Best Guide to Content Distribution Strategy

 So you have started creating content based on your niche. Now what? Wait and see? Gone are the days when ‘build it and they'll come' was true. Today, the competition is fierce! And you need a solid content distribution strategy for your business to grow. 

What is it? What are the types of content you must create? And how to build a practical strategy for distributing your content effectively? In this content distribution guide, you'll find answers to these questions and more.

Sounds great? Let's get started with some basics first.

 

Content Distribution Strategy: The Ultimate Guide (2022)

 In this online world where almost everyone with a smartphone can create content, it's challenging to get traction. Believe me when I tell you that creating good content will make no difference if no one reads them.Most businesses focus 100% on creating great content and 0% on distribution. And when you don't have anyone reading your blog posts, you feel demotivated. That's why having a content distribution strategy for your business is a must!

What is Content Distribution?

Content distribution is the process of getting your content into the hands, eyes, and ears of a relevant audience. It includes publishing, sharing, and promoting your content on all the relevant platforms over the internet.

You must publish, share and promote your content over these four media:

• Email
• Social Media
• Online Communities (like Reddit, Quora, and More)
• Paid platforms like Google AdWords and social ads

There are many types of content you can create for distribution. But it depends on your audience. If the audience loves videos, you must be on YouTube. And the content type you must make is the videos. Look at these 8 tips to grow your YouTube channel. 

Let's explore a few more types of content for distribution.

Types of Content for Distribution

There are tons of content types you can create today to market your business online. But choose the type of content wisely because not all of them produce similar results.

Understand your audience to go for a particular type of content you would like to create.

For example, an audience with a love for ebooks is unlikely to view videos and vice versa.

Let's understand other types of content you can create for your business now.

• Blog Posts and Articles
• Ebooks
• Templates
• Checklists
• Case studies
• Success stories
• Whitepapers
• Research studies
• Infographics
• Landing pages
• Podcasts
• Newsletters

And the list continues. These content types will help you reach out and engage with your audience over the internet in a better way.

Create them and share them on social media and email to let people know about them. Analyze the results and work on the platform more that performs better for you.

But before that, use all the content distribution channels for your business. It will take your time, but you'll know which channel is better than others. Use both free and paid content distribution channels as well. 

Paid Content Distribution Channels

Free media for distributing your content is excellent. You get organic traffic based on your efforts, of course. But it takes time! Go for paid content distribution channels if you want definite results fast.

These channels include PPC campaigns, sponsored posts, and social media ads. In PPC, you pay a small amount of money to platforms like Google AdWords. And you pay per click to your content.

In sponsored posts, you pay the decided money to an influencer on a social account with substantial followers. And this way, your content is distributed to your audience yet not owned by you.

You can also run paid ads on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and more. YouTube ads also bring in a lot of return on your investment. Do a little experiment and roll out your money on what's working.

Free Content Distribution Channels

Content distribution channels are the ones on which you share your content. The channels you choose may vary depending on your audience. You usually have owned and earned free content distribution channels.

Owned Content Distribution Channels

These are the channels that you or your business own. And that's why you can create and control the owned content distribution channels. The examples include your blog, newsletter, and social media profiles.

Earned Content Distribution Channels

These channels are also called ‘shared channels' for distributing your content. It's because third parties own them. Posting on these channels is usually free. But you don't own or control the content, of course.

Examples of earned content distribution channels include friendly bloggers, relevant forums, reviews sites, and more.

How to Build Your Content Distribution Strategy

A content marketing and distribution strategy are essential for several reasons.

Content distribution strategy 

1. Increases the ROI of content creation.
2. Helps you share content systematically.
3. Sets KPIs to analyze your content effectively.

Here is how you build a content distribution strategy

1. Understand Your Audience
2. Audit Your Content
3. Choose the Perfect Content Distribution Channels 
4. Set the KPIs and Goals for Content Distribution
5. Start Distributing and Marketing Your Content
6. Analyze the Results and Act Accordingly

Let's understand these six steps one by one now. The first and the foremost step to curating a strategy for distributing your content is understanding your audience. 

Understand Your Audience

Content distribution is all about sharing your content to the right audience, right? Absolutely. Research your target audience. What are their expectations? What are they searching for? Answer these and other countless questions.

