Creating high quality content is so important, but so is coming up with the right content distribution strategy.
Creating several stellar pieces of content in different forms is the first step: blogs, videos, white papers, podcasts, case studies, you name it. You may think your job is done once you hit publish, but guess what? That’s just the beginning of the content journey; nothing is going to happen if no one reads or views your amazing content.
So what are you supposed to do? You need to come up with a content distribution strategy and plan, which is one of the most important steps of content marketing.
Why? Because distributing your content wisely promotes it, which in return promotes growth. In fact, the number one reason why many pieces of content do not get any traffic or views is because your piece of content has no backlinks. Backlinks are links to your content from other websites on the internet and are one of the most important factors in creating content optimized for search. One way to get backlinks to your website is through your content distribution strategy.
With the right content distribution strategy in place, you are helping yourself stand out from the overwhelming amount of content on the internet. Even though what you may be saying isn’t new, again, people are still going to consume your great content, if you get it right in front of them. The more people that see your content, the more chance you have at getting shares, media mentions and backlinks. This leads to more traffic to your website, which then increases conversion.
What is content distribution?
Content distribution is the process of publishing content and promoting it to your online audience, across multiple media channels. To reach a wider audience, it is important to create content in different formats. Having the right strategy in place will help your content be seen by many people and help boost your brand awareness, which leads to brand authority and brand loyalty.
The key factor in creating a content distribution strategy is understanding your audience – their demographics, interests, how they consume content, are all core parts of your distribution strategy. Once you understand this, then you can input the right content distribution strategy.
How can you distribute your content?
There are three broad channels where you can distribute your content: owned channels, earned channels and paid channels.
Owned content distribution channels
Owned content distribution channels are ones that your company owns, including blogs, websites, social media channels, emails and newsletters, social media platforms, YouTube and podcast platforms. You are in control of what content is published on these platforms.
Earned content distribution channels
This form of content is not owned by you and may be the result of public relations, direct media outreach or amplification and shares due to the quality of content you created. This includes review sites, bloggers that may post or mention on your service or products, content that is amplified on a social media platform, and so on.
Paid content distribution channels
This includes any channels that you pay to get your content in front of their audience, whether it’s a social media ad, paid influencers, sponsored articles, and pay per click (PPC) advertising.
As a tip, you should focus on growing your audience with your owned media channels and use earned and paid channels to drive traffic to your content. However, your strategy will depend on the type of content you have and what tools you have available, of course.
Conclusion
Coming up with a content distribution strategy may seem daunting at first, but once you understand your audience, this process will become like second nature. And remember, so much will come out of this task because the more people that see your content, the more you grow your audience and in turn, the quicker you reach your overall goals.
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