If you post an infographic about the life cycle of deciduous trees on your B2B forestry company’s website, and no one is there to read it, does it even exist?
Philosophical ponderings aside, effective content is only as valuable as its visibility. In short, content doesn’t do much good if no one sees it. That’s why creating awesome content — like blog posts, infographics, case studies and more — is just the beginning.
The next crucial step? Promotion.
If the thought of having to promote your content sends shivers down your spine, you’re not alone. According to an Orbit Media survey, 46% of bloggers say getting traffic and attracting visitors to their content is their biggest challenge.
Effective content promotion is key to unlocking numerous benefits, such as increased brand awareness, higher website traffic, stronger customer engagement and even improved sales. With the right strategies, mastering the art of content promotion can be both rewarding and, dare we say, enjoyable.
This post will cover five powerful strategies to promote your content and maximize reach so you can begin seeing the sweet rewards of your effort.
1. Share on Social Media — the Right Way
No matter the size of your business or what product or service you provide, it’s all but guaranteed that your customers are on at least one (probably more) social platform. According to Sprout Social, the average person bounces among seven (yes, seven) social media channels in any given month. And the amount of time they’re spending on social media is a whopping 151 minutes per day.
Social is no longer optional if you want your content to be seen. But it’s not just about being present on social media platforms; to effectively promote your content, you must be active and engaged where your customers are. Here are a few tips on how to do that:
- Find your people. Start by thinking about who is buying what you’re selling. This is where having detailed buyer personas pays off. Once you know your audience, you can create content that speaks directly to them and post it on the platforms they are most likely to use.
- Use eye-catching visuals. Instead of simply sharing a link to your latest blog post, use visuals to attract. According to Sprout Social’s 2023 Benchmark Report, short-form videos and images are the most engaging types of in-feed social content. And Buzzsumo found that Facebook posts with images see 2.3 times more engagement than those without images.
- Keep it short and sweet. People have short attention spans on social media, so keep your posts short and to the point. Use concise language and clear messaging to get your point across quickly.
- Build a community. Your job on social media isn’t just to promote yourself; it’s to build a relationship with your customers. Do this by responding to feedback (positive and negative) and sharing user content when relevant.
- Encourage engagement. Ask questions, invite comments and create polls or surveys to encourage interaction. When people engage with your content, it increases the likelihood that it will be seen by a wider audience.
2. Repurpose Content
Repurposing content is a great way to get more mileage out of the awesome stuff you’ve created. It’s also a proven method to get more eyes on your content. Referral Rock found that 94% of marketers repurpose content, and 46% said repurposed content led to the best results in the form of leads and conversions.
By creating multiple versions across video, social media and other written content, you cover many ways people prefer to consume information. Repurposing content can also help with SEO. You can target different keywords and rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs).
Here are a few ideas to get started repurposing your favorite long-form content such as blog posts or e-books:
- Grab the main points and create a video or podcast.
- Create an infographic using statistics culled from a blog post.
- Convert a piece of long-form content into a Twitter thread or LinkedIn carousel post.
- Build a webinar around a particularly meaty blog post.
- Use quotes or statistics to create social media graphics.
- Build a quiz or survey.
3. Engage Your Email List
Email is powerful because it targets people who have already shown interest in your business — at least enough to hand over their email addresses. Email marketing, when done well, can yield an ROI of up to 4,200% — that’s $42 for every dollar spent.
Need more convincing?
- Experian estimates that the average email address is worth $101.92.
- 81% of Emarsys survey respondents stated email marketing promoted customer acquisition, and 80% said that it enhanced customer retention.
- 59% of respondents to a Salescycle survey said email influenced their purchase decisions directly.
To get the best ROI from your email marketing campaigns, avoid spamming your whole list with a link to your content. It’s important to ensure each email campaign is personalized and relevant to the recipient. According to Experian, personalized promotional mailings have 29% higher unique open rates and 41% higher unique click rates than non-personalized mailings. Start with a strong subject line and use your recipient’s name.
