There are many blog posts and articles out there about Empire Avenue- the game, the networking and more. While all of those things are great, they don’t really explain to you how this website can be an essential tool to your content marketing plan.
I won’t bore you with the details of what Empire Avenue is in this post but for those who need to know, here are some resources:
What is This Empire Avenue All About?
Now let’s take a look at how Empire Avenue relates to content marketing and how you can work it into your content strategy this year.
Connecting Your Feeds
The first step you take when you are new to Empire Avenue is to connect all of your social feeds. This is important to the “game” because it is what helps drive your score but it is also important for the content marketing aspect of the site. You will add all of your blogs, RSS feeds and social media connections in one place. This makes it easier for others to find you and to connect with you on the platform of their choice. You will also be added to the database according to keywords and you can find others to connect with, based on their keywords.
Once you connect your feeds, they also show through the EA platform, allowing you yet one more way of spreading your content to a greater audience. I currently have 52 RSS feeds connected to my Empire Avenue account. Only 5 can be upgraded to blog status (to reduce spam) so I use the five that I post on the most frequently. Every time I make a new post to these blogs, it feeds through the site. Now, not everyone on Empire Avenue is sitting around watching the blog feeds of others but it still increases my reach. I also find that when other EA users come to endorse my feeds (which gives them EA actions), they will click through to my site when they see a feed that interests them.
Building Your Social Reach
Next is the social element to EA and the most obvious since this is a social game. As I said above, you will connect all of your networks and while only your top four networks count for your overall score, you can still connect with others via any connected networks and the activity you have on these accounts will show on EA.
If you are skilled at creating posts that get attention, you will get noticed by the EA crew as well. Add to this that many Empire Avenue players like to add one another in order to connect and sometimes also in the hopes to increase their scores by networking with more people. Even if there is a game element to it initially, it fosters social connections and builds your social reach.
Networking Outside of EA with EA Members
Some people enjoy EA for the connections so much that they form outside groups and clubs for EA networking. There are Facebook groups, Twitter lists and chats, LinkedIn groups and Google+ communities all devoted to EA players. Sometimes members come together from other larger groups and form their own small, niche groups.
I have met other professionals who do what I do, been hired for many jobs and also worked on collaborations with those in similar professions as me, all as a result of networking outside of EA with EA members. There are meetups, Google Hangouts and more- all giving you the opportunity to meet new connections and to spread your content, your brand and your message even further. The most important thing to remember about these networks is to be genuine. This is not the time for a sales pitch and you should avoid spam at all costs.
Instead, focus on being yourself and build connections naturally, then allow those people to learn more about what you do.
Connecting with Other Professionals in Your Field
As mentioned above, Empire Avenue offers you a great chance to connect with other professionals in your field. While a little healthy competition can be fun, don’t allow the game to ruin your chances to connect with others in your field. Don’t hold back from purchasing the top player in your category because you don’t want to help them climb any higher.
Use this as an opportunity to connect, to introduce who you are after buying some shares and to connect with those who seem interesting outside of EA and on other networks as well. You may find out you learn a great deal about others and about your own professional field. This is how you reach more interested people with your content and watch your content marketing plan grow.
Running Missions
Empire Avenue “missions” are a fairly new feature that came out in 2012. They are essentially a type of advertising but you use the EA currency, eaves, in which to do it. You can set up a mission asking other members to take an action (usually to visit a link) and offer them a certain amount of eaves for doing so.
Missions were a big hit when they first came out but a lot of people shy away from them now or find they simply aren’t worth the time. Some of the big players already have all the eaves they need coming in every day, some will still do missions for the fun of it. Then there are others who do the missions because they need the extra eaves and there is still good opportunity to connect with a bigger group of people.
EA missions can help your content marketing by:
- Allowing you to share new blog posts
- Allowing you to share social media posts
- Asking others to share your social media posts
- Asking others to comment on your blog posts
- Sending people to specific locations to vote
- Sending people to complete a call to action at your request
While some will argue that these “bought” actions do not convert, the truth is that often they do. It’s just a matter of getting the right content in front of the right pair of eyes at the right time. And even when the EA player doesn’t convert directly, they spread the reach when they share with their networks so you can reach a greater set of people besides your own inner social circles. It also greatly helps increase your social signals, meaning even more opportunity to increase your reach.
So as you can see, there are many benefits to Empire Avenue when it comes to your content marketing. If you are not already using EA, you might consider adding it to your 2013 content marketing plan starting now. If you are already using it, what are some of the ways you use it to boost your content?
Join me on Empire Avenue (e)WRITERLISA
