The web is a referential medium.\u00a0 Bloggers and digitally-savvy journalists understand the concept of linking as a source, and instead of having to re-explain something already fleshed out, we just link as proof.\u00a0 It\u2019s simple and as still as effective as ever, even in a real-time world.<\/p>\n
Despite the buzz over real-time streams where the links are almost always no-followed, deep content and links as reference are not going away anytime soon and still do act as the lifeblood of the web.<\/p>\n
And so, being referential remains a powerful position to be in.\u00a0 Whether your company blog, newsroom, resource center or even team members are referential, those in such a position have a decided advantage over competitors.\u00a0 It provides\u00a0increasing returns\u00a0as you\u2019re spending far less effort on outbound efforts and can focus more on inbound.<\/p>\n
People and brands that are referential get organic:<\/p>\n
So today, I\u2019d like to share 10 things you can embrace to start being referential:<\/p>\n
1.\u00a0 Be consistent<\/strong><\/p>\n If you\u2019re not consistent, it\u2019s difficult to be referential, especially if you\u2019re interested in being referenced as something like a leader in a niche.\u00a0 Simply put, we like to reference those that are active and updated and appear be at the bleeding edge.<\/p>\n 2.\u00a0\u00a0Lead conversations<\/strong><\/p>\n We like to reference those who lead, not who follow.\u00a0 This is a simple principle but one so many fail to grasp.\u00a0 It\u2019s human nature to gravitate around those at the front, not those at the sides or back.\u00a0 Lead, don\u2019t follow and you\u2019re far more likely to be referenced.<\/p>\n 3.\u00a0 Share ideas that are obscure or unpopular<\/strong><\/p>\n Another common trait among those that are referential is their ideas stand out in some way.\u00a0 Ideas that are popular can\u2019t\u00a0stand out\u00a0due to the nature of those ideas \u2013 everyone else is sharing them.\u00a0 Those who already have a market position can leverage popular ideas to their advantage (and frequently do).\u00a0 But if you\u2019re not already popular and want to be referenced, you need to go the other direction of your peers by sharing ideas that are obscure or unpopular (but still compelling).\u00a0 If the ideas are worthy, you\u2019ll start to become referential as nearly every industry is searching for what\u2019s new and different.<\/p>\n 4.\u00a0 Write content to\u00a0create buzz<\/strong><\/p>\n Along with creating unpopular content and ideas, share ideas purely to create buzz and acquire massive amounts of attention and links.\u00a0 Then, leverage these ideas later on as\u00a0social proofing\u00a0to get your other ideas heard.\u00a0 You can\u2019t purely create content for buzz as in time your\u00a0trust and authority\u00a0may suffer, but the right mix is helpful to break out of being unknown.\u00a0 Just be sure\u00a0not to sell out.<\/p>\n 5.\u00a0 Build\u00a0relationships\u00a0with\u00a0influencers<\/strong><\/p>\n Influencers mentioning you are key to becoming referential.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Influencers are generally connected to other influencers, and when they see you mentioned by their peers, you\u2019re now positioned to be mentioned by them as well.<\/p>\n 6.\u00a0 Have\u00a0passion<\/strong><\/p>\n We like to reference those who are truly passionate about a subject equally as much as we do those with interesting data points.\u00a0 In fact, in a data-driven world, I\u2019d argue passion is severely underrated as a quality.\u00a0 If you look at the types of people and sites who are the most referential, you\u2019d see a common theme of passion present.<\/p>\n 7.\u00a0 Share\u00a0fresh thinking<\/strong><\/p>\n We don\u2019t need to reference more of the same.\u00a0 In popular categories, you\u2019re already too late.\u00a0 But we love to reference those who have fresh thinking and ideas outside of what we\u2019re used to.<\/p>\n 8.\u00a0\u00a0Have opinions, take sides<\/strong><\/p>\n Opinion, like passion, is severely underrated and most businesses are just plain afraid of it.\u00a0 You shouldn\u2019t be though \u2013 especially if you consider yourself or your company a strong thinker.\u00a0 Why not play to the extreme value of\u00a0commentary and controversy?<\/p>\n 9.\u00a0 Source ideas<\/strong><\/p>\n Those who build up enough credibility to be referential don\u2019t just blindly pontificate without proof points.\u00a0 Rather, they source ideas carefully and make a compelling case for their arguments.\u00a0 You can\u2019t be referential if your ideas aren\u2019t grounded in reality.<\/p>\n 10.\u00a0 Analyze, don\u2019t report<\/strong><\/p>\n Many people simply report on their world around them.\u00a0 This is not a way to be referential and you\u2019re not adding any value simply by parroting the hot news or trends of the day.\u00a0 Rather, analyze and contextualize the information from your unique vantage point.\u00a0 Have a strategy behind your content and ideas shared.\u00a0 If you\u2019re unable to do this, you have no chance of ever being referential.<\/p>\n I didn\u2019t say this would be easy\u2026most things that are valuable aren\u2019t.<\/p>\n What other qualities do you think make up those companies or people who are referential?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The web is a referential medium.\u00a0 Bloggers and digitally-savvy journalists understand the concept of linking as a source, and instead … <\/p>\n