To increase the chances that readers will engage with your email content and click through for more:
- Use a compelling subject line. Inboxes are crowded. To stand out, you’ll need a truly compelling subject line. It should be concise and attention-grabbing and give the reader a reason to open the email.
- Focus on design. Make your email visually appealing to draw readers in. Remember to design for mobile, as 61.9% of all emails these days are opened on phones rather than desktop computers.
- Provide valuable content. When promoting content via email, ensure it has value to the person on the other end. This is where segmentation comes into play. By segmenting your email list by demographics, location and even buyer’s journey stage, you can be sure to send relevant content that provides clear value.
- Include a call to action (CTA). Every email you send should include a clear CTA that tells the reader what to do next. Whether you want them to read your latest blog post, register for a webinar or download a white paper, the next step should be clear.
- Track your progress. You may not hit the mark every time, but one of the best things about digital marketing is that you can often see clearly what went wrong. Monitor your click-through, bounce and open rates to get an idea of what type of content is performing best. You can also conduct A/B tests using subject line variations to find the formula that resonates most with your audience.
Fast Fact: According to Campaign Monitor, email segmentation can cause a 760% increase in business revenue.
4. Get Collaborative
Teaming up with other businesses or influencers is a great way to promote your content to a wider audience, increase your reach and ultimately drive more traffic to your content.
When choosing collaborators, make sure your partner is someone you feel comfortable promoting. Your company values should align, and there should be an overlap in your target audience.
For the past five years, Orbit Media has asked bloggers about influencer outreach as a promotion strategy. And while only 8% of bloggers in 2022 reported using the tactic, it was the most effective, with 44% reporting “strong results.” The survey also found that bloggers who usually or always collaborate with influencers are “70% more likely to report strong results.”
If you are used to flying solo, stepping into the world of influencer collaboration can feel intimidating. But it doesn’t mean you have to go out and make a whole new crop of TikTok BFFs; collaboration can be as simple as asking an expert source to provide a quote for your latest blog post or reaching out to a friend in the industry to co-host a webinar.
Here are some tips for getting started:
- Take cues from your customers. Who does your target audience follow on social media? Sleuthing where else your audience hangs out can help you find influencers who are a good fit for your brand.
- Research influencers. Look for influencers in your industry who have large followings and high engagement rates. You can also use tools like HypeAuditor to help you narrow down your search.
- Engage with influencers. Once you’ve identified a handful of influencers who may be a good fit, engage with them online. Follow, comment and share their content. Social media is about relationships, after all.
- Reach out. Once you’ve fostered a relationship, reach out and pitch your collaboration idea. Make sure the idea is relevant to them and their audience and provides value for them as well.
- Measure your results. As with all of your digital marketing efforts, you want to be sure your hard work is paying off. Look at metrics like traffic, engagement and conversions to determine the real ROI of your collaboration.
Keep in mind, influencer collaboration is a long-term strategy that requires work to build relationships. Your approach to influencer collaboration should be authentic and genuine.
Keep Reading: Benefits of Backlinking for Your Business
5. Add Online Advertising to Your Strategy
Paid promotions like social ads and pay-per-click (PPC) involve paying for ads on social media platforms and search engines. Although there is a cost upfront, it can effectively reach a wider audience quickly. PPC allows you to target specific demographics, interests and behaviors to ensure your content reaches the right people. For example, LinkedIn allows you to target ads based on job title, industry and company size — a great strategy for B2B advertising.
Keep Reading: How to Run PPC Ads as Part of Your Content Marketing Strategy
The key to using PPC as part of an overall content promotion strategy is that you need to have solid, compelling content on the other end of that paid click. According to Clutch, 75% of users click on ads expecting an answer to their question. Don’t disappoint!
Fast Fact: Google Ads provide one of the highest ROIs among all digital advertising formats, with an average return of 200%.
These tactics are just a few ways to promote your awesome content online to maximize ROI. Ultimately, though, promotion can’t make up for weak, thin or just plain lousy content. The first order of business in your content marketing strategy should be to create valuable content for your target audience. Then, you can promote and watch that ROI soar.
