from +Amanda Blain
Did you see the news? Google is carrying forth with its strategy to become a content marketer with the latest acquisition of Frommer’s travel guides for $25 million. In the world of travel guides, I wonder if that’s a lot of money? When you look at what Facebook paid for Instagram; it’s peanuts.
I, for one, love Frommer’s. It’s my travel guide of choice along with Lonely Planet. Last year, Google bought Zagat Reviews, and you begin to see the strategy unfold with its launch, too, of Google Flight Search.
Talk about becoming content kingpin in the travel and hospitality industry over night, eh?
So, what does this say about search engine Google now owning hot travel sites where hotter content rules? Because it can, it is diversifying in a sector that caters to a wide demographic from teens and tweens to mommies, business folk, seniors and great seniors. How smart is that for a strategic move?
I don’t have to tell you that Google has opened up new and huge opportunity and successfully diversified its interests; much to the chagrin of Yelp and Yahoo!
What’s Your Google Strategy?
Here are some tips you might parlay in your own neck of the woods:
- If you’re @RalphDopping or @PattySwisher who work in the architectural fields, perhaps their firms might join forces with a construction company or launch their own. Small construction is still a good bet (versus building high-rise office structures), and perhaps architects can earn a greater piece of the pie.
- If you’re @KaarinaDillabough who works as a business and life coach, is there a way to boost business by developing killer content that encapsulates tips for the stressed mommy entrepreneur? She can build a new channel that way; open new doors.
- If you’re @NeicoleCrepeau who owns Coherent Interactive, a digital web shop with marketing analytics, perhaps she could partner with Soulati Media, which brings solid PR experience to marketing teams.
- Adam Toporek diversified his brand; I watched the whole thing. He decided to refocus his brand new blog on customer service and went dark awhile as he rebuilt the site and now targets content specific to that topic. Now, when I write my customer service stories, I always shoot them to him as they fit better on his blog than mine. What’s he done? Become a content expert in that sector, just like Google is doing in hospitality and travel.
Very cool.
You #RockHot my friend. Yet another great suggestion from the wise and wonderful Soulati:) I am beginning to formulate my tips for “stressed mommy entrepreneurs” as I type. After all, I’ve walked in those shoes, and can help others avoid some of the pitfalls/experience success more effectively and efficiently. Thanks for the tip of the hat…and the tip:) Cheers! Kaarina
@KDillabough LOL, I hope you don’t think i’m always picking on you with ideas! Goodness, you don’t need to run and do them. This stuff just appears out of know where for me and I think you’re tagged in my idea box!!
@Soulati | B2B Social Media Marketing I love being tagged in your idea box:)
Thank you so much for the shout out, and the kind words Jayme! You were my first customer service story on the new site — so the appreciation is doubled!
You have some great tips here. I think Google is very smart with these traditional content acquisitions. Don’t know enough about it to know if the valuations were good, but to your point, I think the overall strategy is very smart. They are creating a portfolio with established brands that have credibility. As information continues to explode, trusted brands (that stay relevant) will have a leg up.
@adamtoporek If any of us is smart, we will follow the examples Google is providing us. They have the $$, expertise and strategy to remain a reputable player. You’re welcome.
Hey Jayme,
It’s never a bad idea to diversify investments. And when the opportunity knocks, creating a monopoly is a cool strategy when the market is growing and offers healthy profit margins :)Thanks for the info!
@GeoffReiner But, wait until next week!
Hmmm, thanks for the suggestion. Maybe @pmswish and IKM and DIALOG will be the first Architectural firms to realize co-opetition is not so bad after all. Oh, the stigma of the “old guard” runs deep. C’mon Patty, there must be something we can collaborate on.
Thanks for the shout out Jayme.
@rdopping @pmswish Ah-hah. So, you lured her in. Good! Looking for further content suggestions and strategies! At the same time, we’ll rope in @barrettrossie as a former ad man with tons of wealth and @GeoffReiner consulting in business. Hah!
@Soulati | B2B Social Media Marketing @rdopping @pmswish @barrettrossie Where do I sign up? 🙂
@GeoffReiner @Soulati | B2B Social Media Marketing @pmswish @barrettrossie Geoff, I just discovered you are also CDN. Jayme has a “thing” for Canadians. They are littered about the site everywhere. 🙂
@rdopping @Soulati | B2B Social Media Marketing @pmswish @barrettrossie Ralph, it’s great to be surrounded by a fellow Canuck. I knew I liked you! 🙂
So… do these Google Strategy suggestions include a $25 million drop in the bucket to make it all happen? I would invest in some isolated waterfront property in North Kauai, with a conference center and strategy development institute. Anyone want in?
