What is content distribution?
Content distribution is the process of publishing, sharing, and even promoting content to your target audience using different platforms. It could be your website or even your favorite social media channel. Content distribution occurs after the creation of the content, regardless of the format and platform. However, it's important to consider some aspects of distribution, even when you're producing content.
It goes without saying that content distribution can make or break your marketing campaigns. It's important to develop an effective content distribution strategy because it's likely to evolve as you develop.
Here are a few statistics that highlight the current performance of content distribution:
- Over 69% Marketers consider social networks to be one of the best channels for distributing content.
- Over 40% Marketers consider content distribution to be one of their top priorities in 2022.
- Video was the most used content format by brands in 2021.
By keeping up to date with recent content distribution statistics and trends, you can take advantage of the most profitable types and formats of content.
Content strategy - a prerequisite for content delivery
Have you ever heard industry experts and professionals say that “content is king,” and wondered what that meant? Don't worry, the content is a real game-changer as they say.
In fact, having a solid content strategy is the first step for any brand that aims for growth and performance. A content strategy details the plan that will guide an organization's content asset creation process.
And of course, as with any successful strategy, there are a few predefined steps to navigate it.
What are the stages of content strategy?
Creating a content strategy isn't that complicated when you know the right steps to take. Attention, your content strategy is the basis on which you will create and promote different types of content.
Here's a simple process you can follow to create an effective content strategy:
1. Ideation
The ideation phase is crucial, because it is at this stage that you will define your strategy. During this stage, you should also focus on acquiring ideas for topics you can produce content on, and on defining some of the content formats you want to follow.
Remember to gather and document your content ideas when doing your research at the ideation stage.
Competitor research
One of the first things you need to do at this stage is analyze what your competitors are doing. Identify the main topics and trends that your competitors are targeting. Additionally, you should also assess which content formats they prefer.
For example, if you're an e-commerce brand selling makeup products, try to analyze the topics and formats that brands like Sephora are targeting. Once you have a list of potential topics, you can focus on creating content on those topics with even greater skill and focus on SEO.
Follow industry trends
Another important step you can take at the ideation stage is to keep an eye on industry trends. Take a look at the latest trends that are dominating conversations in your industry and create content ideas that can capitalize on that buzz. It's pretty simple, isn't it?
Let's see how to do this in the example of the e-commerce store we just talked about. Let's say your industry is in the throes of a debate about the availability of products for women of different skin colors. Publishing a blog or video on this trending topic, expressing your brand's perspective on the subject, could be a great way to attract customers.
Content gap analysis
You've analyzed your competitors and studied the trends that are shaping the sector. If you're wondering how to bring a unique or new angle to these existing content ideas, we totally get it.
That's where a content gap analysis can help. The aim is to identify the gaps that exist in the content currently present on the subject. This analysis should be conducted on external content published on relevant topics, as well as on content that you have published. Discover content opportunities that are missing in the content, or that can be addressed in a complementary way.
To go back to the example we just mentioned, conducting a content gap analysis for the e-commerce company will include analyzing various skin care and beauty blogs and filling in the gaps discovered in the content.
2. Research
Even though you've done a considerable amount of initial research during the ideation phase, there's still a lot to do. The research phase is very important in the process of creating a content strategy, as it allows you to define the probable performance of your content.
Keyword research
For professionals who have already created content, this question should come as no surprise. Keywords, after all, are considered to be the most fundamental and important SEO metrics to consider when creating content.
It's important to incorporate the terms that users use to search for products or services that are relevant to you. It can be very helpful to identify the keywords you need to target in your content. Use tools such as Google Keyword Planner or KWFinder to find keywords that may be useful for your content strategy.
Keywords will also help you formulate topic ideas and create content drafts on the basis of which content creation can be done at a later stage.
User intent analysis
When doing research for your content strategy, it can be very important to understand user intent or search intent. User intent analysis will help you understand the purpose behind user searches and what they intended to find with them.
With user intent, you'll be able to respond to users who are at different stages in their buying journey using your content.
Let's understand this with the help of an e-commerce store that sells makeup products.