Here is how you do it:

• Collect demographic data (from your site, email, and social media)
• Get feedback from your audience
• Create your buyer's persona
• Research the keywords they use to approach you

After you understand your audience, create content based on their interest. And share it on the platforms they use. The next thing you must do is audit it.

Audit Your Content

You must have shared tons of content by now. And now is the time to analyze what type of content is performing better. You can use several content auditing tools like:

• Screaming Frog
• SEMRush's Content Auditor
• Ahrefs Content Gap tool

But if you are interested in manual audit, here's how you do it:

1. Identify your goals
2. Collect all your content in one place
3. Create an inventory spreadsheet
4. Map your content according to the buyer's journey
5. Audit your content now

You must have done a great job if you have come to know which content performs better and why. The performance of your content largely depends on the distribution channels you choose. 

Choose the Perfect Content Distribution Channels 

Content distribution channels are probably more important than anything, even the content itself. Why? These channels define your audience. So once you define and understand your audience, you can choose the best medium to distribute your content.

best plr websites

For example, if your audience loves videos, your distribution channel must be YouTube. You must post on platforms like Reddit or Quora if your audience is there. All you need is to ensure your content aligns with your audience.

Go for the Perfect Content-Type

The type of content you create is also vital for your business growth. If your audience wants to watch videos, you must avoid creating ebooks, of course. And if your audience loves reading ebooks, you must make them accordingly.

I have already listed tons of content types you can create. Analyze which of the types is perfect for your audience. And set the key performance indicators and goals to assess the correct kind of content.

Set the KPIs and Goals for Content Distribution

Key performance indicators (KPIs) and goals are important to help us define success. Engagements, traffic, and top content are a few examples of KPIs. At the same time, the goal is a particular milestone you need to touch.

Go for the SMART goals that are:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Relevant
• Time-bound

Otherwise, you'll end up with nothing. “Getting 1000 page views per day” is a better goal than “getting tons of traffic.” I hope you got it. 

Start Distributing and Marketing Your Content

Now that you understand your audience and know the proper channels and content types, start distributing your content. Build an editorial calendar and stick by it religiously. Share the content in defined channels. And rock the show.

Analyze the Results and Act Accordingly

After you start distributing content, begin analyzing the results based on already defined KPIs and goals. This is the last step you must do to distribute content, but it's a never-ending one.

You need to do it as much as you create and share content on the best content distribution channels. Analyzing the content helps you understand the improvement you need. So act accordingly. And improve along the way.

Recommended Content Distribution Strategy (2022)

The more people find out about your content, the better. You might distribute it yourself on social media, emails, and paid channels as well. In this section, I'm sharing my content distribution strategy. Here's how it goes.

Do the Content Distribution With Email

Email marketing can be advantageous, and it's also one of the best ways to distribute content. People look forward to exciting and valuable emails – especially if you're sending information that they find helpful.

Here are a few tips to distribute your content via email:

• Craft a unique email that fulfills your audience's needs
• Share the new content (posts, videos, and more) via email
• Send that email to all your email subscribers
• Update your signature by including your latest content

If you do email marketing the correct way, you can get an ROI of 400%. Yes, that's the power of email distribution. But you cannot ignore social media, of course.

Share the Content on Your Social Media Channels

Share your content on all your social media profiles. You need to be where your audience is. If you're promoting a blog post, customize its social look with an OpenGraph picture.

Here is how you share the content on social media:

• Share your recent posts on your personal and company's accounts
• Tweet about your content
• Post on LinkedIn's professional and business profiles
• Submit your post on Instagram and Pinterest as well
• Share it on Medium as well

And always pin your content on social media if it's a cornerstone type of content. It's usually an important piece of content for your business. And don't hesitate to share your content on TikTok, Behance, Snapchat, and more if relevant.

Engage With Your Audience on Social Media

Having shared your content on social media is not enough. You must engage with your audience there as well. Whenever you share your post, make sure you are there to engage with people.

Most importantly, don't forget about commenting on other posts as well. It's massive for marketing because it contributes to the overall thought leadership of your brand or company.

