WWE’s annual wrestling spectacular “Wrestlemania” is in its 32nd year and is fast approaching. The build up to this years event has been hampered by injuries, creative changes and faces new and old.
Online Marketers can actually learn something from the build up to this event. How?
Read on to find out:
Have A Clear, Defined Strategy
The most memorable Wrestlemania’s have occurred when the main event has been set in stone for a year or more in advance, giving the creative team plenty of time to build up the anticipation and to ensure the featured wrestlers are as popular (or hated!) as possible in order to make money.
In years gone by Steve Austin was a two year project to be the face of the company, John Cena Vs The Rock was announced a year in advance and this year will be the culmination of 18 months work to make Roman Reigns seen as a legitimate champion among the fans.
When taking on an Online Marketing client, you should have a goal in mind and work backwards from there. Once the goal is established, the strategy can be defined and executed.
Without a clear strategy the project is likely to fail and the client will look elsewhere for a future Online Marketing partner, so it is vital to allow time and resource into this. If you are the most knowledgeable of Online Marketing offerings at your agency then you should be leading the process.
I’ve seen many occasions where those with little to no knowledge of current/new Online Marketing options are entrusted with this task resulting in disjointed activity without any positive impact or results to speak of.
The next time you take on an Online Marketing project for better results:
Establish & Agree Goals with your client (i.e sales / enquiries)
Define how you will get there by using the best option available (i.e an Adwords for search campaign)
Execute (create, manage & refine) the campaign
Develop Your Team & Colleagues
The WWE has always been a conveyor belt of talent with fresh faces ready to step up to the higher reaches of the program when required. Over the years the likes of John Cena, Randy Orton, Brock Lesnar & Batista graduated from the developmental system and become cornerstones of the main event scene. More recently the likes of Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt, Kevin Owens & Dean Ambrose have all rose to prominence, with many more waiting in the wings. This year’s Diva’s championship match features three wrestlers who debuted on WWE TV last July after a stint in the developmental program.
This surprisingly tends not to happen in the world of Online Marketing, at agency or in-house level. Development of skills among the Online Marketing or even the wider team needs to be a priority.
By upskilling members of the team output can be more flowing and your company may be better positioned to win or cope with more business wins.
Also think about what will happen if your “Online Marketing” person leaves the company? Or goes on annual leave? By developing the understanding and skills of the team, the impact this can have can be minimised and you could even save money in the long run by developing your talent from within instead of hiring.
Use External Resources
In order to help plug some of the gaps in the roster caused by an unparalleled injury crisis, high profile talent from outside of the company has been signed – namely AJ Styles.
AJ Styles is a veteran performer who is capable of having top matches with anybody on the WWE Roster. His name also holds value from those who had previously watched him perform on WCW, TNA & NJPW.
How is this relevant? Well Online Marketers have an incredible support network available to them, which will add reassurance to their clients, regardless of their stature.
For example Google runs an agency partner program for its Adwords product. While not every agency, or freelancer may not meet the criteria required to earn the partner status, there is an official Google Adwords support team available to assist with and even set up campaigns. Facebook also offers a high level of support for advertisers.
Google exams can be taken and qualifications earned, again adding to the reassurances that you can provide to your clients.
Lets not forget about the abundance of top quality Online Marketing blogs and resources which can help develop your skills and can provide the guidance that you are looking for.
Connecting with Freelancers to work on certain aspects of projects is also very easy, Online Marketers & Agencies have unlimited skillsets available to them.
Look At Historic Success
Wrestlemania is often the event in which stars from yesteryear re-appear to partake in some sort of capacity. In recent years the likes of The Rock, Sting, Steve Austin and now Shane McMahon have returned. The Undertaker, arguably one of the most well known and instantly recognisable wrestlers tended to almost exclusively appear at this annual showcase.
As an Online Marketer you need to have a handle on what has worked well (and what has not) historically for your clients. This will allow you to make well informed decisions when advising clients on future campaigns or when working with clients in similar industries.
Gaining a grasp of previous activity performed and success achieved by your client is also invaluable information.
