December 16, 2021
Having a robust SEO strategy is integral for any business that wants to improve its online visibility within the market. The process involves keyword research, and a deep analysis of the existing online market, which allows businesses to understand how users engage with their content and progress through the marketing funnel.
Of course, there is great value for businesses to look at lessons learned and see how effective their marketing efforts have been. But what businesses typically lack is a reactive approach, which involves assessing real-time insights, data, and news to ensure your brand is at the forefront of the conversation.
What is Reactive Marketing?
Reactive marketing is a strategy that can be utilised by businesses to produce topical content based on current trends and events. It could reflect topics that the population is currently talking about – the COVID-19 pandemic or climate change, for example, or it could be more specific to an event – Christmas, a Royal wedding, or the Olympic Games, for example.
How To Do Reactive Marketing
Seasonal Planning
Ahead of a new quarter, look ahead for key awareness or topical days and events which align with your brand and what you represent. Depending on your niche, this could be anything from Cold & Flu Season approaching, to specific events such as a Royal Wedding, or Olympic Games. Ahead of the winter months, Zoopla launched a campaign on the UK’s Winter Wonderlands, for example.
Newsjacking
In reactive marketing, speed is imperative. The quicker you can react to a piece of news, the more likely you are to be a part of the trending topic. This kind of reactive approach was seen across the world on the release of Netflix’s Squid Games, including Ruroc’s new product launch.
The Benefits of Reactive Marketing
Improving Domain
In being reactive to emerging search queries and changes in behaviour, you are able to strengthen the value attributed to your domain.
This is because you can be seen to be consistently updating your website to answer queries emerging in the broader industry – demonstrating a commitment to publishing high-quality information at all times, ultimately satisfying the needs of the search engine user.
Furthermore, as this reactive SEO often invokes the need for thought leadership content, this creates another opportunity for you to demonstrate the credentials of your organisation. You will be seen to answer the queries of search engine users, thanks to the expertise of the individuals that make up your organisation.
This content can then also be used as leverage for your link-building efforts – as you will have content onsite that offers insight into the emerging trend, that external websites will be able to credit as a source of reference.
Brand Identity & Online Reach
Reactive marketing with targeted SEO purposes can not only boost your domain value – through strong campaign planning and execution, but a reactive campaign can also bolster your brand identity and online reach with target audiences in key publications.
You can read more about a reactive PR strategy from our Head of Digital PR, Alice Wilks, in a recent article for Vuelio: https://www.vuelio.com/uk/blog/reactive-pr-turning-something-out-of-nothing/
How to Incorporate Reactive SEO into your Marketing Strategy
Just as with any marketing campaign, research and planning are integral. When planning a reactive campaign as part of your marketing efforts, you should consider:
- Upcoming events and topical/awareness days. These could be industry-specific, company-specific, or something broader e.g., a change in the law in your industry
- Stay on top of news and current affairs events – aim to identify if there is a connection between you and the event at all times. Top tip: set up a Google Alert to notify you of any breaking news in your industry
- Keep an eye on what your competitors are doing in terms of securing coverage, and the kind of information they share on their websites
- Monitor social media regularly – look at what is being spoken about, and how your business could add value to the conversation
To wrap up, it’s important for a business not to discount a more reactive approach to their marketing. Aim to create current content built on trending news and topics, which will help drive new target audiences to your website through effective and reactive SEO as well as build your brand identity in the market.
