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When Oprah Calls, You’d Better Be Ready

Didit Editorial

August 15, 2013: Imagine the following scenario: out of the clear blue sky a producer working for a major media influencer – let’s say Oprah or The Today Show – calls you up. The show is interested in your product, your brand, and your story. The shoot is tonight, the show will air tomorrow, and with luck, by the end of the week your product/brand/story will be exposed to millions of eyeballs across the land.

Sounds like a dream, right? Well, such a set of events can also be a nightmare, because the “call from Oprah” scenario only works for those who’ve prepared – well in advance – a strategy for transforming the transient tsunami of attention resulting from major media exposure into buyers and brand loyalists. Such a strategy is executed by building a robust, demand-harvesting Internet-based presence; such a presence generally consists of three parts:  a Web site (attractive, usable, site with a smooth internal path to conversion), a social media position (outposts on Facebook, Twitter, and the other platforms that matter), and strong search engine visibility – using organic and/or paid listings to dominate Search Engine Results Pages.

Unfortunately – and I have seen this again and again – the hard, expensive work of building such a demand-harvesting network isn’t done before the prized call from Oprah comes in. Perhaps part of the network (perhaps a brochure-like Web site or an isolated Facebook page) is in place, but the “3S Trifecta” (Site, Social, and Search) parts are missing, undeveloped, unconnected, or broken. The result is that the extraordinary gift of mass-media, Oprah-level visibility is totally squandered.

And the sad fact is that Oprah may never, ever call again.

Think of the “call from Oprah” scenario the next time you have to fight for a budget to overhaul your (or a client’s) Web site, hire a social media manager, or invest in SEO. Try to get beyond any low-level bickering over short-term ROI by pointing out the larger truth that a call from Oprah (or an Oprah-level TV show) can completely change the game for you, your firm, or your client. Point out that building each of the components required of a demand-harvesting network that can transform transient viewers into buyers/brand advocates takes time.  Hammer on the fact that if you’re ready when Oprah is – you could recover a year’s investment in a matter of days – perhaps hours.

However effectively you argue, you may still lose your case. Those with budgetary authority may laugh at the likelihood that a niche product or service such as the one you represent is worthy of being beamed out to millions. They may be unaware that niche products and services – especially those with a futuristic, techie, or youth-oriented angle – are featured on mass media outlets every day. Or they might not understand the actual mechanics, logistics, and time requirements of building an effective demand-harvesting network, and actually think that “we can cross that bridge when we come to it.”“You can’t,” you must argue. “By the time that Oprah calls, it will be too late.”

Don’t set yourself up for disappointment.  However unlikely a call from Oprah might be, there will be cases when you will enjoy unexpected bursts of traffic driven by external events that you don’t control. You must be ready for these traffic surges and have the infrastructure in place to handle it. Unless you prepare for success, you’ll set yourself up for failure.I really do hope you get that call from Oprah – not tomorrow, not next week, but when your network is truly ready and you can make the most of your incoming, mass media-driven traffic.And the time to start getting that network ready is right now.

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