In an increasingly connected digital-age world, getting a brand noticed and building a loyal customer base calls for high-quality, engaging content, and plenty of it. The right approach to content marketing can give your brand a powerful voice that makes your target audience truly sit up and take notice.
However, even incredible, world-changing content won’t have the impact you’re hoping for without a smart content distribution strategy. But how do you develop an effective content distribution strategy and keep it going over the long haul?
Here, we’ll go over a bit of everything you need to know to maximize your reach and get your carefully crafted content the attention it deserves.
Plotting Your Journey: A Strategic Overview of Content Distribution
A solid content distribution strategy helps content creators, marketers, and brands maximize their reach by effectively connecting with a target audience or ideal customer. However, the more crucial it becomes for all brands to maintain a robust online presence and fill their channels with plenty of content, the tougher it is to stand out.
Quality is as important as ever when it comes to content marketing, but it’s no longer enough on its own. Active distribution efforts are necessary for content to reach its intended audience. Key elements of content distribution include:
- Research: Brand managers and marketers need to understand the lay of the land before they can dive right in and get to work. Tasks like keyword research, competition research, and market research are part of understanding target audiences and current trends.
- Creation: Various original, well-crafted content types form the backbone of any solid strategy. Important options to leverage include long-form blog posts, videos, infographics, research assets, and social media content.
- Distribution: Populating your channels with great content is a start. However, forming a robust content distribution network by using backlink outreach, social media groups, sponsorships, newsletters, and more is also crucial.
- Optimization: Once your content is circulating, it’s up to you to keep it optimized with periodic content refreshes, link updates, ongoing SEO research, etc.
Having the right content distribution tools in your corner can help streamline the process of getting your content around. Popular options include staples like Hootsuite, Mailchimp, and key learning opportunities like Rock University.
Roadside Assistance: Troubleshooting Common Content Distribution Hurdles
Thorough content distribution that yields consistent results doesn’t always go smoothly. Here’s a closer look at some common obstacles and challenges marketers face in 2024 and beyond.
- Limited reach, especially when businesses and brands are new and still finding their footing.
- Difficulty accessing useful information about how modern consumers use the internet and seek out information.
- Cultural and language barriers can make creating universally accessible content a challenge.
- Constantly increasing published volume of competing content makes it difficult for your audience to spot your content.
- Difficulty finding time, labor, and resources to devote to ongoing content distribution.
Planning and thorough market research are the best ways to ensure you create content your audience wants to consume. Use what you learn about your target demographics and current competition to identify (and effectively close) content gaps or present ideas in a unique way.
Leverage resources like social media and opportunities from your existing peer network to expand your reach as far as possible and connect with new audiences. Making the most of visual content like graphics and videos can help brands breach cultural divides and language barriers.
Fueling Success: How to Optimize Your Content for Maximum Impact
Great content distribution always begins with top-tier content that’s been fully optimized to make it distribution-friendly. Here are some tips for making sure your brand’s offerings make the grade.
Do thorough keyword research
Although some of the most effective keywords tend to be evergreen and industry-specific, you don’t want to stop with the obvious. Use trusted keyword research tools to take the guesswork out of identifying new keywords and build upon solid options.
Include local keyword research in your strategy to reach local or other location-specific audiences. Plus, ongoing keyword research related to industry and social trends can help get people talking about your brand.
Use keywords wisely
How you use keywords is just as important as which keywords you’re using in the first place, so place them strategically. Essential spots include URLs, page titles, meta descriptions, image alt text, and article headings.
Include internal and external links
Links not only help you with search engine optimization (SEO) but also help to make your content more valuable to audiences. Use internal links to direct readers to additional on-site content that could help them and increase the length of the average visit to your site. External links can help enrich content by expanding upon industry terms, backing up statistics, etc.
Boost your readability quotient
Modern web users typically don’t read marketing content from top to bottom. They scan it in search of the exact information they need, so content should be optimized with this in mind.
Use graphics, images, and embedded videos to add visual appeal and help break up large stretches of text. Organize written information and fill in skimmable elements like headings, subheadings, bullet lists, and so forth.
Optimize content for multiple screens
Most web users and online shoppers these days at least occasionally access the internet via their smartphone or other mobile device, so optimizing content to display correctly on a wide range of screens is a must.
Marketers should also be aware of Google’s mobile-first indexing policy. Google crawl bots routinely prioritize mobile versions of websites when it comes to ranking and indexing, so keep this in mind when crafting your content.
Navigating the Crossroads: Choosing the Right Platforms for Distribution
In 2024, there are countless different content distribution platforms and channels for digital marketers to choose from, so it’s important to pick the right mix of channels for you. There are three broad categories to choose from:
- Owned channels are channels your brand or company owns and has top-tier control over. Examples include company blogs, social media profiles, newsletters, mobile apps, and landing pages.
