“Winning” Buzz With the Charlie Sheen Social Media Marketing Plan

There’s actually quite a bit to be learned from Charlie Sheen’s ability to build buzz and how anyone can make their own social media marking strategy a “Winning” effort.

I live on the Boston Common, across the street from the Ritz Carlton. Over the years I’ve seen tons of traffic jams caused by the mere presence of huge stars at the hotel; the biggest commotion I’ve ever seen, though, centered around one Charlie Sheen. (Note: This took place back in April during his “Torpedo of Truth Tour.”) Camera phones out and rolling, news crews, onlookers – when I saw the enormous crowd and buzz he generated, I couldn’t help but think about the power of social media and the way he had been utilizing it to generate a massive amount of buzz.

Want to generate buzz for your small business? Take these tips from Charlie!

1. Be Outrageous

Charlie Sheen is nuts, and people love it – the more crazy, the better! You never know what he’s going to say next, and that makes him very interesting. Do something that no one is expecting and you’ll get noticed. Be the same as everyone else and you blend in. With so many options to be entertained by these days, we’re naturally drawn to something different. The reality shows that encourage and promote alcohol consumption and fist fighting often win attention over their competition because unpredictability sells, and there’s nothing more unpredictable then verbal and physical attacks fueled by alcohol.

Charlie stands out because he is unpredictable. Find a way to be unpredictable on your blog, Facebook page, or in a video, and see what happens. Be outrageous. Get attention.

2. Always Be Connecting (ABC)

Charlie is always connecting with his fans. At the height of his popularity I couldn’t turn on the TV without seeing and hearing about him (so I stopped turning on the TV). The attention he received and is still receiving is largely due to the connection he’s built with the media and his fans through social media. Connecting with people is essential to “Winning” at social media. The more personal connections you can make the better. Charlie instantly opened a Twitter account and began amassing fans – he now has over 4.5 million followers.

Charlie connects with his fans over multiple platforms and technologies. He has a website, a Twitter account, a blog, and a Facebook page. He connects everywhere by putting out good content regularly (and by “good” I mean “interesting”). He’s on local news, national news, and news and gossip sites. He uses not only his own platforms for communication, but he uses other outlets as well. This engages his fans and keeps them coming back for more in many places.

Find your fans on social sites and connect. Following someone on Twitter isn’t connecting with them. Connect by sending out personal messages to your fans. Get them engaged by asking questions. As you gain popularity, leverage your visibility and sphere of influence to get media attention. Be the expert that every news person wants to talk to by talking and connecting first.

Figure out how to connect with your audience and stay in touch using more then one platform: Always Be Connecting.

3. Use Video To Tell A Story

It’s undeniable the impact video has had on Charlie Sheen’s marketing success. One of the reasons we find Charlie so interesting to watch because of the story he’s telling us. The story of Charlie’s life unfolded before us as he jumped from camera to camera telling us about his goddesses, children, ex-wife, contract disputes at CBS, hotel parties, drugs, and so on. The details changed, his emotions changed, and the story was told to us by Charlie himself. Charlie’s story is raw, uncensored, and un-edited.

Everyone loves a good story. Tell the story of your business on video. Be creative and find ways to tell mini stories with a central theme. Dare to be yourself and tell the story of your life without editing. The one thing you’re trying to cover up may be the very thing that gets you noticed.

4. Have A Goal

Shortly after the media whirlwind began, Charlie began promoting his speaking tour. Charlie could have continued to tweet and make fool of himself for free, but instead he turned it into an opportunity to sell his tour; despite horrible reviews, he made a killing. The point is that he leveraged all of the attention he created into a opportunity to promote something.

It always kills me when I see someone online who’s grabbed tons of attention but fails to convert any of that traffic into business. You have to be ready for the traffic when it comes, so set your goal early. Create a product, or event, or service that will be useful to your website’s visitors.

Small Business Tip

Learn from famous people who have lots of followers and fans! Many, like Charlie Sheen, can teach you about the importance of being real and daring to be different. You may only have a fraction of the audience of someone like Charlie, but the principles still apply.

Is there anything else small businesses can learn from self-marketing gurus like Charlie? What have you done to promote your business online in a unique, dynamic way? Give us your comments below!

Image source: Charlie Sheen