Content Distribution: 7 Unique Tactics You May Not Have Thought Of

We’ve all been preaching it for years -- create quality content to attract and engage site visitors, but what happens when everyone is doing the same thing? (Which they are.)

At this point, most businesses know they need to create quality content, causing the internet to become beyond saturated with articles, guides, site pages, etc.

With all the content out there, fewer pieces are having an impact and fewer people are actually engaging with it. In fact, 50% of article content gets 8 shares or less. What’s worse is 3 out 4 of those articles will receive zero referring domain links -- zero.

It’s time we go beyond organic search and social shares in hopes that someone will come across the content we’re creating.

We’ve previously pointed out that you should only be spending 20% of your time creating content and 80% of the time promoting and distributing it.

Why?

Because you people sharing and engaging with your content in order to expand your brand -- and content’s -- reach.

Incorporating new content distribution ideas and tactics into your marketing strategy will help get your content viewed. Let’s take a look at 8 tactics you may not be doing today:

1. Email Signatures

Now, this is one of the easiest, but most underutilized mediums for distributing content.

Whether you’re a one-man show or an enterprise with hundreds of employees, chances are you’re emailing contacts multiple times a day. In fact, a recent study showed that by 2019, we will send and receive nearly 129 emails a day for work.

Including a link to your latest content or call-to-action within your email signature practically guarantees a hundred eyes will have the chance to see your content.

Tools like SenderGen and Sigstr make it easy to manage as well. Every employee can have the exact same email signature with just a few clicks.

Depending on which tool you use, you can then test and see which content receives the most engagement from your employee emails.

Consider updating it when special events or discounts occur, with new product announcements, or to promote the latest guide published on your site.

And if you’re emailing customers or prospects all day, kick it up a notch and include a video for a more personal touch. Wistia saw an 80% average engagement rate and 87% play rate when using video in their email signatures.

Though their example includes a simple hello message, you may want to use the video signature to describe your latest content piece. Test different things out!

2. Social Gate/Locker

You may have heard about gating long-form content behind a form to increase conversions, but try gating it behind a social sharing lock to increase shares and distributions.

As the user reads a high-quality article or content pillar page, they ’ll be prompted to share the page on one of their social media accounts to continue reading or even download a printable PDF version.

3. Join Distribution Apps/Platforms

Recently, I’ve been obsessed with Zest -- a Chrome extension that delivers f marketing-related content every time I open a new tab in the browser.

As a marketer, I love having curated content to the topics I want to read about delivered right to me with next-to-no effort on my part.

Agencies and marketers are able to sign up to boost their content and have it shared on the platform, which Zest claims will get 10x more clicks.

Try looking for a similar distribution app or platform that is related to your industry.

4. Curate a List of Sharers

Don’t feel like you have to do all the distributing on your own; call in reinforcements.

Creating a list of people you feel would share your content should be an ongoing initiative.

First, start with contacts you already have. These are people in your database who have engaged with your content in the past.

Then, create a list your content centered around some of your popular topics. For instance, articles that mention Social Media, CRO, Proving ROI, etc. This way, when you write a guide or new article related to the same topics, you can easily pull together those that already showed a previous interest.

Craft together an email like the sample below that shares the new content with them and ask them to share it themselves.

Hi, FIRST NAME,

It’s been awhile since we last talked. How are things?

I noticed that you recently read our article “ARTICLE TITLE” about TOPIC. What did you think?

I just published a piece related to TOPIC and I’d love your opinion. Check it out here: LINK

If you find it as valuable as the last piece you read, I’d love for you to share it with your followers or colleagues.

Don’t forget to tag YOUR COMPANY NAME so we can see your thoughts!

YOUR NAME

You can take the same approach with those you’ve met at an industry-related trade show or event. Reconnect with them to share a piece of content that relates to the event you attended or perhaps something you discussed.  

You can also go outside your current network and tap into influencers in your target industry.

Use Buzzsumo to find the top social profiles of people who share content about your topics. Then, reach out to them on social media and share your content with them. If they like it, chances are they will then share the piece with their own followers.

5. Paid Content Distribution Platforms

Putting some money behind your content will certainly help distribute it to a targeted audience. Tools like Outbrain and Taboola are solid options.

With proper segmentation in place, your content will hit targeted users as related pieces on sites they already frequent, like Business Insider or Time.

Another opportunity that shouldn’t be overlooked is paid social advertising.

With Facebook changing its algorithm so it’s even more difficult for organic business page content to show up in newsfeeds, it’s no surprise that 93% of marketers use Facebook advertising regularly. This means about 3 million businesses use Facebook to market their business.

As SproutSocial explains, “Running a promoted post as part of your Facebook strategy not only guarantees more eyeballs on your content but allows you to target your ideal audience versus hoping relevant readers land on your site.”

6. List.ly

List.ly allows you to curate and publish lists of content, either on its site or your own site. Find content your target audience is interested in and create a public list to repurpose and showcase it.

And don’t just include content from your company -- it will appear more authentic and genuine if you include content from other resources as well.

Users can follow your list, share it on social media, or even embed it on their own site.

7. Chatbots

35% of survey respondents said they would be inclined to use a chatbot when trying to resolve a complaint or problem. This is a huge opportunity!

Think of all the helpful content you have that could be shared with users when they are facing an issue.

For example, say a prospect is looking at the features page on your website. You can consider prompting a chatbot to open after they have been on the page for a few seconds, encouraging them to see how you compare to other industry providers. Paste in a link to your comparison guide and voila! You have another channel for distributing quality content in a timely manner.

Expand Your Reach!

If you’re struggling with new ideas on how to distribute your content, always remember to think of your target audience. Where do they live online? What are their researching habits? How can you be more helpful?

This will enable you to frame a strategy that gives you the best opportunity for engaging your audience.

Let me know if you try any of the above ideas in the comments below!