If you’re an online content marketer or an SEO, you’ll know all too well the trials and tribulations of trying to boost your company’s/client’s rankings or brand notoriety against a sea of competitors vying to do exactly the same. [pullquote]After sending out a single press release to various news outlets, it was quickly popping up in multiple high-ranking places that would otherwise be impossible to get an average guest post on.[/pullquote]
With everyone aiming for that top spot or even those tabloid inches, it can seem near impossible – and this is definitely no different in the travel sector. Especially seeing as every idea seems to have been ‘done already’. This past Valentine’s taught me that it can all come together with a little bit of Bromance.
What does the intense connection between two platonic guy friends have to do with earning those backlinks and boosting brand awareness at the same time? Well like anything, it all started with an idea…
The Campaign
Having become bored of the ‘samey’, unoriginal stories and campaigns that accompany the 14th February every single year, I decided to go for something a little different as far as campaigns go… asking ‘why is Valentine’s all about romance and never bromance?’ The first side of this came in a UK-wide ‘Search for Britain’s Biggest Bromance’ which culminated on Valentine’s Day itself. This was quickly taken up by Nuts Magazine which of course proved a massive coup in getting the campaign out there. They could have done with an alternative Valentine’s based story to aim at their target audience and we had it… and working for a company that specialise in stag (bachelor) parties and weekends, it was the perfect fit for the campaign.
But what was the prize for these guys other than having the title of Biggest Bromance? Well here was one of the biggest opportunities for brand and link building: they would be sent on a Bromantic Getaway for 2, something that is also a new package – appropriately called ‘Bromance before Romance’. Now how many guys are actually going to want to spend a weekend with just one other friend is questionable, but that’s not the point, because people are going to talk about it… online… with links back to the site alongside a whole lot of exposure for the brand which is exactly what you want.
After sending out a single press release to various news outlets, it was quickly popping up in multiple high-ranking places that would otherwise be impossible to get an average guest post on. This was of course leveraged further on social media which brought us troves of new followers and likes… which is always important – especially with the growing social leanings of SEO in 2013.
Key Takeaways
But what can YOU take away from all of this bromance?
- First off, I think it speaks for itself that coming up with a major campaign/promotional idea (be it a holiday package or product) has a much greater payoff than simpler ways of link building and promotion – guest posting for instance. Put in the hard work at the start and watch it pay off later. Identify your audience, product range and something unique that could be done with it.
- Stay Timely: Holidays/events like Valentine’s are perfect springboards for campaigns like this – but the campaigns that stand out are the ones that go against the grain. The ‘Search for Britain’s Biggest Romance’ might have done okay – but nowhere near as well because where’s the humor in that? Picking a big event and creating something off the back of it is the easiest way of getting the conversation going because everyone can relate to the story.
- Be a bit controversial: Speaking of humor, a touch of controversy never hurt anyone… A Bromantic Getaway for 2 isn’t exactly the horsemeat scandal, but flipping Valentine’s on its head and making it all about male best friends might just annoy enough girlfriends… especially if their partner’s like the sound of swapping romance with bromance for once.
- Think Big: This campaign has obviously spanned over months and has covered not just a single area, but the whole country –if you’re going to do it, you might as well do it big and no matter what company you are from and the type of sector you work in, the value of having a smart, skilled team of copywriters and PR’s can never be underestimated, because they’re the ones that can have these big ideas and execute them.
Finally, another tip is to devise a campaign that has many different sides to it – like a tree being the main idea (Bromance) and the branches being everything else that comes with it. Like the aforementioned novelty holiday package but also the fact that now Valentine’s Day has passed, we finally have faces to put to ‘Britain’s Biggest Bromance’: two guys named Lee and Neil that (because of their overly-friendly connection) possibly have even more of a story themselves.
A story which has already at the time of writing brought with it stories from the MailOnline, The Mirror and airtime on ITV shows Lorraine and Loose Women. Gain exposure like this and you can easily expect to see more mentions, shares and visits rolling off the back of it … showing that all it takes really is a bit of Bromance!
Now get those thinking caps on and come up with something for Easter!
