Linkbaiting Reels In Your Customers (Part 2)
Research
It’s also about identifying those who link, what kind of content do they link to. It’s the current market that goes to define the content. You may think you have the idea, but the truth is that your readers will decide what you will publish and your idea will come from researching the space. Research is the key and if you don’t spend enough time researching your market, then you will probably fail.
Distribution
You then need to ensure that the content is shown to as many potential linkers as is possible, and the nature of social media marketing can assist you with this but a powerful online network is vital. This is a brick wall to those who have no access. But it can be solved by taking the time to build a network, or buy the people who have built that network.
It’s important that when planning your linkbaiting strategy, you realise that there are specific skills involved when creating something worthwhile. Linkbait which works usually has an element of simplicity that makes creation seem easy. In reality when you are trying to create something that looks to be so simple, it can actually be quite a complicated series of actions.
To create linkbait, this three step process should be followed
1. Find who links
2. Discover what they link to
3. Show the linkers the content
Successful linkbait must contain the following elements:
1. Attention grabbing
2. Entice the reader to consume the content
3. Instil a reason for the reader to share content
Linkbait is not a sales message whose intention is to get you to buy a particular product. The purpose of linkbait is to simply get you to link by using a range of emotional triggers. Many times it has been said that we do not buy rationally, but that we buy emotionally. Linking is no different, it must reach the linker and trigger the correct emotional triggers.
If you have defined your online marketing problem as too few links then employing linkbait as an element of your whole strategy may be the solution to your problem. It has to mesh with your other online marketing elements such as PPC, Search Engine Optimisation, link buying, blogging, article writing, social media, etc. Of course having a brilliant website in the first place will help and if you get your web design just right, it’s a good beginning.
It is imperative that it should never harm your overall branding strategy. The tone of the linkbait should not harm in any way the way your brand is perceived. Imagine if you are a bank and you have come up with a piece entitled “Great Gadgets Bankers Buy with their Bonus”, then you may want to reconsider your plan. In the current climate it doesn’t sound like a good plan at the moment. Even though I am confident that this will get the banks links, linkbait should never really be about gaining links at any cost.
