In 1973, at 1,450.58 ft. and 108 stories, Chicago’s Sears Tower was the tallest building in the world — an irresistible topic.
But over time, topics fade and don’t create the same excitement they once did. The Sears Tower experienced this as other buildings around the world were constructed taller and as new attractions were added around the city. And while still a fantastic experience (drawing more than a million annual visitors), the “tall building” topic had grown stale.
All that changed, however, with the recent opening of “The Ledge” — a pair of glass balconies that give visitors the sensation of floating over the city. Now, everyone’s forwarding pictures to their friends, debating how nerve-wracking the experience would be, and making plans to visit the tower.
The Lesson: No topic lives forever. What would adding a new seating area to your restaurant, a new product to your lineup, or a new perk for your best customers do for your word of mouth?
Photo credit: Image from Gawker, via Getty
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Disease, war, famine, political issues — they’re all serious, difficult topics to bring up. But that doesn’t mean you can’t find a way to help your fans spread their support for your cause, here’s how:
1> Find a middleman
2> Find a symbol
3> Find a positive
1> Find a middleman
It’s hard for people to talk to someone they barely know about awkward or serious topics. Try to find a “middleman” — a talker with established trust with those you’re trying to reach — and educate them on your issue. Teachers, doctors, parents, or public officials could all be excellent mediators for the topics you’re trying to share.
2> Find a symbol
When the topic is too tough to talk about, give them something else to share with the world. Colors, wristbands, and themed events make it easy for people who believe in a message to share it without having to discuss diseases or world issues. If you can find something to symbolize the issue you care about, you can give supporters a way to talk without focusing on the tough details.
3> Find a positive
People are much better at sharing good news — so try to keep the themes of your topics about how you and your supporters are saving lives, curing illnesses, and changing the world. You could create a special newsletter or big celebration focused on highlighting all the great things your cause or organization has accomplished. Just remember: People are much more willing to drag in their friends if it feels like they’re having lots of success and making a difference.
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Before you run with your new topic, you can use these simple methods to test it:
1> The telephone game
2> The high-school test
3> The customer test
1> The telephone game
Can your topic go through three people and come back recognizable? If not, your topic is too long or too complicated. Shorten it to something simple, remove the word “and,” and keep it jargon-free.
2> The high-school test
Ask a teenager if you’re buzzworthy. If you get even the slightest response, you might be on to something. This is a surprisingly effective way to test your topic on a crowd with perhaps the shortest attention span out there.
3> The customer test
Test your topic by leaking it to a few customers. Watch to see if they respond or repeat it elsewhere. You’ll know you’ve got a winner if a few customers start coming around asking about it.
All word of mouth starts with a topic.
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