Content Distribution Strategies Will Change in 2019

Content distribution is a big challenge, and marketers that insist on pushing everyone to their websites are making it even harder on themselves.

The way people consume content is shifting. When it feels like the entire business world is assaulting your inbox, your social feeds, and your sanity with links to their websites, sooner or later you will stop clicking.

It’s happening now.

Of course it’s important to drive traffic to our home turf, but I also think reshaping content into standalone, native posts on other platforms will become increasingly important for finding new audiences.

Here are some tactics to help you get your best stuff seen both on your website and elsewhere in 2019.

Start a Content Repurposing Program.

If you don’t have a formal content repurposing program in place, it’s high time you created one.

This exercise does not have to be time consuming or expensive either. Here’s an example of a repurposing program we created for one of our clients:

1. Publish new blog articles every week.

2. Review your analytics and pick out three posts that are getting the most organic traffic.

3. Create a SlideShare presentation.

Not every brand is a perfect match for SlideShare, but this is one of the easiest ways to repurpose a piece of written content. Pull out the key points in your blog copy and give them to a graphic designer to build a deck with.

4. Add the file to SlideShare, and either embed it on your site or offer it as a download.

5. Shoot a video and use slides from the deck as supporting graphics to drive home the message.

Just like that, you have three pieces of content you can use to reach new audiences on different channels.

Again, this does not have to be a big suck on your time or budget. The first couple will take some time, but as you make it part of the process, you will find a rhythm to it. In time, the benefits will outweigh the effort.

Promote Your Content In Groups & Aggregators

Another way to get fresh eyes on your written content is by getting it into RSS feeds and various groups that discuss topics you can add value to.

Groups

The most widely used groups are on Facebook, but don’t limit yourself to that space only.

Do a little research and try to find a group that’s a good fit for your business.

After joining, it’s important to become an active participant the dialogue. Don’t be a hack that posts only to drop blog links. That’s lazy, self-serving, and offers little value to the community.

Be judicious about sharing links. If someone posts about a topic you’ve written about, engage in a real conversation with them and offer some tips, then offer a link for further reading if it feels right.

Aggregators

Aggregators are sites that don’t create content of their own. Instead, they offer a feed of posts that allegedly are ranked according to the traffic and upvotes they get.

The first thing to know is not all aggregators are created equal. Some of them are clogged with sponsored posts and spam, so it’s important to find the ones that have good reputations.

Popular sites include Feedly, Inoreader, Stumble Upon, Alltop, and PopURLs to name just a few.

If you can, try to find aggregators that specialize in a niche you write about. These sites have smaller audiences, but any traffic you get will likely be higher quality than others.

Blogpros offers great advice about marketing to groups and aggregators. They advise you to:

Pay attention to community guidelines about submitting work
Study viral content and submit posts that are most likely to get some lift

Keep realistic expectations. Aggregators don’t usually lead to outstanding ROI, but all qualified traffic helps.

Use UTM parameters to measure the results of your efforts.

If you don’t have a formal content repurposing program in place, it’s high time you created one.

Take Care of Your Brand Loyalists

Brands often forget about their most valuable growth channel – their own “alpha audience.”

These are the people who are all-in. You’ve created a bond with them based on trust, value, and emotion. This is the most precious relationship you can have in business, and it’s up to you to continually validate and enhance that sense of loyalty.

Does your company keep a list of who your alpha audience is?

Do you listen to what they say on social media?

Do you celebrate their successes? Surprise them with unexpected gifts or benefits? Help them whenever they need it?

More than anything else, your most enthusiastic connections have the power to build your brand by sharing your content and talking with friends and colleagues about you.

Nothing is better than that.

Make Shareability Easy

It’s amazing how many brands still don’t make social sharing easy on their content. If you don’t have sharing buttons at the top and bottom of your posts (or on a hover bar in the margin), you are missing an easy way to get your content to move.

Embedding “Click to Tweet” quotes in your content is another effortless way for people to share your truth bombs with the world.

And while we’re talking about maximizing the experience of people using your site, it doesn’t hurt to include links to “related articles” in your posts. The longer you can keep someone on your site, the greater the chance they’ll find and share your marketing gold.

Content distribution is not getting harder, just more complex.

It’s more important than ever to make your content lighter and adaptable to how people are engaging and sharing what they like online. That means serving them your best stuff wherever they want it, even if it’s not on your website.

By using a mix of on-site and off-site distribution tactics, you’ll be much better able to capture the affections of those people you hold most dear.