The premise may seem crazy, but Big Brother and digital marketing strategies actually have a lot in common. They even share a similar prize: cold, hard cash. If you’re a big brother fanatic and a marketing guru, this blog post has been tailored just for you. You may even learn a thing or two 🙂
1. Backlink Authority
If you’re being backed by the most popular person in the house, you’re going to have a major advantage in the game. Same goes for backlinks—the higher the page rank and trust score, the greater impact that backlink will have in your ranking. Sure, the floaters might have great personalities, but they’re not the ones who are going to carry you to the end of the game. If you have weenie backlinks, they’re not going to do anything to help your SEO. Find the players making big moves and get their support.
2. Alliances
Alliances are great because they benefit both parties. If you can acknowledge that your social game in the house isn’t that strong but you kick butt at comps, you can team up with the bubbly southern bell that doesn’t ruffle anyone’s feathers. Similarly, if there’s another company that’s in the same niche market as you but isn’t a direct competitor, you can team up with them for crossover promotions, giveaway, or backlinks. And if you can get a large group of similar companies to team up, you’ve got your very own Justice League. Stick with your isolation tactic, however, and you’ll end up on the chopping block.
3. Constant Vigilance
When you watched your first episode of Big Brother, you probably wondered why there was so much whispering, plotting, and back-stabbing. The simple answer? Humans are unpredictable. Our decisions can change at a moments’ notice, which means a good player should be constantly fine-tuning their next move. Just like in the Big Brother game, your marketing strategy needs to be continuously evolving to fit the changing landscape of Google’s algorithms. Tools like SEMRush and websites like Search Engine Journal are great resources to help you keep up with Google algorithm changes, but you can also learn a lot from regional conferences, networking events in your area, and social media sites like Twitter.
4. Stay Trendy
It seems like the hot trends for this season are coupling up, giving up, or not shutting up (yes Josh, I’m talking to you). With so many sheep in the house, it’s no wonder that everyone’s too afraid to go against the grain. Marketing can be similar. If you’re not up-to-date on the latest social media trends or tailoring your target keywords to match booming searches, you’re behind the times. You’ll stick out like a sore thumb if you’re still blabbering on about an update that Google made in 2012. It may be the cold hard truth, but a lot of marketing is anticipating where the herd will wander and shepherding them into your storefront.
5. The Chameleon Effect
The best social players are the ones who can change their personalities like a chameleon. They get along with the geeks, the outsiders, and the models. Their strength is their ability to take on the characteristics of the people they’re talking to. If you can accomplish this with your digital advertising, you’ll take home the win. By targeting your ads based on demographics like location, gender, age, interests, etc., you ensure that your viewers feel a personal connection to the ad being displayed. Sure, you may have to put on a couple different faces, but no harm done as long as content coincides with your brand identity.
6. Thinking 5 Steps Ahead
The houseguests who play the game like chess are typically the ones who make it to the end. Instead of just planning their next immediate move, they look at the next five moves. They strategize what their opponents will do, and they position themselves so their livelihood doesn’t depend entirely on a comp win. When you plan your marketing strategy, you’re looking at the big picture. SEO results can take months to come to fruition, and many digital marketing campaigns are more about creating brand awareness than generating conversions. Once you accept that digital marketing (and SEO specifically) is a long-term investment that requires harvesting, you’ll feel a lot better about your results. Sure, profits may not skyrocket immediately, but a look at your year-long efforts will show steady, consistent growth.
7. Expect the Unexpected
Oh, Julie, you sly dog. It’s the motto of the show and, in a way, the motto of marketing. Houseguests have come to expect that any deviation from the norm can throw off their entire game plan. It’s what draws in viewers to the show—we see a player’s plan get screwed up by a twist and we laugh in evil jubilation. Predictability is boring, and the show does everything possible to ensure viewers are at the edge of their seats. Marketing directors go through this same thing, but in our situation, Google is CBS. They know that predictability increases competition. If we all know how to optimize pages for SEO, doesn’t that just put us all on a level playing field? By throwing in updates, Google ensures that those who are keeping up reap the rewards and those who are coasting by eat slop.
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