Smallpools and Killer Whales

A few weeks ago, I went to see a concert for a band called Smallpools. During a break in between one of their songs, their front man began to tell a story that he said he told every night. Several years ago, he and his band mates were googling their band, Smallpools, to see what sorts of results were coming up. Instead of finding any information relating to their own band, they only saw many articles and other websites talking about how SeaWorld and others were keeping killer whales in small pools. To try and connect with these people who were very passionate about the killer whales in the small pools, Smallpools made a song titled "Killer Whales".

"Killer Whales" is now one of Smallpool's most popular songs, and while it doesn't have anything to do with the mistreatment of orcas, it gained popularity in part because of its name. Smallpools used newsjacking and SEO optimization to reach wider audiences than they would have otherwise been able to, and this is something that any organization can use to benefit them when the situation arises.

Newsjacking

Smallpools had its name before the Blackfish documentary came out and before people began searching for killer whales in small pools. However, after that crisis broke and they noticed their search results, they wasted no time in coming out with a song that would connect their band to this unexpectedly trending topic.

By picking the title "Killer Whales," all of their posts about the song on social media, all their promotional materials from their website and the song itself come up when people are searching for killer whales in small pools.

Because their song is not about the orcas, and because Smallpools has no connection to anyone in possession of killer whales, they did not need to be afraid about backlash over the name of their song, or for benefiting from what was happening to the whales themselves.

Any organization can benefit from newsjacking. Trending topics get more attention, and by referencing current stories and fads with your brand, more people can become aware of your product and what you're trying to sell. It doesn't have to be as complicated as a song, newsjacking is frequently done with only social media posts. The key is to get creative, and to never use newsjacking when a tragedy is involved. Make sure to be aware of the issue and the background to consider what is a appropriate response.

SEO Optimization

Smallpools originally realized that their band wasn't coming up, even when they searched for their name, which is a big problem for people trying to locate their music. By editing their website and content to include the song titled killer whales, their band would show up in search results for a category that was very popular. They also hoped to reclaim their own search results for their band name with this song. Now when you google "Smallpools" it is definitely the band that shows up.

SEO Optimization is all about making sure your organization shows up when people search for topics that would make them good targets for your product. You want people to find your business. Normally, this means key words that someone would search for when trying to locate your organization. You then want to include those key words in frequently updated pages on your website. Smallpools, in this example, decided to include "Killer Whales" as one of their key words because it was one that people were frequently searching for in conjunction to "small pools", even if they were not searching for the band. In knowing this, Smallpools wanted these individuals to see their website with the addition of "Killer Whales" to their repertoire.

Any organization needs to decide what prospective costumers may search for when trying to find your product, or a product like yours. After you come up with some key words, incorporate those words into your press releases, blog posts and website to help your organization reach prospective customers through search results.