Article Marketing and the Secret Sauce
Posted by Beth Hrusch on Thu, Jul 23, 2009
News that a Long Island man may have discovered the elusive KFC recipe got me thinking about companies who guard their secrets. KFC and their 11 herbs and spices, McDonald's and their secret sauce. It adds a layer of mystique to their product, does it not? It says "we know something you don't know".
Now, maybe this strategy works when it comes to food. Does the food taste better because we all know that the recipe is locked in a vault somewhere? Maybe, but I wonder if people feel the same way when they need information.
Article marketing is built around the concept that most people are on the Internet to get information. Either they want to make a purchase or need their questions answered. Sometimes they just want entertained. Whatever they're looking for, imagine what would happen if companies decided not share their information but to guard it. Would this be a wise policy? It is still a prevalent belief among some companies that giving away too much information gives the competition an advantage and allows to customers to bypass them.
On the other hand, by using article marketing to share information, a growing number of companies are finding that their readers are spreading the word for them, giving them and their products better exposure than any secret sauce mystique ever could. Articles are also a great way to establish authority, because they reveal a company's expertise to a wide audience.
What do you think? Are you more likely to buy from a company that freely gives you information, or would you rather go on blind faith that the company you are about to give your money to knows what they're talking about?