Is Name Dropping Effective?

Writing by Nick Stamoulis Tweet

When you’re creating new content for your blog or website, does it pay to mention the names of celebrities? For instance, Ashton Kutcher, CNN, and Oprah Winfrey have all made the news recently due to their Twitter antics. CNN and Kutcher were in a race to see who could get to 1 million followers first. Meanwhile, Oprah made her Twitter debut. Does talking about celebrities and what they are doing help you attract attention that you might not otherwise get. Better yet, does it sit well with your readers?

There are two ways to look at this. No. 1, any mention of a celebrity’s name will put you in competition with a lot of other people. The more well known the celebrity, the more likely you are to have to claw your way to any real search rankings for that celebrity’s name. On the other hand, if you do manage to attract attention to your blog or website by mentioning a celebrity’s name, you will likely see an increase in traffic, but will that traffic be targeted traffic?

Personally, I think it’s OK to name drop. But there should be some ground rules.

1. Always tie it in to your niche content somehow. If you are an automotive parts dealer, it doesn’t make sense to talk about Britney Spears and not do it in such a way that it relates to auto parts. You have to make the connection to what you are all about and what your readers are interested in.
2. Don’t do it too much. If all of your blog posts are about celebrities, you are probably doing it too much unless you are writing a celebrity blog. It’s OK to drop names from time to time, but don’t make a habit of it.
3. Generally speaking, current events work better than old news. If a celebrity has a headline that puts them in the spotlight temporarily, capitalize on that by obeying rule No. 1 above and dragging in the celebrity from the headline. Timeliness means everything. Ashton vs. CNN and Oprah are perfect examples.
4. Use a celebrity that makes sense for your business or niche. Marlon Brando isn’t connected very often to feminine products and the two are a very unlikely duo. That’s not to say you can’t make it happen. You can make it funny and play off the macho man’s machismo then relate that to the benefits of your fairer side. But it has to make sense to your readers and there has to be a clear reason for the connection.
5. You have permission to break the rules. Hey, it’s your business, your blog, and your website. Do what you think is right. But keep in mind that you serve a set of readers who may not forgive you if you screw up too often or too big. The rules are there for a reason.

These aren’t really rules. They’re more like guidelines. Name dropping can be effective and it can help you get new traffic to your site. Combining a celebrity’s name with your important keywords may actually get you some targeted traffic through good content and on site optimization from the fringes of your niche. Play it smart and you can get new readers.