- Shared channels are those owned by third parties who choose to share content that includes or mentions your brand. Examples include blog mentions, customer reviews, social media shares, and guest posts.
- Paid channels are options where you must pay to leverage the benefits. Examples include sponsored content, paid ads, social media ads, or paid-for influencer content.
Many brands use a combination of those different channel types across their content distribution efforts. However, which options are right for you ultimately depends on your goals and who you’re trying to reach.
- Consider who you’re looking to reach with your content. Where do they spend the most time online, and how do they research purchase decisions or solve problems?
- Some channels will fit your strategy better than others. Your approach should vary according to which platforms and options you’re leveraging at a particular moment.
- Create a detailed content production and distribution calendar with all of your chosen channels included. Consider ideal posting frequencies for each option when setting things up.
You also don’t want to try to handle all of the tasks required singlehandedly. Build a team of expert content creators, marketing experts, and so forth to take the guesswork out of creating and distributing incredible content for the best results. Trusted content production platforms like WriterAccess can help.
Detours and Pit Stops: Creative Approaches to Diversify Your Content Distribution
A truly great content distribution strategy isn’t something you come up with just once. Consumer tastes, industry standards, and the general digital marketing landscape are constantly changing, so your distribution strategy must evolve along with them.
Diversification is key to ensuring your content continues to meet audiences where they live and has the desired impact. Here are some quick-start tips for keeping your strategy fresh.
- Don’t simply stick to what you know. Consider expanding to include new channels and platforms as your brand grows and changes, especially those that gel well with your brand voice and goals.
- Stay on top of optimization trends and current algorithm configurations to ensure your content always meets going standards and reader preferences.
- Make solid use of marketing automation tools and techniques to free up valuable time you can spend brainstorming new ideas, creating new content, or engaging with your audience.
- Repurpose staple content in other formats or for use on different platforms to maximize reach and get as much mileage as possible from your best ideas.
Mapping Your Route: Crafting a Cohesive Content Distribution Strategy
Ready to start creating a content distribution strategy that helps your brand stand out in all the right ways? Here are some key tips to keep in mind.
Get to know your target audience
Whether you’re looking to engage on a deeper level with an existing audience or connect with a new demographic, you need to start with a solid understanding of what makes those people tick via a round of market research.
Who are your target customers, and why might they be interested in your brand? How might they benefit from the content you share? Who do they trust when seeking information, and where do they like to spend their online time? What content trends are hottest among members of your target audience?
Start by distributing existing content
Unless you’ve just started a new company or brand from scratch, you likely already have plenty of great content in your back pocket that’s ready for immediate distribution. Identify possibilities with an audit of your current content catalog.
Which pieces are already performing well or have proved helpful for the demographics you’re looking to reach? Consider distributing them across new channels to introduce them to a new audience.
What types of content do best across each of your existing channels now? Look for opportunities to expand their reach further via social media groups, paid advertising, and more.
Consider new distribution channels and methods
Once you’ve figured out what’s already working for you and taken steps to improve performance, start looking for new channels to try. Consider which options might be the best bet for different content types at different marketing stages.
For example, let’s say you’ve just launched a new ebook or course. Paid advertising can help you supercharge your launch with quick results out of the gate. Then, transition to traditional social media sharing and distribution practices to keep interest alive longer.
Looking into influencer partnerships, sponsorships, and guest-posting opportunities are also great ways to keep distribution going while exposing your brand to new audiences.
Decide how you’ll determine success
When evaluating the success of a particular content distribution effort, you have to decide which key performance indicators (KPIs) you’ll monitor and evaluate. Which KPIs make the most sense to track depends on which channels your focus lies.
For example, keeping track of downloads might make the most sense when you track the success of a piece of gated content or a paid ebook. However, tracking the number of shares or comments might be useful when focusing on the content’s reach through social media. Always choose KPIs that align with your long-term business goals.
Analyze and adjust continuously
Keep a close eye on the performance of your distribution efforts, including the performance of each channel in relation to others. Analyze the associated data and adjust accordingly to keep engagement and reach moving in the right direction. If one thing isn’t working, don’t be afraid to pivot and try another.
Don’t be afraid to share your concerns with your content production team and occasionally add new experts to your roster to bring fresh perspectives to the table.
Ultimately, content distribution and quality content production go hand in hand, and you can’t have one without the other. Ensure your brand has the best and brightest people working hard on your campaigns when you sign up for WriterAccess and connect with your new dream content production team. Try it for free today when you sign up for your free 14-day WriterAccess trial!
