Don’t go viral, ‘get helpful’ for your content strategy: Wil Reynolds

Stop trying “to go viral.” The audience isn’t relevant to your business. And if it is, it’s an unlikely and short-lived strategy. What does Wil Reynolds, the personable founder of search marketing firm SEER Interactive, recommend instead?

“You should be trying to ‘go helpful,’ he said to a crowd of more than 200 inside his ‘Search Church’ headquarters, which played host to the Future of Digital Marketing event during the fourth annual Philly Tech Week Presented by AT&T. The event was part of Media Day and sponsored by Trellist Marketing Technology.

Don’t focus your content marketing strategy on quirky metaphors or drawn-out puns or animal pics. Do create helpful, evergreen content that is relevant to your brand.

For example, SEER staff created a simple informational site on how various well-known tech and Internet companies make money. When news of a Tumblr acquisition broke, that entry saw a large increase in traffic.

“We didn’t go viral, we went helpful,” he said. To find content that might fit your brand, go to a Google search window and “type slowly.” The Google auto-fill suggestions can give you a window into popular searches.

Reynolds was one of a dozen speakers who gave deep case studies, including Daily Worth’s Amanda Steinberg and Jon Gosier of D8A Group and Jed Paulson of Free People.

Another highlight of the event featured Erik Harbison, CMO of AWeber email marketing firm encouraging all attendees to stand and pledge to never buy another email list. Your email lists should be better, not bigger he said.

“Prioritize relevance,” he said.