This is a guest contribution by Pete Campbell, Managing Director of the award-winning Kaizen. If you would like to submit a contribution please contact Bill Beatty for submission details. Thank you.
Promoting a gambling brand through SEO and content marketing online is no mean feat. Both webmasters and algorithms alike (not to mention consumers) are very wary of content produced by digital gambling businesses, typically associating them with spam and questionable digital marketing practices.
Unfortunately, this can become a self-fulfilling prophecy: Bloggers and journalists are reluctant to publish content from a gambling brand, which makes it very difficult for such businesses to grow links, sending them underground to precisely the spammy practices they were initially turned down for (including buying poor quality backlinks as a short-sighted fix).
It’s s tricky cycle to break, but for gambling brands keen to do things the “right way” and enjoy the benefits of cracking content marketing – it’s not impossible.
The key to success? Go big or go home. If you’re in a sector which makes content marketing difficult, in which it’s tough to convince influencers that your content is worth sharing, the only solution is to produce something so great, so unique and so suitable for their audience that they jump at the chance to publish what you have to offer.
These five big content marketing ideas will help you to do just that…
1. REAL TIME DASHBOARDS
When infographics came on the scene in the early 2010s, it seemed like the whole internet got excited about data. Real time dashboards are a fresh new way to cash in on our digital predilection for awesomely presented information. We all like to have the latest news and the freshest figures, developing a real time dashboard which connects with your target audience’s interests is a great tactic for brands keen to demonstrate their knowledge and relevance while attracting plenty of attention.
• Here’s a great example of how brands can turn stats into an awesome resource from Wink Bingo which serves up of-the-minute information all about one of the web’s favourite games.
2. GUIDES
There are two ways to create content which webmasters can’t say no to: be interesting, or be useful. Creating guides which really tap into an unfulfilled need experienced by your target audience is a great way to develop content which has a function which other websites will want to share. Brilliant for building a brand’s authority in their sector and great for helping potential customers further down the “buying cycle” towards a purchase or conversion – guides are a content medium you need to have on your radar.
Remember – don’t create a guide for its own sake. Your new factual content needs to tackle a need. Take time to understand the types of questions and uncertainties your target market might have which relate to your service, then perform thorough research to find out whether other resources are currently available. If there are, can you do better? Always opt for something unique, which fits into a fresh niche where possible.
• This cleverly designed guide to gambling from Right Casino provides helpful tips on how to start with several popular gambling games
3. FUN APPS
At the other side of the content spectrum, it’s time to build something fun! Whether we’re on their lunch break or simply surfing the web for fun, we all love a novelty app to play with. In an industry like gambling, which is ultimately all about fun, developing an app to play with is a great way to grab consumers’ attention. Build something visually appealing, free and easy to use which dovetails neatly with your target market’s interests to enjoy content marketing success with apps.
• This example of a fun app from Wink Slots ticks all the right boxes, blending a slot machine “feel” with a free, fun and great-looking experience which taps into their target consumer’s interest in gaming, smartphones and celebrities.
4. INFOGRAPHICS
Just like real time dashboards, infographics are a really powerful way of sharing information which intrigues, interests or entertains – and they’re incredibly shareable. The two key elements which make or break infographics are data and design. Poorly designed infographics will have little traction however interesting its facts are. Equally, infographics with uninteresting or inaccurate data will hold little sway however great the design.
Invest time in both and you’ll create content people will want to share. Don’t forget to brand your infographic at the bottom to make sure everyone knows who created it and make sure you share your data sources to add to the content’s authoritativeness.
• This infographic from Full Tilt gives the audience a complete history of the slot machine, rendered in a visually stimulating way – a great example of matching areas of interest with top quality content.
5. USEFUL TOOLS
Guides are a great way to make your content useful, but developing a tool offers an even more accessible and interactive approach to the same content creation concept. Tools which meet an unserviced need commonly experienced by your target audience (or offer a fun experience) call for a greater investment in research, time and resources, but – done well – they can really pay off and have great longevity as a content asset.
• This example of a fun app from Mr Gamez which calculates whether you’d ever have won the lottery with your favourite lottery numbers – a fun and unique concept which people will be keen to share – and which taps into the interests of the brand’s target market.
Pete Campbell is the Managing Director of the award-winning Kaizen who works with global brands on SEO & Content Marketing campaigns to increase their online visibility. He is also a regular speaker at digital marketing conferences including SMX, BrightonSEO & SEMDays.
