How BIG is Wikipedia?
30 million articles in 286 languages Estimated 365 million readers worldwide
Ranked by Alexa as the #6 website in the world video wikipedia
Wikipedia is an Internet encyclopedia that is collaboratively edited by millions of ‘Wikipedians’ around the world. It has become by far the largest and most popular general reference work on the Internet since its inception in 2001… in fact, just try to name another!
Wikipedia’s steady web supremacy can be attributed to its dominant position in the Google search engine; Wikipedia results are a staple atop Google search results for just about ANY query. Furthermore, The Pew Internet and American Life project found that one third of US Internet users consulted Wikipedia on a regular basis.
Wikipedia is big, Wikipedia is popular, Google loves Wikipedia and millions of people have had a hand in creating this open encyclopedia project. As a marketer, what’s not to love?
Wikipedia and Marketing
Wait a minute. Wikipedia isn’t a marketing tool, it’s a legitimate research tool…right?
Over the years, Wikipedia has evolved into the premier ‘go-to’ for non-bias facts and credible resources. However, at its core, it is a socially driven machine with lots of opportunity to take advantage of a massive worldwide readership. Consumer-facing brands have a place on Wikipedia, and should be claiming their real estate by developing content that will enhance online credibility scores and give them a free number one spot on Google.
Bare bone facts about your company, such as information about history, major achievements, partnerships, awards, products etc. should be accompanied by interactive media like captioned images, links to articles and websites, and now, even video.
Wikipedia and Video
Wikipedia is still in the early stages of incorporating videos into its encyclopedic content… but you can be sure that video content will play a major role in the Wikipedia of the future. Users can now upload video content from a media wizard in Wikimedia Commons or embed video into articles in the same way images can be embedded.
Take full advantage of this new feature – improve your online presence and help your brand stand out by using video on your Wikipedia page.