It’s worth remembering though what worked well in the past or in a particular industry won’t guarantee success a second or third time around – a well thought out campaign, taking factors such as the particular client(s) into consideration will out perform a “cookie cutter” campaign.
Call Upon On A Familiar Face
The injuries to many top attractions on the roster potentially placed the main event without the “star power” often associated with Wrestlemania. This problem was fixed by the re-introduction of Triple H, who has been part of and a top performer at the company since 1996 as an in-ring talent. Positioning Triple H has WWE Champion meant that the main event would be in safe hands, regardless of his opponent.
Many agencies offering Online Marketing services will try and force the new “trendy” offering onto clients for the sake of doing so, overlooking the likelihood of generating results.
While it may not be as glamorous as some offerings, providing the client is suitable I I tend to like to recommend Adwords for Search in the first instance, as I am confident that I can deliver results to prove value and then move forward from there.
When things aren’t going so well Online Marketers can often count on a familiar advertising method to deliver results, such as Adwords for Search or E-mail Marketing. E-mail Marketing itself found itself back in the mind of Online Marketers after a few years in the wilderness. Why? Because it’s a proven method of delivering results!
Adapt To Change & Stay Relevant
This year’s Wrestlemania lineup will have changed considerably based on outside factors (i.e UFC’s Ronda Rousey not being able to appear) and injuries to top stars (such as John Cena & Seth Rollins).
As well as other injuries being picked up along the way (such as Neville’s recent broken ankle), the creative team have been influenced by and have listend to what the audience wants, namely Dean Ambrose in a main event level match against Brock Lesnar.
Few would say that Dean Ambrose would have faced Brock had he not garnered so much support from the audience in recent weeks and months.
Online Marketing is an ever changing landscape and those who want to be successful in the industry have to adapt to changes and continue to develop their skills and knowledge in order to stay relevant.
For example in years gone by you could carve out a pretty successful offering by simply focusing on SEO, however you’ll have a more thriving business by offering paid campaigns and encompassing other areas such as social media and CRO.
By standing still in the industry you will be losing ground to your competitors and being a disservice to your client base. Adapt to changes in the industry and keep learning and developing your skills to stay relevant.
Promote!
Even though Wrestling fans believe the lineup for this year’s Wrestlemania is weak compared to years gone by, from the outside you wouldn’t necessarily think so.
The level of promotion for the event has been ramped up even further this year, with worldwide coverage in the mainstream press. There is no indication that there are wrestlers in positions because of injuries to others, or that the lineup isn’t as strong as it would have been. There was no change of venue, or no reduction in the cost of purchasing the event.
Online marketers can take heed from this for client campaigns, their own brand or for their agency. Marketing a smaller brand online can be a great leveling field against bigger brands (I have lots of first hand experience of this!), do my campaigns play on the fact that the client can’t compete with certain aspects of their rivals? Of-course not!
As Online Marketers we will inevitably work on a campaign where things didn’t quite go as we would have liked, if (or when) this happens, don’t be disheartened, continue to believe in your skills and promote yourselves as you would before the campaign launched.
Have Fun!
There is no doubt that the run up to Wrestlemania 32 will have been incredibly stressful for those in charge of piecing together the event. However everybody in those positions will be doing so because they love what they are doing. Who knows maybe they have enjoyed changing the lineup and re-positioning the talent where needed?!
If you work in Online Marketing, you are lucky to be working in an industry with so much variety, learning and progression available to you. Quite simply you should enjoy what you are doing and be getting incredible job satisfaction when your work has had a positive impact on your clients or your own business.
In an agency environment it’s all too easy to allow a black cloud to form over the heads of the team, be it Online Marketers, Account Management, Development or Design. When this happens the team doesn’t function as it can and will inevitably disband. You can prevent this by encouraging creativity, listening to ideas and making the team members feel more than just the proverbial spoke on a wheel.
So when you are at work…make sure that you are having fun!
*All Photos from WWE.com, used with the sole intention of promoting the event and point emphasizing!
