If you’re not planning content distribution, you’re just inches from the shiny new object trap
My advice? Don’t wait until your content is produced to plan distribution.
Your content strategy should include a distribution plan for disseminating your glorious content. The hours of work you spent slaving over that new ebook or your latest blog post go to waste if your distribution isn’t considered. Publishing content can only take you so far. If no one sees it, does it even exist?
Do you know what’s lurking behind every well-intentioned editorial calendar? Shiny object syndrome!
It’s a common predicament among writers after devoting hours and probably their sanity to a piece to move on right after smashing that publish button. And why? So they can start writing about the next shiny, new thing. But publishing it into the void? Not the most thoughtful strategy.
When it comes to content marketing success, one of the most profound problems is distribution issues. And for good reason.
But a content distribution plan solves that problem.
How to get started building a content distribution strategy
You already know (or should know) where your audience engages online, the types of content they share, the kinds of people they interact with and the publications they visit for information. That, my friend, is the key to the foundation of your distribution strategy.
“After outlining some audience personas, take time to walk in the shoes of a persona,” Jackie Chism, Liger Partners Content Director and founder of Jackie Chism Copywriting and Content Marketing, says. “Ask what do they do in the course of a day, where do they go, what do they do for fun, what apps do they use, what is Amazon delivering to their doorstep right now?”
So what’s next? You should start engaging where your audience already is. It’s not their job to hunt down your writing gems. Start inserting yourself into ongoing discussions and go from there.
You want brand awareness, right? This is how to earn that. If your content isn’t reaching the right audience, investment into content isn’t worth the hassle.
“Don’t think that the spray and pray tactic is distribution,” Lindsay McGuire, Content Marketing Manager at Formstack, says. “It needs to be incredibly strategic to work and not be a waste of time. Each piece should have an individual plans based upon the content, audience and type of piece.”
Content marketing distribution channels that work
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Search engines exist to connect people with content. People are already on the hunt for the content you’re putting out there. They’re actively seeking out answers and solutions.
By optimizing your content for SEO, you can reach those individuals who are after your content rather than force-feeding it to them as they scroll their feeds. Organic search is the way.
Social media channels
More than 4.5 billion people use social media across the world. The average user (sadly?) spends 2 hours and 27 minutes on these platforms. Clearly, social media done right attracts a great audience. Distributing your content on multiple social media platforms gives you a pretty good shot at some eyes. Since more than half the world is an active social media user, you can’t afford to ignore this strategy. Just be sure you’re on the right platforms.
“On LinkedIn, I do a 200-300 word summary of the main points of the article with a link to the full article in the comments. Or an image carousel of main points,” Content Marketing Writer Nneka Otika said. “On image-heavy platforms like Instagram, I’ll go with an infographic or a visual based on the article with a longer caption on where to find the main article.”
Email marketing
Email is not dead, and B2B marketers use email marketing to distribute their content regularly. Since you’re promoting your content to people who’ve already expressed interest in your brand and what you share, your email list can be one of the best methods to deliver content to readers.
“Build your email list and send new posts to your list. Instant traffic and it’s practically free—at least way cheaper than paid ads or uber-optimization,” Content expert, Justin Boyer says. “Then those in your list share it and you get a nice boost right up front while Google indexes it and builds new eyeballs over time.”
Your network
To take advantage of the network you’ve worked so hard to build, you can’t be a passive player. Building relationships and maintaining them takes work. Respond to people when they share or comment on your work and engage in their conversations, too. Share high-quality content from other influencers in the industry because promotion and engagement are equally important.
Learn where your audience lives and park there.
“In audience research, you need to know where your audience hangs out,” Sarah Colley, Content Director at The Write Destination agency, says. “That should be the bulk of where you discover distribution opportunities.”
How do I get started planning content distribution?
They say getting started is the hardest part. It’s not enough to create great content because 91 percent of content gets zero traffic from Google, according to Ahrefs. So what are some tips for getting this thing off the ground?
Batching
“Using content schedulers makes a world of difference for efficiency,” Michelle J. Raymond, Chief LinkedIn Pages Strategist at Good Trading Co., says. “[I can] get more done by batching at a time I’m creative vs. the best time to post. Bonus—you can send to multiple platforms and spread the message wider.”
By working on a handful of pieces of content at a time, you can stay focused and work ahead. Instead of focusing all your time on creating content alone, the batching process lets you do something with that content and your branding. Best of all? You’ll have some energy left to dream up the right distribution path for your content.
Consider the wrapper
Are you being as enticing as you think you are? If you’re not getting the click, it’s time to up your powers of persuasion.
“Think of the content you’re distributing like a gift—how you wrap it matters,” Erin Balsa, Founder of Erin Balsa Content Marketing, says. “Wrap your gift in plain khaki-colored paper and ain’t nobody choosing it at the Yankee Swap. Share a blog link without a compelling hook (wrapper); ain’t nobody clicking it. Now, what is a ‘great’ wrapper? That depends on your audience (their preferences, their content consumption channels, their buying habits, etc.).”
