About Link Bait or Why care about Content

So I got to thinking about this today and thought it would be a great page to post on the blog. I was thinking of adding it as an article on the site but felt it was better suited for here.

In the world of online business, building traffic that engages with the site’s content, and eventually its products, is the primary goal. Online marketers consider their tactics with this priority in mind, the hope being that a single piece of excellent content will be enough to elevate awareness of the site, and the organization that owns it. This is what makes content marketing a critical consideration for any marketing efforts Like in all things marketing, though, that’s easier said than done, but there are some concrete methods that can push a business in the right direction.

What is the “linkbait bump,” and how valuable is it?

Before long, a site will settle on a baseline of traffic, which can be anywhere from a handful of visitors a month, to many thousands. It goes without saying that the more the better, and without enough traffic and enough awareness, a site will fail to generate much of anything, including profit. There are many ways to go about raising a site’s baseline, but the most dramatic approach is aiming for a linkbait bump.

A linkbait bump refers to the influx of traffic a site experiences when its content goes viral. This normally occurs when an organization produces a standout piece of content, be it an article, video, or piece of interactive media. As people and respected industry members share the content, usually on social media accounts, more and more people are drawn to the site. This increases the number of people who follow the company’s social media accounts, improves impact of future content, and generates additional search queries for the brand and its content, which will improve the site’s organic search rankings. Put it all together, and a single piece of standout content can permanently increase monthly traffic many times over. In most cases, this results in a surge of new customers buying into the brand’s message.

How can a site achieve the linkbait bump?

The first step to getting attention is understanding the site’s target. People want content that is not just a little better, but clearly superior in every way. It must also produce a consistent message unfettered by tone-deaf salesmanship, and offer something that is special, or at least feels that way. That may be a particularly memorable product demonstration video, an ambitious social experiment, or a comprehensive article that offers insight that can’t be found anywhere else.

This content, whatever it is, must be user friendly on any device that the user may access the content through. In particular, brands must keep mobile platforms in mind when enacting a viral campaign, as most viral content is shared through mobile devices.

Finally, the content must link back to the organization in some way. Most people will find it odd if a personal injury law firm advertises itself using a comedic video, and see right through it. But, for example, a company that sells industrial equipment might get more attention if it produces some high quality, interactive renderings of its products.

Even adhering to all of these principles, it can be difficult to predict a linkbait bump, but with the right marketing professionals spearheading the effort, it’s a realistic goal for any organization.