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Between algorithm changes, advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), and a saturated marketplace, getting eyes on your content is challenging. Internet search engines and social media algorithms prioritize high-quality content. So if you’re hard at work compiling compelling, research-driven blog posts, videos, and other content on relevant topics to your audience, you’re halfway there.
To expand your reach and attract the best potential customers for your business, you need an intentional promotion plan. In this blog post, we explore why content marketing is important and how to build a content promotion strategy to maximize your organic reach. We discuss planning steps, the types of promotion that get the best results, and valuable tools in your arsenal.
Stop waiting for people to happen upon your content and guide them to it instead.
Key Strategies To Promote Your Content Effectively
Content marketing promotion usually falls into one of three categories:
- Earned media is user-generated content about your business, such as reviews, tagged posts, social media mentions, and word of mouth.
- Owned media is content you create, including videos, emails, and content promoting your blog on social media.
- Paid media is content you pay to promote, such as sponsored social media posts or pay-per-click ads on Google and other search engines. It bumps you to the top of a user’s search results or social feed.
Each of these content promotion strategies has its place. A well-defined content promotion strategy blends all three tactics, using each to achieve a different goal. For example, you may use owned media to build your brand and engage directly with existing customers while using paid media to make your content more visible to people in your target audience.
To make the most of your content promotion strategy, follow these steps before deciding which promotion tactics to use.
Define Clear Goals for Your Promotion Strategy
Setting clear, measurable goals will inform every piece of your content marketing strategy. Since you use different tactics to achieve various goals, prioritizing these objectives will help you focus your content strategy.
For example, if you’re more interested in creating brand awareness, you may focus on paid media channels and search engine optimization (SEO). However, if your main priority is generating qualified leads from people who are comparing you with other brands, you would likely focus on your owned media to strengthen your credibility and build relationships.
Know Your Audience Before You Share
Researching your audience before you post is a crucial step you may be tempted to skip. “If Facebook has always worked before, why change?” you might ask. But your target audience might not be there. So if you’re spending most of your marketing budget on paid Facebook ads, you’re missing key demographics.
Some of your target audience will respond better to short-form videos on Instagram Reels or TikTok, while others prefer a long-form blog post. Understanding your audience informs your content distribution strategy by allowing you to create valuable content that resonates in a format they like.
Choose the Right Content To Promote
Understanding which pieces of content to promote is another excellent reason not to skip the goal-setting step of your marketing strategy. Review key performance indicators (KPIs) such as views and time spent on page to find out which pieces of content are most engaging.
Choose evergreen content that will be relevant for a long time. For example, if you’re piggybacking on a social media trend for visibility, don’t promote that video. If someone finds your content months after you post it, you want them to be interested. Prioritize high-value content that stays fresh, such as how-to videos, frequently asked questions, and case studies.
Build a Multi-Channel Distribution Plan
Using multiple marketing channels to promote your content maximizes your reach and increases your chances of reaching your target audience. Think of it like the lottery. You are more likely to win if you buy multiple tickets at various locations.
Use Owned Channels to Your Advantage
Owned channels are a great way to reach your existing audience without spending more money. Posting engaging, shareable content on your corporate social media account or blog increases your reach for free.
Make promotion part of your email marketing strategy. Creating attractive, engaging content for your newsletter entices people to share. Add high-quality photos to your newsletter and cover topics that matter to your email list. Include a call to action (CTA) to share articles on their social media feeds.
Tap Into Earned Media and Partnerships
If you have existing relationships with influencers, ask them to promote your pieces. Or approach them to work on guest posts. Reach out to public relations professionals to find the right voices to promote your brand.
You can successfully utilize earned media by cultivating relationships and creating engaging content that speaks to an influencer’s existing brand. Consider sharing customer reviews and being active within your industry to encourage others to share your content.
Boost Reach With Paid Promotion
Expand your customer network through pay-per-click strategies on Google and other search engines, sponsored social media posts, and banner ads. Paid media bypasses organic search results and shows your content to the right people based on how they are searching online.
Start with some market research to learn which keywords people are using to find you. Bid on these keywords and use them strategically in your meta descriptions and sponsored posts. Drum up interest with compelling messages and impactful videos and images.
Use your past paid campaigns to maximize your budget. Understanding your most successful channels and knowing which ads converted well will help you execute future campaigns.
Optimize Content for Sharing and Search
We’ve talked a lot about shareable content, but what does that mean? Shareable content grabs people’s attention online and makes them want to share it. Write engaging headlines and meta tags that clearly communicate what your content is about.
Keep your headlines concise and intriguing. A reader should understand the value of your content. For example, as a restaurant owner using blog content creation to promote yourself, you might consider this headline: “Cook Like a Pro: Our Executive Chef Breaks Down His 5 Favorite Kitchen Gadgets.”
Why Time and Frequency Matter
Digital media follows the same general rules as traditional media. There’s a reason brands pay millions to advertise during high-profile events — more eyeballs. Promote your content heavily when you publish it to maximize visibility.
Check each digital platform to see when most people are on. For example, people often scroll TikTok and other social sites right before or after work. Promote your content at these times for maximum traffic. Use a content calendar to post on high-traffic days.
Find your most high-performing pieces and reshare or repurpose them. Reposting a popular video after a month opens you up to a new audience. Repurpose these pieces quarterly by adapting them for new audiences. For example, turn your most popular blog post into an infographic and post it on social media.
Track Results and Measure Success
Monitoring traffic sources, engagement statistics, conversion rates, and other KPIs shows you how your content promotion strategy is working. If you’ve promoted a piece of content, you want to see higher engagement.
Use Google Analytics or an Urchin Tracking Module to see how people are engaging with your content.
Iterate and Refine Based on Performance
Tools such as A/B testing (posting two different versions of an ad to small audiences to see which performs better) will help you create impactful ads that get better results. Use historical data and recent KPIs to adjust your strategy as you go. You might need to switch digital channels or target different keywords to increase the return on investment, for example.
Plan Your Promotion Workflow
Content marketing promotion strategy isn’t something you do once and sit back. You need a scalable, repeatable strategy to continuously drive engagement. Use social media content calendars, promotion checklists, and content management platforms with automation tools to post consistently and measure your results.
Turn Great Promotion into Lasting Results
Marketing subpar content won’t work. Let Compose.ly help. Our team of expert writers will create stellar content optimized for your target audience. You bring the strategy and we’ll do the rest.
Contact us today to learn more.
