If you have been watching the news then I am sure you are aware of the Ashley Madison website scandal.

Who is Ashley Madison?

According to Wikipedia,

Ashley Madison is a Canada-based online dating service and social networking service marketed to people who are married or in a committed relationship. Its slogan is “Life is short. Have an affair.” The website was launched in 2001. The name of the site was created from two popular female names, “Ashley” and “Madison.

Ashley Madison Website Hack

So this week the a group, calling themselves the Impact Team, has hacked the database of Ashley Madison, a dating site which specializes in arranging affairs for those who are married or in a relationship. The group says it is in possession of details for over 30 million user accounts, including credit card information, home addresses, and other sensitive details.

The stolen database of 32 million people who used cheating website Ashley Madison has made its way to the Web. And it’s easily searchable on several websites. Whats really crazy is that some of the reported accounts have email addresses of .gov and .mil.

Watch This CNN VIDEO

Sorry, there will be a 30 second ad that CNN plays first (can’t be skipped).I guess CNN has to get paid too, eh!

So what did you think? Crazy, right?

What I Learned Ashley Madison Website Hack

Whether you agree or disagree with the type of website and service Ashley Madison is there are some smart business moves that Ashley Madison did right.

So here are a few things that I think entrepreneurs and network marketers can learn from the Ashley Madison hack.

Blogging is effective. Ashley Madison has an informative blog about online dating that is both engaging and updated constantly. Blogs are effective in attracting new readers and in creating a persona for the brand. Their lighthearted, easy to read posts are good examples of content marketing for their targeted users.

Develop your brand. Ashley Madison built a business and a brand based on a service that many people would reject as “wrong”–at least publicly. BUT they attracted over 30 million clients from countries all over the world.

Don’t be afraid of controversy. Ashley Madison is known to be controversial and used digital marketing to convey this message of the forbidden or flirtation with danger. There is nothing subtle about the brand’s approach in its content marketing or advertising material online.

NOTE: Digital marketing is the promotion of products or brands via one or more forms of electronic media.

Know your target audience. Ashley Madison knew its target users and directed its digital marketing at them. In the beginning, the brand targeted independent and upwardly mobile women who were looking for affairs. The brand used marketing to convince potential users-both men and women-to search for their partners online.

Final Thoughts on the Ashley Madison Scandal

There is going to be a lot of fallout over this scandal but as an entrepreneur I admire what this company accomplished as a business. They built a strong brand, found an ideal target audience (cheaters) and used the power of the internet to build a customer base of over 30 million. Not bad, Ashley Madison…too bad your business is so controversial, but you wouldn’t have it any other way now would you? 😉

To Your Success!