![The Big Lebowski (Limited Edition) [Blu-ray Book + Digital Copy]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/512F90yEqdL._SL75_.jpg){kind=small}
Wednesday
Sep092009
Essay: The Power of Pull
Young Urban Professional
The following is also my column in this week's Advertising Age.
For more than 100 years, marketing has largely operated as a push paradigm. We create messages and funnel them through the media to reach stakeholders.
Push remains viable. However, with time on social-networking sites and search engines rising, we need new ways to engage and reach people multiple times across different sources. That, according to the Edelman Trust Barometer, is when consumers will trust what we have to say.
That's what the "power of pull" is all about.
Here are three considerations for tapping into the power of pull.
CREATE RESOURCES THAT INFORM THE CONVERSATION
When it comes to information, consumers will increasingly have a general ambient awareness of things they don't care about. However, they will go deep into pockets of passion. Brands can stand out and be more discoverable by becoming digital curators in a given niche -- and doing it well. They can work to separate art from junk. IBM is doing this by sponsoring Popurls Blue Edition, a section of the headline aggregator that culls business IT news.
ADOPT RATHER THAN INVENT
Although it offers a lot of reward, creating content is work. This can be mitigated by finding digital assets that consumers are already using, remixing it and/or partnering with its creators to give it further lift. EA did this with "Tiger Woods 08," when fans noticed Tiger could hit a golf ball while standing on water. EA posted a video response starring Tiger hitting the "Jesus shot" and promoted "Tiger Woods 09" in the process.
WRITE FOR SEARCHERS, NOT JUST READERS
Most of us still write for readers. But in the pull economy, we need to also write for searchers. One way to think of it is that Googlers are looking for "how to get rid of roaches," not necessarily for "bug spray." We can suggest using Google Trends and Twitter Trends to learn how people express themselves, and map language accordingly.
That's what the power of pull is all about.
Reader Comments (8)
Your third topic "Writer for searchers, not just readers," is absolutely spot-on since Search is King. Why not consider an entire post of examples? Hey, maybe that's a topic for my own blog entitled: "How to write for searchers . . . " THX
@Shari, we get paid for that! ;-)
that's a great picture!
Agree w/ Shari... "write for searchers..." is so important. Writing for search forces us copywriters to get to the point with relevant content. It applies as much to online as is does to offline writing. Good post!Thanks,@copywriter4u
Hi Steve,I was in Digital Age 2.0 in Brazil and loved your presentation. Especially, tjhe power of pull. I work with government and it's hard to "be found" in this area. How to use the power of pull in this case?Tks!
Thanks for nice post.
This is very true, films are starting to use this form of advertising more.
The basis for advertising is still to just put up a sign. People love this and respond as necessary. outdoor banners