It’s a known fact that there is too much content these days. Every single business from large corporations to small local businesses uses content marketing as part of their strategy to drive traffic to the site. But as the number of content pieces increases, competition becomes brutal. It’s harder than ever to break through the clutter and claim your expert position in the market.
Organizations that want quick results should be aware that content marketing is a long process and it requires a substantial amount of resources, time, and budget.
If you want to succeed in content marketing you need to put equal emphasis on content creation and content distribution. Here are some of the tactics to use for content distribution in 2018:
1. Have a strategy in mind
It all starts with a digital marketing strategy. You don’t want to start with one tactic and then switch to another. Make a point to dedicate your attention to one tactic at a time. Also, determine the list of tactics you’re going to use beforehand and don’t move to another tactic unless you’re finished with the list.
The strategy is conducive to your business goals and the type of business you own. For example, if you operate in the cycling field, you might want to check out cycling communities and forums, but if you’re a CRM company then posting on forums will not bring any results.
When you think about strategy, consider topic clusters. You want to create an image of an expert in the field and for that to happen, you need to go deeper into certain topics. Choose one or two niche topics for your blog and then do everything you can to provide detailed insights and deep knowledge.
2. Ask others for help
This is a tactic most business owners struggle with. First, it requires for you to reach out to thousands of contacts, and secondly, the results of the outreach are very unpredictable. Out of 1000 emails sent you’ll probably only get 10 replies. But outreach to other blog owners to post and promote your content is still the most effective content distribution strategy. This is due to the fact that Google sees backlinks as a sign of authority.
Once you get a certain number of backlinks, Google will pick up that you’re being referred to by other blog owners and raise your page ranking results.
3. Repurpose content
There are thousands of content types aside from blog posts. If you created a particularly interesting piece of content, you can repurpose it in many different ways. A lot of successful blog owners stress out the importance of repurposing your content. See which blog posts gained the most attention and create videos based on them. The thing is that different types of content attract different audiences but we are all looking for the same kind of information.
4. Aim for virality
Viral content is hard to create but it’s not impossible. You need to really understand your audience and surprise them with, particularly interesting pieces. Virality is often achieved by publishing extremely entertaining or well-researched content. When the content is creative and uncovers new information, people feel the urge to share it with others. Once the sharing wave starts, you can pretty much sit back and relax.
You don’t have to aim to produce viral content every single time. But make a deliberate attempt to create a viral piece once a month. Even though there is no guarantee that your content will become viral, don’t despair – a consistent effort will ensure that one day one of your posts will be picked up by millions of people.
5. Turn blog posts into an e-book
Once created, most posts are forgotten by their creators. Blog owners come up with a blog idea, write a post, distribute it and then move on to the next idea. But there are so many ways to capitalize on your old posts. One of them is e-book creation. By publishing several posts you accumulate a body of knowledge. You want to make use of this knowledge and attract readers who haven’t seen your posts yet. An e-book is a great way to relay the same information to a wider audience in a completely different format.
You can then give the e-book to newly signed up readers and expand your email list. Ask the readers to share their contact information in exchange for an e-book, and you’ll see your email list grow in no time.
6. Turn your content into an infographic
People are visual creatures. Infographics help us comprehend information better. Infographics also speak to the right side of our brain invoking creative thinking. Infographics are shared more often as they are easier to read and catch attention in a matter of seconds. Another bonus point is that you can improve your image SEO rankings if you optimize your image well.
7. Start an email campaign
If you’re not collecting email addresses you need to start now. Your readers will most likely want to get regular updates and would appreciate if you offer them a way to not miss out on the new posts. While social media is a good way to keep the readers informed of the latest changes on the blog, emails are more personal and guarantee that no new content will be missed. Once you publish a new post send out a newsletter informing the users of the updates. Not only your readers will be grateful for the note, but you’ll also get a spike in website traffic following the email blast.
8. Post on forums
Forums like Reddit and Quora are a great way to promote your content and increase your Google rankings. A link from a forum contributes to SEO, while a thoroughly written post on the forum establishes your helpful attitude and increases brand exposure.
Be careful when you promote products on forums. Be sure to choose questions and posts that contain an obvious cry for help that relates to your product. Restrain from mindless posting in feeds that are unrelated to the problems your product or service is trying to solve.
Research forums like Reddit and Quora but also look into forums that are more specific to your business and audience. Specialized forums can be a lot more effective than general forums and will bring the targeted audience to your website.
Final Word
Effective content marketing means finding different ways to promote your content. Considering the time it takes to produce a valuable post, you want to get the most out of every piece you publish. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that great content distributes itself. With the amount of content produced these days even the most brilliant pieces can get lost in the barrage of messages, blog posts, videos, and news stories.
If you decide to engage in content marketing, make sure you understand that you won’t see immediate results, rather you’ll gain traction slowly. But content marketing is an incredibly powerful business tool, that builds loyalty, creates a deep connection, and aids SEO rankings. If you want your business to succeed, content marketing can’t be ignored.
