Social Media Marketing Strategy #2: The Mullet and Link baits

Link baits can come in all sorts of flavors and styles. Upon completion of a link bait, you usually have two main options:

You can either put the link bait on a page whereby it is displayed to all visitors or place it on a secondary page that is only visible or available to visitors coming directly from social media sites.

Where you choose to place your link bait matters. Do you want your regular site visitors or readers to see it among other content? Or would you prefer to only get the attention of a specific social media audience?

This marketing strategy is known as the Mullet, which for those you who don’t know, refers to a style of haircut which is short in the front, top and sides but long in the back. In other words, business in front and party at the back.

Buzzfeed recently used the Mullet as an analogy to describe social websites with user-generated content:

User generated content is all the rage but most of it totally sucks. That is why sites like YouTube, MySpace, CNN, and HuffPost are all embracing the mullet strategy. They let users party, argue, and vent on the secondary pages, but professional editors keep the front page looking sharp.

The mullet strategy is here to stay because the best way for web companies to grow traffic is to let the users have control, but the best way to sell advertising is a slick, pretty front page where corporate sponsors can wistfully admire their brands.

Buzzfeed is primarily referring to social media websites in general and I am adopting the the Mullet as a social media marketing strategy, which focuses on situating and promoting content on secondary pages for target audiences.

Why You Should Embrace the Mullet Strategy

Conventional thinking would have you place your link bait right in the regular content flow so it gets the greatest amount of exposure and support from loyal visitors.

The Mullet strategy differs from this and is useful for several reasons:

1. Creating Divergent Content. The Mullet allows you to place an incredible assortment of content types or genres on the same domain. For example, let’s say your site is about car loans. A political or humor link bait would not fit well in the front pages of your site. It would however fit perfectly on a separate page on your website.




2. Appealing to a Different Audience. A website about comic books will not appeal very well to a social media audience that’s primarily interested in technology and programming. Want to target that crowd for some quick traffic, cross-over attention or possible links? Throw on a tech link bait on a separate page on your site and push it out to the specific social media audience.




3. Going Under the Radar. Sometimes you just don’t want your regular audience to know that you are creating content of a specific nature (NSFW/Political etc.) and the Mullet will keep most audiences oblivious to it. This may work better if the niche you are targeting is far removed from the specific theme of your site.




4. Push Multiple Linkbaits. Afraid that excessive linkbaiting will irritate regular readers and other bloggers? The Mullet strategy allows to put out as many link baits as you want on as many pages as possible without breaking the overall content structure or feel of your website. Cater to the needs of your loyal audience but push alternative versions of your content on a separate page.

How Do I Use the Mullet Strategy for My Own Website?

This is very easy for both blogs and websites. Create a new page for your website and put your link bait on it. Double check to make sure that it isn’t visible or accessible from anywhere on your website. Wordpress bloggers can just choose the ‘Create a New Page’ option within the Dashboard.

After which, push it to the social media audience. Make sure that your bait is 100% relevant to the targeted social site because you are ultimately relying on your account and the social community; most of your loyal or regular readers will not be able to vote up or support your content.

Guidelines for a Successful Mullet Marketing Set-up

You basically have two options. Either connect the link bait page to your main site through the use of a link, banner or logo pointing to your homepage. Or you can conceptually sever any connection between your bait and the site. This means no links or branding should in anyway, lead back to the domain homepage.

Both options are workable. Thematically disconnecting the bait and the domain might make it more palatable or ‘clean’ for the social audience, although you lose the ability to brand your site or funnel traffic to your main domain. If this is the case, make sure you are targeting an audience that has the ability to link.

Other guidelines which may be useful:

1. Use a distinct design. Create a distinctive design to complement your bait. For example if you are doing a humor bait on a credit cards domain, design the bait page so it doesn’t look too commercial or inappropriate for your audience. In this case, I would highly recommend severing any connection between the domain and the bait.




2. Do Not Sell Anything. Selling any services or products is one way to kill your link bait. Remember, you are creating this specific webpage to get links, traffic and attention. Monetization is not a concern here. The main aim here is to get people to look at, visit and recommend your specific webpage to others.




3. Remove All Ads. Although linkbaits with ads can still go viral, I believe that link baits without ads have more potential to go viral, particularly if your website is new to the specific social media audience. One chief benefit of the Mullet strategy is the ability to create unique landing pages specifically for social media and you should make full use of this possible option.

Use the Mullet Wisely and it Will Reward You

As with all other types of link bait, the Mullet strategy requires some effort and detailed planning. Don’t just throw on a linkbait and submit it to a social site. Look at the audience you are targeting and examine what is popular and well received.

A little effort on a unique look and design will allow you to receive even greater success than if you were to simply put it on a separate webpage.

The Mullet is one of my favorite social media marketing strategies and I can tell you personally, that it does work very well for almost all types of websites or niches, especially the commercial ones which traditionally have difficulty in attracting links.

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