Skybus Bankrupt! Webbed Marketing Doing Great

Or David Meerman Scott and sex.

At Webbed Marketing we look at every big news story as a chance to create Buzz for our clients. In one paragraph the theory goes something like this:

People are searching for content about a hot topic. The Buzz is already there, we don't have to create it. We just have to be associated with it. If our clients can provide good, relevant content related to a current news story, everyone wins. Our clients get great and qualified traffic. Web searchers find content related to the topic they are researching. Webbed Marketing gets paid.

That second sentence is key. If we don't honestly believe that a web searcher would be genuinely interested in the client's content, we don't execute the campaign.

So here's one we killed.

Last Saturday, the headlines here in Columbus screamed "Skybus Bankrupt!" Thousands of travelers were stranded. The media was up in arms. We knew search traffic for content related to the story was about to skyrocket. At the same time, here at Webbed we were working on a press release announcing a record quarter and the addition of some high powered new team members. But, let's face it, a release like that has limited Buzz potential. Then the headline hit me:

"Skybus Bankrupt! Webbed Marketing Doing Great"

We could optimize the release so that a lot of media and consumers would find it. All those people with Google Alerts set up for Skybus news would get our release in their mailbox. It would be great.

Or so I thought for about three seconds. Would consumers or the media looking for Skybus related content really care about how well Webbed was doing? Probably not. If the content isn't valuable, then, well, the idea is slimy, no matter what it could do for exposure and site traffic.

But a lot of times this tactic works great. One of our clients is an online workout and personal training website. When the government releases a study on the importance of diet and exercise, we're right there, releasing content optimized on keywords related to the study, promoting really great relevant content. Consumers and the media looking for content related to the government study find the client's content. The client gets great media exposure and Buzz among consumers.

Another client focuses on educating the public about issues related to mental health. When the newsstand tabloids were screaming about Britney Spears suffering from bipolar disorder we were all over it. We helped the client drive site traffic to its content on bipolar disorder. It was great, useful, objective and relevant content. Again, everyone wins.

David Meerman Scott has a great post about relating content to a hot topic. In David's post, he looked at two recently released ebooks. One is about shaving, one is about dental hygiene. Both ebooks associated themselves with highly searched, highly Buzzable topics---David and Sex. Okay, Sex never really goes out of vogue, it's more of an evergreen topic to rally around.

As an aside, the shaving ebook advises all us guys:

"The amount of sex you get is in direct proportion to how well you shave!"

Don't get me wrong, I'm certain that a clean shave and a straight set of teeth would help improve anyone's odds, but there are probably million pieces of content about shaving and good teeth that neither David or I will ever blog about. Not because they aren't as good as the aforementioned books, but because the authors don't associate the ebooks with sex.

The authors did at least one other very smart things in their books...they mention that David inspired them. In his blog post, David is clear that he had nothing to do with developing either book. However, by mentioning him in their book, the authors got great coverage on David's blog and some peripheral coverage here.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go figure out how to get a closer shave.

(and no, the irony that I've associated this blog post with Skybus, sex, Britney Spears and David Meerman Scott is not lost on me)

Comments

[David Meerman Scott]

Hi Bill, Excellent analysis and thanks for linking me with sex...

One thing we marketers need to be careful about is making sure that when we do link something that is in the news or that people are searching on that there be a legitimate link that holds up in people's minds.

A random association to Britney Spears is not OK in my mind because it is a bait and switch.

The "sex" angle in those two ebooks works, I think..

Another example that works -- I live in the Boston area and we have a huge tunnel under construction (still). We call it "the big dig". WebEx runs campaigns saying anyone affected by the BigDig traffic can use WebOffice for free and not have to drive into the city. That's a great association.

David

[Bill Balderaz]

Thanks David. I love the WebEx example. It offers not just content, but a real solution to a real problem. And it is something that is sure to get the right people trying, and talking about, WebEx.