The “Colbert Bump”, because it’s where you go, who you meet, and who talks about you that does your marketing.

This post was inspired by Dr. Stephen T. Colbert D.F.A., who was recently noted as one of the most influential persons in media by New York Magazine. The Colbert Report host is also an Emmy Award Winner and Peabody Award Winner.

The “Colbert Bump” by definition as sourced by Wikiality:

“The Colbert Bump is the curious phenomenon whereby anyone who appears on The Colbert Report gets a huge boost in popularity, causing them to win elections, receive massive increases in money (making Colbert the greatest fundraiser ever), receive major awards and even get laid (The Colbert Bumpin’ Uglies) and sell many albums.”  Source:  http://wikiality.wikia.com/The_Colbert_Bump

So how does any of this apply to your business if you have never been on the show?

If you are like most business owners you have clients (hopefully some happy ones), you attend various business networking functions, you meet all types of demographics of people on a regular basis, and to some degree all of this culminates into leads and new business for you.

These people, places, and events are your marketing ammunition!  (That is if the government doesn’t make these weapons of marketing awesomeness illegal) :-p

Every day you are in operation you are collecting rounds of ammo; it is up to you use each round wisely. The marketplace of business is your battle ground and you never want to find yourself unarmed. The second you choose to disarm yourself and no longer properly engage with others is the day you begin losing ground to the competition.

Because of Dr. Colbert’s subtle yet ingenious application of these methods, authors who have appeared on his show have experienced higher book sales and guest politicians have won in their runs for office.

Proof is in the pudding:

“Findings, however, show that the bump raises the poll numbers for political candidate by no fewer than 10 points.”

“Being on The Colbert Report increases book sales by 10 times on average.”

-Source:  http://wikiality.wikia.com/The_Colbert_Bump

Let’s break down the components of what is really happening.

• Guest appears on show
• Dr. Colbert spends a few minutes chatting with the guest on their subject matter
• Guest leaves and almost instantly becomes a center of influence within their industry
• The guest experiences an increase in new deals, sales, or voter approval
• Guest notes that they were featured on The Colbert Report on all marketing and publicity materials
• The “Colbert Bump” is complete.

Now let’s look at how this relates to your regular promotional activities:

• You show up to a networking event.
• You spend a few minutes chatting with the host of the event and other guests about who they are and what they do. Always meet the host! (They are the closest thing to the real Dr. Colbert at the event.)
• You connect different people you know with others you have met so they can potentially do business or form a strategic alliance.  (If you aren’t doing this you are wasting your ammo as well as not collecting any more to use later.)
• You leave and almost instantly become a center of influence to the people you connected.
• You now go on your social media platforms, (this is the critical and most important time to start using you ammo) and talk about, tag, and promote the event venue, host, and those you met.

Example:

“Thanks so much to Tampa Connection for hosting an amazing event at the Tampa Bay Times Forum! It was great meeting Chris Krimitsos, Chief Creative Officer of Tampa Bay Business Owners. I look forward to your next event.”

This post tags three different entities that will most likely respond and help further distribute your post, as well as show your audience you are active within the community.

• You continue to connect people within your network, make note of the successes they experience, and congratulate them publicly.
• Now you experience an influx of recognition and gratitude from those you have connected which results in more business, success, and personal satisfaction than you ever could have imagined.
• “Colbert Bump” Complete

There are a few more steps involved with integrating this theory in your business in comparison to the steps I outlined for the traditional “Colbert Bump”, but the extra explanation was necessary in order to outline the steps you must take in order to achieve unparalleled levels of “Colbert Bump” style success.

The greatest part about implementing the “Colbert Bump” in your business is that you get to play both the role of the bumpee and the bumper. You get to talk about, promote, and expose others to great opportunities and also experience the awesomeness, wealth, and recognition that the “Colbert Bump” provides.

Dr. Colbert, a “Tip of my Hat,” to you good sir for inspiring marketers everywhere and I apologize that we have not credited you for bringing this brilliant philosophy to the public for so many years.

There is a critical element to this strategy, and that is consistent implementation. Just think, what if you could be on The Colbert Report every week? How much would your business grow?!? By planning and consistently implementing this philosophy you will see your business expand with both profits and social recognition.

Dr. Colbert, what can we do to show American business owners, who are the backbone of this great nation, how to leverage the “Colbert Bump “ in their daily business activities?

If I had a dime for everytime that I was wrong, I’d be broke.
― Stephen Colbert

Post by: Joe Malinowski