Keeping a marriage going, or any long term emotional relationship, can be a major undertaking, full of trial and error. In that sense, a marriage isn’t unlike an online marketing approach.
While you probably don’t do “market research” on your spouse before getting married, you do hopefully spend some time getting to know them and getting a feel for what they’re about.
It’s kind of like testing the waters for a marketing push. After doing some research on the various platforms you’d like to use and the messages you want to send out, you take the plunge (tie the knot).
But there’s plenty more that goes into a marriage that can be likened to your online marketing.
Step 1: Have completely open and fair communication.
Just like you would with a spouse, to make an online marketing campaign flourish, you’ll need to not just be broadcasting your point of view (message), but also spend a lot of time listening and responding.
Ask yourself what people are saying about your industry and your company. What are they saying about your competitors?
Always keep your communication with your audience professional, but make it personable too.
You wouldn’t give your husband or wife a textbook answer about how your day went, and you shouldn’t with someone interested in your company.
Remember: communication isn’t a one-way street. Listen more than you preach, and you’ll do just fine.
Step 2: Build trust.
Trust usually starts with step number one – communication. If you say you’ll do something for client or a consumer or your spouse, stick to your word.
Relationships will not work if one party doesn’t trust the other, so handle your marketing with care. Don’t over-promise and under-deliver, or you’ll never see that consumer again.
Trust and communication go hand in hand, so with every message you publish and every response you make, be sure you’re being completely forthcoming.
Step 3: Keep it fresh.
Relationships will go stale if efforts aren’t made to inject fresh ideas and activities now and then.
The same is very true for online marketing and SEO. We know content is king, but FRESH content is even more important.
Whether you use just a website, have a blog, or use Twitter and StumbleUpon – keep your content and your online marketing fresh.
That’s wonderful that you wrote a powerful blog post, or posted a funny Tweet that got retweeted multiple times. Just like that trip you took for your honeymoon was a great experience, right?
But you don’t want years and years to pass by before you and your spouse get away together again, and you shouldn’t let weeks and weeks pass by before you freshen up your website, blog or Twitter account.
Step 4: Have patience.
Whether you’re married or not, you probably realize that patience is a *must* to make any relationship last.
Inevitably your spouse will do something that will drive you up the wall, but if you have patience, you can bite your tongue and wait for them to stop.
Patience is important with online marketing as well. Search engine optimization experts always caution against expecting results too quickly on the SERPs because these things simply take time.
Unless you opt to pay for your Twitter followers or you’re already famous, it will take some time to build up a following. Have patience, engage the people you follow and who follow you, and the people will come.
Step 5: Acceptance from friends and family.
This might be a stretch, but inbound links to your site/blog are similar to your friends and family accepting your spouse.
Marriages run a lot more smoothly if your spouse has positive relationships with the other people in your life.
By the same token, getting inbound links to your content (message) is a way the community will pass judgment and recommend what you’re saying.
Links to your site are incredibly important for SEO, but they can also give you an idea of what messages you have are being digested by your audience. If list-based blog posts are what tend to get the most recognition, then perhaps that is what you should focus on!
Step 6: Common interests.
Blah blah blah…opposites attract, right? Well I don’t think you’ll find a couple that has been married for 50 years that doesn’t have some similar interests.
There *must* be something that you mutually agree on and enjoy doing for the relationship to go any further.
For an online marketing campaign, that simply means framing your messages so that your intended audience will be receptive.
If you’re in the flower business, don’t tweet a link about how to get 1000s of followers every week and expect to boost business.
In a client/business relationship, the mutual interest should be getting your client the exposure/links/media mentions/business they’re paying you for.
Relationships, like online marketing, can be a fickle thing. One moment everything is perfect, and the next you forgot the oranges and have an upset spouse on your hands.
The same is true for online marketing. One day you’re riding high on the first page of Google for your targeted keywords, and the next Google changes their algorithms and how they calculate page rank.
Just remember to have patience, and continue to keep it fresh!
By: Zack S.
