For more than 100 years, marketing has largely operated as a push paradigm. We create messages and funnel them through the media to reach stakeholders.
Push remains a viable option. However, with time on social networking sites and search engines rising, we need new ways to engage and reach people multiple times across different sources. That, according to the Edelman Trust Barometer, is when consumers will trust what we have to say. That’s what the “power of pull” is all about.
The greatest rewards will go to those who create dynamic content at regular intervals (note I didn’t say “daily” necessarily… just a regular schedule that readers can set their clock by)– content that is discussed, remixed and linked to by other high-quality sources online.
Here are three considerations for tapping into the power of pull:
- Create resources that inform the conversation: When it comes to information, consumers will increasingly have a general high-level awareness of things they don’t care about. However, they will go deep into their pockets for passionate connections. Brands can stand out and be more engaging by becoming “digital curators” in a given niche… and doing it well.
- Adopt rather than invent: Although it offers a lot of reward, creating content is real work. Smart companies are finding digital assets that consumers are already using, remixing it, and/or partnering with its creators to give it further lift.
- Write for searchers, not just readers: Most of us still write for readers. But, in the pull economy, we also need to write for searchers. One way to think of it is that Googlers are looking for “how to get rid of roaches,” not necessarily for “bug spray.”
Finally, look at using Google Trends and Twitter Trends to learn how people express themselves, and map your language accordingly. That’s the power of pull.
Excerpted from Steve Rubel’s “On Digital” column in September 7, 2009, edition of Advertising Age
About Wendi McGowan