Being a pro-active business owner, you pour your heart and soul into creating ebooks, blogs, and infographics. You get frustrated when there is no effect on the ranking and that too after you have employed an efficient and long-term content strategy to achieve your pre-determined goals.
Of course, you are writing content that is relevant to your geo-target and industry in an SEO friendly manner. Still, this may be like creating a billboard in a forest. So, what steps should you take to produce optimal content to improve your ranking over time?
Well, it is simple. You need to employ innovative content distribution ideas. And the best part is that it is simple to do.
Paid, Earned and Owned Media
The content you write or have is distributed by three channels – earned, paid and owned. Owned media are the channels controlled and owned by you, like websites, social media profiles, emails and newsletters.
Earned media is not a channel but a procedure where others share your content through social media shares, guest posts, feedback and reviews through various platforms. To boost your content distribution efforts using earned media, you must invest in well-designed social media pages and websites.
Plus, you must ensure that right from content to logo design, all the elements must come together. Try to make sure that the content you post arouses the interest of the viewers and makes them eager to know about your brand.
Paid media is a channel that provides exposure through ads like display ads, pay-per-click and other social media ads. There are various social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Pinterest providing options and tools for advertising.
Using Content Distribution To Boost Social Media Traffic
The following are some of the ideas you can use to implement content distribution strategies to increase your social media traffic.
#1: Developing Educational Resources
The basic idea behind creating interesting and high-quality content is to publish something which people will read and use. Also creating content which is useful to readers will be helpful for your products and services.
Frankly, this is not a new concept. More than half of the B2B marketers use content marketing for educational purpose as well as thought leadership. If there is a specific aspect of your industry or business that you are particularly knowledgeable about, then it is good to create an educational resource.
For example, if you are a recruiting firm, you can have blogs posts useful for individuals who have recently graduated and also those who are looking for tips to ace a job interview.
#2: Search and Join Super-Niche Communities
Many social media experts feel that it is better to get a small number of interested people rather than a bunch of onlookers. In the long-run, you will be getting more page views because of the modest group of interested individuals.
If there is an audience interested in your niche, then it means that there is an online community dedicated to it. And once you find such online communities, irrespective of whether it is a Facebook group or forum; avoid spamming your articles and leaving.
You must engage with them and create a reputation as an authority. Also, you shouldn’t fret if there are only 50 members. Just keep in mind that if it is a super-niche, surely all members would be active. And it will be easy for you to turn them into loyal readers of your content compared to engaging 1,000 passive members of a broader industry.
#3: Get the Most Out Of Emails
All firms use emails, and they need to be utilized in every possible way for content distribution. Sometimes your audience may not have the time to check your blog every day. However, if you send them a link along with a synopsis of what the blog contains, then they will click on it and will go through the blog.
Another method is to send an email newsletter each week. This will contain a few snippets of your latest blog posts so that audience can know what topic you have discussed in the blog and select the one which they are interested in reading.
Also, try to make sure to add a link to your blog in the email signature. Many people will not be aware that you have one unless you provide them with a link to click on.
#4: Reuse Your Published Content
Social media gurus feel that interesting content must be repurposed, recycled and reused for various mediums. If you are publishing an infographic, hosting a webinar or releasing a white paper; think of other mediums where you can re-use the content.
You can create blog posts with the information available from webinars. Also, you can convert white papers into SlideShare presentations. Here you need to spend some amount of time and energy into marketing the content.
You need to think about how you can repackage and repurpose the available content so that it reaches your various target audiences.
Some people might like text while others feel engaged with visual content. However, you must ensure that the content you are going to use can be consumed in a variety of ways.
#5: Using Influencers
One of the best ways to get your content viewed by a large audience is to promote it through influencers of your industry. These influencers will be experts in that particular niche, and you can ask for their inputs as well as feedback.
Make sure to provide them a reason for checking out your content, as simply asking them to promote your content will put them off. You can use tools like Traackr and Followerwonk to search for influencers. Once you select influencers, you need to engage with them on a regular basis in the initial few weeks.
Try to share the content and replies to the tweets posted by influencers to show that you are interested in their expert knowledge. Once you have gained their confidence, they will promote your content without being asked, among their followers and groups.
#6: Guest Blogging
It is a best practice to have ownership and control over the content written by you. This is especially when you are putting in time and efforts to capture a modest portion of the rewards like backlinks, social buzz and traffic.
However, most online marketing experts feel that regardless of whether you are a well-known publication/brand or a small time blogger, guest blogging is an excellent means to make sure your content is seen by the right individuals.
You need to search for the thought leaders present in your industry and inquire with them if you can write content on their blog. Here you can create a strong relation and get backlinks leading to your website.
Also, it ensures your content reaches to new and relevant audience. Keep in mind that guest blogging is not easy as popular blogs get dozens of people pitching to write guest post every day.
Wrapping Up
Always keep in mind that your content must be engaging and relevant. Recently iDigic published an infographic, which stated that using a single social media platform like Pinterest or Twitter will not provide you with much traffic. It is important that you are equally active on all social media platforms.
More than 450 publishers all around the world like BuzzFeed, BILD, New York Times and The Guardian publish and share their interactive news articles on all the major social media sites. In order to direct traffic to your website and business, implement the above-given content distribution strategies.
Also, make sure to promote your content on your social media channels and connect with other websites and influencers who will readily accept your content.
Author: Susan Smith
Courtesy: www.info.webtoolhub.com
