, man has had access to some method of mass media.  Any form of communications that can reach large numbers of people can be used to generate hype for some person or product.  Today we not only have books and newspapers, magazines and radio, television, movies but also the vast sea of knowledge that is the Internet.  We are surrounded by mass communications on all levels of our lives.

In order to get a message out to large numbers of people you will need a channel that is viewed by many persons.  This usually means a medium with an established customer base, like newspapers or television channels.  The usual means of approaching these services with some story you want to tell is with a press release written for an editor.  The editor of a paper, magazine, or television channel has say in what gets placed in his publication.  You may want to call the different services you are thinking of promoting to in order to ask where you should send a press release.  A press release is just an article detailing what it is about your product, service, or person that is of interest to a general audience.  What benefit will the thing you are promoting have for the readers of that particular paper?  You must be clear and specific with your information.  Point out reasons why your offering is valuable to this publication’s viewers.

If a news service or television program is interested in your release they may have a writer contact you to get more information on your product.  You should know everything you can about what makes your service so interesting to people.  Tell them how you started out, or how many people already own your product, or what it is about your offering that is different from anything else.  If you are promoting a person for political office you should know their policies and opinions on the key issues, as well as know things about their personal history that will appeal to a voting public.  It is important to have concrete information that can be used by the writer to generate a story.

Any medium that reaches a lot of people can be used to generate hype.  This includes popular websites.  If you are promoting your own website, surf around the net for similar sites.  Send email to the webmasters of the different sites and ask them if they would be interested in trading links on their page with your site.  Cross-linking to popular sites in this way can generate a lot of traffic for your site.  You want to get your message out to as many eyes as possible.  Think about where people might go who are interested in your product.  If you sell coffee you might approach coffee shops to see if they will let you post fliers in their establishments.  Post classified advertisements for your product in newspapers and in free online ads.  Post comments in forums online and leave a link to your page.  It’s a lot of busy work doing small time promotion like this, but when the word starts spreading and your promotion goes viral it will all pay off.

The general principle in generating any kind of hype is to have a message and then convey that message to as many people as possible.  If you are trying to end world hunger you can certainly generate interest in this idea by writing a compelling story and suggesting a cure for this condition.  If you are trying to sell crystal fairy statuettes, think of an angle that will make people want to own your product, such as how happy it will make them to have such a beautiful article in their home.  If you are running for president, try to convince people that you will be the best person for the job.  The news media is constantly searching for items it can report on.  If you can make your offering seem worthy of a spot in the national news, you will generate a lot of interest and free publicity for your product.