An unfortunate reality about both companies and people who want to gain a following on the web is that we\u2019ll never hear about most of them.\u00a0 The problem is we\u2019re never told about them directly by peers, they\u2019re severely lacking in the digital PR department.\u00a0 The only reason I notice the obscure ones in the first place is because I\u2019m the only geek actively taking the time to dig through the unknown brands, people and companies and studying their marketing efforts (along with the popular ones, of course).<\/p>\n
There is actually as much to learn from those without a following as those with a following.\u00a0 This is because we need to see both sides of the story as marketers to provide proper consulting.\u00a0 My main observation of those who haven\u2019t gained much traction isn\u2019t that they are lacking from the perspective of high quality content or having a compelling brand\/personality \u2013 not at all.\u00a0 What they\u2019re lacking is buzz as part of their strategy.\u00a0 Because after all, word of mouth buzz on the web is the most organic form of PR there is.<\/p>\n
Those who do catch on in a big way do things on a consistent basis that\u00a0break through the clutter\u00a0and help them\u00a0stand out in a world of infinite choice.\u00a0 True viral content matters \u2013 it\u2019s what is going to introduce you to the world.\u00a0 Not viral in the sense that it needs millions of views, it just has to spread between people within your niche without any effort from you other than publishing.\u00a0\u00a0Find a formula, rinse, repeat and eventually your industry will realize you\u2019re unmissable.<\/p>\n
Not all of your content needs to be this type of material that gets shared by everyone in your niche, but it should be a part of your editorial mix.\u00a0 Here are some of the benefits of incorporating buzz as an element of your digital PR:<\/p>\n
Branding in the social web Making page one of Digg or Twitturly helps brand you as a site which is social media friendly.\u00a0 I don\u2019t care if a bunch of the traffic bounces, the early adopters will see you and they\u2019ll be encouraged to share your stuff in the future because they know it\u2019s going to spread.\u00a0 Ideally, it\u2019s a self-perpetuating cycle where your site\u2019s popularity feeds into itself.\u00a0 If I\u2019m building up an audience of \u201csneezers\u201d \u2013 the people who actively tell the most other people about me \u2013 I don\u2019t care if my bounce rate is high.<\/p>\n Niche-specific viral content breeds interactions<\/strong><\/p>\n Aside from links, you\u2019re going to create lots of conversations surrounding your material, which if you are the impetus for a larger conversation, visitors should flow over time back to your original content.\u00a0 Don\u2019t look at it as a deluge all it once, see the longer-term value it creates to be positioned as a leader.<\/p>\n Making buzz a natural part of your mix\u00a0conditions readers to share<\/strong><\/p>\n If you find a specific formula that works for you, don\u2019t be afraid to keep using it.\u00a0 Perhaps 1 out of every 10 pieces of content designed for buzz is a good mix, because readers aren\u2019t going to share everything you publish if you do so with a decent degree of frequency.\u00a0 After enough content\u00a0experiments, you\u2019ll get a feel for what your audience enjoys sharing, and it will get easier to develop this type of material.<\/p>\n Creating buzz-friendly content tagged to a complementary niche exposes you to entirely new audiences Is the attention to your brand hitting a plateau?\u00a0 Perhaps you\u2019re missing out on a complementary niche or topic that both current subscribers will find interesting and also appeal to new readers outside the current base.\u00a0 I\u2019m a fan of mixing niches, especially when you can get into a growing vertical that will benefit from your main ideas.\u00a0 Besides,\u00a0interesting results always happen at the intersection.<\/p>\n Plays into law 6 and 8 of the\u00a048 laws of power\u00a0(applied to blogging)<\/strong><\/p>\n Law 6:\u00a0 court attention at all costs<\/em><\/p>\n Everyone in the marketing\/PR world know this is true \u2013 what is visible is all that matters, and what is unseen counts for nothing.\u00a0 Attention is one of the most valuable assets of the current economy, and focused attention is a rare resource on the web.<\/p>\n Law 8:\u00a0 make other people come to you \u2013 use bait if necessary<\/em><\/p>\n When people come to you through a trusted referral you\u2019re far better positioned than if you had to pay directly for that attention through advertising.\u00a0 Pull is the most powerful strategy on the web, whereas push is largely ignored.<\/p>\n One of the only ways to reach early adopters<\/strong><\/p>\n As Aaron Wall\u00a0points out:<\/p>\n \u2026the people who are ahead of the curve with technology are often the hardest to influence via advertising, and are the least receptive of offers\u00a0unless they hear of them recommended from friends.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n The friends of early adopters are in many cases other early adopters, who are in reality are other content producers, when brought together have a large sphere of influence which eventually trickles down to regular users.\u00a0 And no denying it, the early adopters like buzz-friendly content and ideas.<\/p>\n Links\/engine juice<\/strong><\/p>\n Content that\u2019s designed to spread is going to get links, the lifeblood of the web.\u00a0 Enough links and authority from the engines will ensure all other content you publish is going to rank well and gain search visibility.\u00a0 Links are measurable too, so that\u2019s another tangible ROI for material designed to permeate a niche aside from raw numbers of visitors and subscriber conversations.\u00a0 Look at it this way \u2013 even if you don\u2019t convert tons of subscribers, those links could potentially be even more valuable, especially if you have a bigger-picture SEO strategy behind what you\u2019re doing.\u00a0 Do keep in mind, linkbait content is just one element of your link-building mix, but it\u00a0is<\/em>\u00a0an undeniably strong tactic \u2013 I wouldn\u2019t ignore it.<\/p>\n Content is advertising, and advertising is content \u2013 and good versions of both still require reach As Mike Masnick of Techdirt pointed out last year, advertising is content (and content is advertising).\u00a0 So if you can permeate a niche with content that people spread and share like crazy, you\u2019ve amassed a group who will handle your brand\u2019s advertising for you.\u00a0\u00a0Points to keep in mind from Mike:<\/p>\n Essentially, if you can create something for buzz, realize that content is actively advertising your brand even if it\u2019s not a direct route to create a lead.\u00a0 Remember,\u00a0social media is less about ROI and more about influence.<\/p>\n Make bold moves for attention and prove you\u2019re a leader Every company is now a media company.\u00a0 And what defines a successful media company?\u00a0 Attention \u2013 something that is a result of creating content with the purpose of spreading.\u00a0 Without attention, which in time will lead to a subscriber base, you\u2019re invisible.\u00a0 Start to think more like a media company would \u2013 in other words, how do I actively court the attention of a like-minded group of people?\u00a0 If your success as an individual or business is tied to visibility, this is essential.<\/p>\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019ve read a few web purists who state that developing content for buzz is \u201cselling out.\u201d\u00a0 Ironically enough, their articles were designed to do just that.\u00a0 The truth is, content designed to spread is a strong part of every site\u2019s growth strategy and can fit within almost any niche.\u00a0 The way to do it is make it fit within your character and keep it authentic to yourself.\u00a0 Don\u2019t create something that\u2019s gimmicky or controversial just to get views \u2013 that will cheapen your brand \u2013 make it play into all your other material.\u00a0\u00a0Here\u00a0are\u00a0some\u00a0ideas\u00a0to get you started if you\u2019re a blogger, but ultimately the type of content you\u2019re producing doesn\u2019t matter, it\u2019s more about activating your audience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" An unfortunate reality about both companies and people who want to gain a following on the web is that we\u2019ll … <\/p>\n
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
\n
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n