Maintain a living content calendar
Most of us need a visual way to gauge how often we’re promoting content and on which channels. An editorial calendar should be that solution for you. Whether you use a spreadsheet or you have a more intuitive platform for planning out content, a calendar can guide your workflows based on new content, content in progress, requested content and published content, so you never forget to share the content you’ve spent so long bringing to life.
Go in with an SEO-driven approach
Your high-quality content needs to reach the hot spots. Maintaining a technically-sound website structure, an optimized page layout and a healthy amount of backlinks helps. While the SEO space is more competitive than ever, you can still drive traffic through search engines if you have patience and realistic goals.
Don’t bother working hard to drive traffic to crappy content, though. Plenty of b.s. ends up on the first page of search results—it doesn’t have to be quality to land a coveted spot, either. Regurgitated, fluffy nonsense might get a few seconds with the reader, but they’re going to be pissed off and bounce so fast your site will have whiplash.
Try targeting terms you can rank for with low keyword difficulty, a high search volume, and relevance to your business’s core offering. This gives you the best shot of converting the people you bring to the site from search. Or try this less conventional approach…
Don’t expect insult results, though. These things take time.
With that in mind…
Know your audience
Choosing keywords isn’t a content strategy. If you care about getting the right eyes on your content, you’ll pick the brains of your audience through interviews or surveys, follow your target customers on social to see what they share and talk about, make it a point to speak to your current clients (or build solid relationships with client-facing employees) and keep an eye open for popular discussions going on in your industry. From there, you can build out a list of fundamental pain points, questions and interests. BAM! That’s the foundation of your content distribution strategy and now it’s focused on your audience.
Keep on keeping on with social media
As you continue promoting your content on relevant feeds, try tagging other accounts and influencers in your content. For instance, if you quote someone in a post and want to tweet out the link, tag their Twitter handle when promoting so you have a shot at their audience. This goes double for LinkedIn.
When it’s natural, take advantage of trending topics to craft content and incorporate those relevant hashtags. If you aren’t positive of your best channels yet, test multiple social media networks over a period of months and start investing the most in the platforms giving you the most significant results.
Leverage other people’s reach
Tag-team with other people in your space for a mutually beneficial relationship to light your distribution fires.
“Rely on relationships, and build really good ones with people that have a following of your target audience.”
Sarah Colley
Here is how to do this:
- Quote SMEs and influencers in your articles and ask them to share them with their audience
- Team up with partners to get content placed in their email newsletters
- Build relationships with bloggers who will help get your content in roundups with similar content
- Speak on podcasts where your content is relevant
It’s okay to pay
Social media algorithms intentionally make it complicated for brands to reach their followers. Marketers’ usage of social media advertising and promoted posts increased to 83 percent from 60 percent this past year. When it comes to guides, video content and case studies, social media ads mean you’re putting cash behind the content, directly yielding business results such as subscribers, leads, views, conversions and even building industry authority.
Validate that your content is link-worthy
The best content distribution strategies have a backlink plan. Links from other sites improve your site’s overall authority and credibility, as well as the page you’re trying to promote. Use round-up posts to ask marketers for their opinions because those suckers get mad amounts of social shares.
Original research is another great way to attract leads, gain credibility and get your name in top-notch sources. Create an original research report that others can reference and cite for years to come. When people are looking for fresh marketing statistics, you want them to find your content and link back to it. This is the way.
Don’t forget to repurpose (most experts agree on this one)
Maximize the mileage you get from your content. If you already have a blog post that’s ranking on Google’s second page, re-optimize and refresh it with new data, research and insights as they are available. There’s no need to throw out and start over on content of this caliber.
“Repurpose your content for different platforms,” Lauren Meyer, Chief Marketing Officer at SocketLabs, says. “Speaking engagement —> blog post with recording or summary of the main points —> email content and social posts with or without video, catered to each platform. Winning content is inserted into website copy, paid initiatives and landing pages, and used to inform on future content creation.”
Some forms of content are easier to repurpose than others.
“We’ve seen great success with audio content,” Bethany Farchione, Marketing Director at Questline, says. “After a webinar, we pull the strongest sound bytes and create social posts. People like the shortness and immediacy that sound bytes offer.”
“Videos are one of my favorite pieces of content, as they can be used to create other kinds of pieces,” Ashley Studer, Marketing Manager at the Ohio State Bar Association, says. “For example, video audio could be used to make a podcast; important talking points could be used to write a blog or create an infographic. Make a video, and you’ll be able to create other pieces out of it.”
Are you turning case studies into social-media-friendly infographics? Are you turning webinars into short Facebook video ads? Are you reusing guides or ebooks and turning them into courses you can monetize? If not, why not start today?
“Only you see 100 percent of what you post, so reuse a post or idea on multiple platforms and in different ways,” Julian Knopf, Gander Media Solutions owner, says. “So if it was a post, make a carousel or document; if it was a carousel, make an animation. Put more detail in a blog and use it to drive people to your site.”