Start creating an engaging content marketing strategy today! 

For example, if your audience is on Twitter

• Retweet posts from users who share your content
• Respond to people who share your content
• Keep replying to your old tweets

Engaging with your audience is not all about commenting. You need to promote their posts as well. But don't stop here; outreach to some industry leaders as well.

Outreach to People You Mention in Your Posts

Industry leaders are the ones who grab the most attention everywhere; if you mention someone in your post, outreach to them. You can do this by sharing their content or simply asking for their advice.

Here's what you should do:

• Tag the people you mentioned in your content
• Outreach influencers and let them know you've mentioned them
• And ask them to share your content if they like

Just keep one thing in mind – don't be spammy. Be respectful and understand that they may be busy sometimes. Use these email outreach tools to expand your network. 

Submit Your Posts to Online Communities like Reddit

In today's online world, communities have diversity. Submitting your content on communities like Reddit, Quora, and more will expose it to more of your audience. Build and join all the relevant

Make Money Fast With Quora Ads

• Facebook groups
• Subreddits
• Slack groups
• Forums
• Product launch sites like ProductHunt (if you launch yours)
• Quora Spaces

And answer all the relevant Quora questions as well. Spread your content everywhere, and you'll see the results.

Take Advantage of Paid Content Distribution

Sharing your content on social media and online communities will bring organic traffic to your website. But I also recommend going for the paid ads as well. Paid content distribution brings in a lot of traffic fast.

• Boost your posts on Facebook, Instagram, and more
• Use LinkedIn and Quora ads
• Sponsor an industry newsletter
• And go for the PPC campaign on platforms like Google AdWords

Paid distribution of your content will help you reach your audience faster than ever. But do it after a lot of research, or else you'll lose your bucks. The safest way to run ads is by hiring an expert.

Build the Relevant Links for Your Blog Posts

Links back to your content are called backlinks. They're significant to increase your ranking in the search arena. These links play the role of a vote. The more votes you get, the better.

Here's how you do it:

• Create cornerstone content and outreach relevant people to link
• Audit SERPs to find link building opportunities
• Run a link building campaign (But be careful)

Running a paid link-building campaign can be dangerous for you. Make sure the links you are getting are not spammy at all. Or else you'll get de-ranked!

Repurpose Your Content for Other Platforms

You can repurpose content for all different platforms like video, infographics, Reddit, Quora, etc. It's easy to achieve with the right techniques.

The easiest way is to create a blog post and format it for other channels. You simply need to create an outline of your content and recycle your content accordingly. And you will never run out of content ideas. Convert your content into:

• Video
• Slides (PPT, Google Slide, and more)
• Infographics
• Social stories (for IG, WhatsApp, TikTok, and more)

And you can also repurpose comprehensive content into an ebook. Sky's the limit here.

The more you repurpose your content, the more comprehensive your audience reach will be.

Let me share a few more tricks and tips to distribute your content strategically.

Content Distribution Strategy: Other Tips & Tricks (2022)

Do you want to have a solid business? Then you must have a solid content distribution strategy. So leave no stone unturned and rock the show-up. Use these tricks and tips to distribute your content even more.

• Increase engagement on your LinkedIn post using POD (bot)
• Use bots like PhantomBuster to earn more follower
• Share the recent content with your coworkers on Slack and more
• Find the relevant content roundups and submit your content
• Use Scoop.it and share your content with relevant communities
• Find a story on HARO that is relevant to your content
• Distribute your content on platforms like Quuu
• Use Triberr to communicate with fellow bloggers and writers
• Send in-app notifications to let people know about your new content
• Do a live chat share your content with your visitors
• Include references to the content via brochures and materials
• Create a tweetstorm about the problem your article solves
• Go on the relevant podcast and mention the content your create
• Take part in online summits and promote your content at the end
• Reference your asset during conferences and presentations 
• Ask friends, family members, and coworkers to share your content

And don't forget to link your article in the tweets. That's how you distribute your content. If you believe you can't do it alone, plan your time better. Or hire a small team to do the work for you.

But distribute your content strategically. Or else your content will be hidden in the pile of the internet. I hope you like this content distribution guide. Ask your questions in the comments if I have missed any.