There are many reasons why we at Republic do what we do. One of them is to help brands create and engage online communities. We do that by giving them (the brands) things to talk about that they (the online communities) find interesting and engaging. Using our finely honed editorial craft and judgment, we lay down an editorial schedule designed to bring the two closer together. An increasingly important part of what we do, is to ensure the stuff we write is both easily findable (high up on Google search results pages) and relevant (so someone will actually be searching for it in the first place).
One of the best ways to do this for a brand, is to step inside the business and bring it to the outside. This happens day in and day out on Nokia Conversations, which works tirelessly to bring the myriad untold stories to the people who want to read them. This not only helps break down the barrier between a brand and its customers, but gives us as editors something to write about when typically there might not be. It also gives users a reason and an excuse to visit a brand’s website more regularly. And Google loves this.
We hear all the time about Search Engine Optimisation (Snake Oil) but with little real understanding of what it means. To us, it means simply having something worth searching for. For that, it must be both interesting and relevant. Typically, that which is either interesting or relevant is also previously untold. New. In other words. The days are long gone when you could create a site, stuff it full of “optimised” “content” and hope for the best. Today, a site needs to be living and breathing, updated daily, continually developing and evolving and backed up by a solid editorial strategy. The best way for a brand to do this? Open up. Tell the stories that don’t normally get told. Allow the outside in, and crucially, allow the inside to venture out.
See, Google (the search engine, not the company) likes it when sites are updated regularly, when they offer something new or previously untold. Those same tales will initially be read by the very interested few. Quite quickly some of them will write about them elsewhere (linking back to the original in the process) and the few will turn into a few more, when the whole process will start again and ultimately, the few more turn into many. All the whilst Google (the search engine, not the company) loves it even more as the more links pointing to the same story, the higher up the results page the story will go.
It can’t be faked, it must be real, genuine, interesting and engaging. To do that, brands need to get comfortable with the concept of opening up and telling those stories they wouldn’t previously consider telling, in an environment where people aren’t just welcome but actively encouraged to share, comment and react. It’s the very antithesis of the traditional closed corporate mindset. Sure, brands could put any old stuff up on their site and hope for people to come. But if people aren’t searching for it, they won’t find it. Telling quality stories, that reveal something more about a brand, in an open and honest way is a great way to be found.
And that’s how Google is changing corporate culture.
Photo by DNorman