7 ways to do content distribution
Once we’ve hit publish and checked to see if a blog or ebook is live on the site, it can often feel like the job’s done.
Wait, come back!
It’s not! The actual marketing of the new content asset is just beginning and it’s time to distribute the asset so people actually read, view, listen, or watch the hot new piece of content you created. Otherwise what was the point of creating it if no one is going to find it?
The world wide web is vast and social media algorithms seem to change daily, making it harder than ever for your content to be found. There’s heavy competition for keywords and first-page listings on the search engines and you’re lucky if your social media post about your new blog is seen between photos of cats or advertisements on networks like Facebook.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t rely on traditional distribution channels to share your content with a wider audience, plus try a few new techniques.
Let’s dive into seven ways you can distribute your content so the right people see it and your investment into creating the content pays off.
1. SEO
I know, I know, I just said SEO is getting more competitive but SEO is still a key way to get your content in front of the right audience through organic search. Through both onsite and off-site SEO, you can make sure your content is optimized for the search engines and found by the people actively looking for it.
Keywords, metadata, and internal and external linking are still strong ways to make sure your content is optimized.
2. Paid ads
Next up, you can use the search engines to serve up your content but on a pay per click basis by creating paid ads that sends traffic directly to your new asset. Make sure your ad speaks to exactly what the person is going to find on the landing page and why it’s important for them to access the content.
3. Social media
Another tried-and-true technique is to share your content on social media – both for free and via paid opportunities. While organic reach is declining that doesn’t mean social media is dead. Nor does it mean you have to pay to play every single time you post. If your content is of good value to your audience, they will click, they will react to it, and they will share it.
I always reiterate the 80/20 rule when it comes to social media so that you have a good balance of your own branded and promotional content and curated content. If all you post is stuff back to your own website, people will tune you out. But if you post stuff back to your own website that looks compelling and is part of a healthy mix of other content types, people will engage.
You should also encourage your colleagues and especially your sales team to help out on social media by liking and sharing content or tagging others when appropriate. If your new ebook has interviews with industry influencers, be sure to tag them too to reach a wider audience!
4. Email
Make sure to call attention to new content in your email newsletters or update older nurture streams with fresh content! I also recommend sharing new content with your sales team so they can share with their contacts in a one-on-one email exchange.
5. Sponsored content/paid influencers
Sponsored content is a great way to improve backlinks to your site by hosting fresh content on another authoritative website but including a link to a complementary piece of content or landing page at the end of your content. Sponsored content could also come in the form of partner emails or paid banner ads on third-party sites that lead to your new piece of content.
Influencers are another great avenue if you’ve posted content on all of your industry partner’s or association’s websites. Just be prepared for the influencer to add their own spin to your content so it seems authentic to their audience.
6. Upvoting sites
I will caution that marketers need to be careful with posting content to upvoting sites, like Reddit, as it can quickly seem spammy if you do it all the time or your content doesn’t match the right thread or category. Save upvoting sites for really big pieces of content or if you’ve found a niche audience on that channel that will appreciate your content. Always make sure this content is educational or entertaining and never over-the-top salesy or you might find your reputation going down the drain in the digital world.
7. Roundups
Know of bloggers or journalists who do roundups? Participate in them! Offer a quote from your new piece and ask the writer to include a link back to your new content asset. Let them know about it so they can share it in their own daily digest or social media post too. Roundups are a win-win for both parties as your content reaches a wider audience and the roundup writer gets great curated content to include.
One final thing I want to touch on in this blog is repurposing content to reach a wider net. Maybe you have a really great ebook but your audience isn’t big on downloading big pieces of content, turn that ebook into a podcast or YouTube video and see if that format catches your audience’s attention. You can then reshare that “new” piece on these same channels.
Does your marketing team have a content distribution plan each time a new piece is published? Share what other channels I might have missed in the comments below!