@barrettrossie I tried to bring it down from the Google millions to our levels…well, didn’t I?
@Soulati | B2B Social Media Marketing Of course you did, I’m just being a bonehead. It’s Friday!
@Soulati | B2B Social Media Marketing Plus… I really do want to start that Kauai thing… I’m just trolling for investors. 🙂
@barrettrossie @Soulati | B2B Social Media Marketing Barrett you certainly have my attention!!! 🙂
@barrettrossie Well I have a few dimes!
Jayme,
Thanks for the shout out and for caring so much about your community to think strategically about how we might all work together.
Our firm, @ikminc, regularly teams with other design firms sometimes being the local architect for Pittsburgh-area based projects and sometimes being the out-of-town expert in healthcare or higher education building design/renovation. So, teaming with @RalphDopping isn’t completely out of the universe of possibility. 🙂
Your post conjures two thoughts for me:
1.) The value a team brings to a project, industry, business development opportunity via established relationships and bringing people together to achieve a common goal.
Your example shows how one party (Google) is able to recognize an opportunity, seek out a partner or partners (Frommers/Zagat) with readily available content and strong reputations and throw its financial weight and business reach behind the endeavor to become as you say a “content kingpin overnight”!
2.) The power of content in social and digital media in creating expertise, thought leadership and reputation.
What the architecture industry is discovering is the value of content in creating a unique selling proposition or competitive differentiation. Like many industries, the economic downturn was particularly hard on the architecture industry with figures like 35% unemployment being tossed about. The result has been former giant-sized firms competing for smaller work siphoning off the primary work of mid-sized firms and making competition for new business that much more rigorous. Many of the firms are qualified to do the work and competitive differentiation among them is slim. So, by adopting the “Google Strategy” you mention, firms have a unique opportunity to use content to rise to the top. Improve their chances of winning the next commission and truly establishing their expertise in a particular niche.
Thanks for your insight, seeing the broader picture and inviting us to see it too. I meant it when I said, “that @Soulati is always thinking.”
@pmswish @Soulati Mind much if I use this as a guest post? I’d like to get more views from @rdopping and see what I can muster from this spot-on response! Thanks, Lady!
@pmswish @Soulati Hey Jayme, just getting back to this now.
I have to echo Patti’s point of view other than the giants “teaming up” with other content rich firms. It seems more of an “absorption” than anything else but having said that our firm, DIALOG, has recognized synergies like these to grow our expertise nationally across Canada. We hare strategically aligned Interior Design, Urban Planning, Architecture and engineering services as a way to broaden the reach and enhance service offering. How we do that is a blog post in itself.
Yes, we also create “one-off” project specific partnerships quite regularly with speciality firms such as Heritage consultants to strengthen our position to win work. These alliances, in some cases, are a necessity to compete successfully. Again, similar but somewhat unlike what Google has done.
Agreed that content does create selling position but in Canada we are not seeing the impact of those efforts yet. As we all know it takes time to build the proper platform for the material, develop the material and then promoting it the right way is yet another story. The challenge that is still difficult to overcome is the attitude that firm leadership has with the perception of “giving away” trade secrets (their expertise) exposing the fear that others using the expertise or knowledge can strengthen their positions in the market. It sound trite but the attitude is very, very real. This is compounded in difficult market conditions and is a reality of this industry. I am, for one, a believer that sharing expertise with our client case or using it as a B2C approach can certainly open doors that may have not been accessible.
The small firms are certainly finding it much harder to compete on expertise out side of specific niches such as the hospitality industry. Qualifications are no longer enough; everyone has qualifications. Clients are looking for things that differentiate firms from their competitors and frankly the buzz-word of the day is demonstrating “thought leadership”. As buzz-wordy as it is the idea that a firm has the expertise to examine a problem in an unconventional way or offers unique approaches to design problems, outside of heavily regulated or public entities, will usually get them to the table.
Qualifications are table-stakes or basic requirements, thereby, the Google approach is a good analogy. Without diversification Google remains a search engine and thereby restricts it’s growth.
Thank you for the opportunity to express some ideas around this topic.
I am sure if we found the right synergies @pmswish and I could find a way for our firms to collaborate. Maybe we should start a forum or group to discuss and address the growth opportunities of firm alignment.