- The keyword “matte red lipstick” indicates that the user is probably looking for a good product to buy.
- The keyword “mac ruby woo lipstick” may suggest that the user is looking for specific brands and narrowing down their options.
- The keyword “buy mac ruby woo lipstick” indicates that the user has made a purchase decision and is actively looking for a platform to complete the transaction.
See how understanding intent can help you find the right search terms for your content? Incorporating this process into your content strategy will help you produce content that is effective and targets the right audience.
Competitor content audit
Conducting a content audit should definitely be on your list when creating a content strategy. Content auditing consists of carrying out a detailed analysis and evaluation of all the content on a website. By doing this for your competitors' websites, you can assess the strengths and weaknesses of their existing content.
It will also provide an overview of what types of content and platforms are working and which are not bringing positive results. Tools such as Google Analytics and Screaming Frog SEO Spider are considered ideal for conducting comprehensive content audits.
3. Content creation
Once you've done all the necessary ideas and research, it's time to start creating!
The content creation stage requires you to gather all the research and ideas you've found so far and get to work. This step is crucial because it will determine the quality and potential performance of your content strategy.
Keyword mapping
Before you put the proverbial pen to paper, map out the keywords to organize the process even more. The keyword mapping process involves assigning specific keywords to their target landing pages or web pages. In fact, you're going to make a list of the web pages on your site and decide what specific keywords will be included in each one.
Remember that this is the first and main step in preparing your content for search engine optimization.
Writing content adapted to SEO
Finally, the time has come for you to unleash your creativity!
Now that you've sorted out the parameters and keywords you need, you can start writing the content you've worked so hard for. But in doing so, remember to keep in mind the SEO parameters that will help you create high-quality content.
When writing your content, pay close attention to SEO settings such as adding H2 elements, meta descriptions, and optimized images to the content. Also, consider the various SEO-friendly processes that you need to follow when writing content.
Content distribution strategies
First, let's note that a content distribution strategy involves the creation of a strategic document using which brands can then share and promote content resources. That said, there are several content distribution strategies you can consider.
Let's take a closer look at a few of these things that can do wonders for your content:
1. Reusing existing content
While the volume of content is now greater than ever, the need for quality content is only increasing. The process of reassigning content is exactly what it seems to be. You take an existing piece of content and reuse it for another format or platform.
It's pretty simple, isn't it? Not quite.
To be able to reallocate content effectively and consistently, you need to be able to consider how your content can be sliced or diced from the moment you start creating it. Can a blog you create be later converted into a short video? Can a long-form guide you're working on be reused for short messages on social media?
Seek to answer these questions during the content creation process so that you can effectively reallocate it at a later stage.
2. Experiment with different content formats
It goes without saying that each content format has something different to offer your business. Taking advantage of different types of content formats and platforms can only open up a plethora of opportunities for your brand.
Let's take a look at the main content formats that businesses use to improve their content distribution strategy:
Infographics
Infographics can provide a visual overview of complex data and statistics in an easily digestible manner. It is not surprising that more than 67% marketers have invested in infographics this year.
There are entire businesses that rely solely on infographics to upgrade their content strategy.
Not to mention, it's one of the hardest content formats to create, but just as easy to deliver. Here's an old but classic example of how LinkedIn exploited infographics to highlight how businesses should strive for the perfect balance when blogging.
White papers
White papers have been around for a long time, but their popularity has increased thanks to digitization. White papers are highly informative documents published by businesses that highlight a persistent problem and their philosophy in this regard. The aim of white papers is generally to inform, educate, solve a problem, or assist in decision-making, making them ideal content.
To write a white paper, you need to hire an industry expert who has extensive experience in the subject. Additionally, you'll need to incorporate high-quality graphics into your white papers to improve readability and engagement.
Sectors that rely heavily on white papers include SaaS, cryptocurrencies, and non-governmental organizations. For example, Ethereum released a introductory white paper before its official launch in 2014.
eBooks
E-books are certainly not a new type of content, but their adoption in the business world is definitely unique. With businesses facing increased competition in the digital arena, e-books have quickly become the ideal content to attract customers looking for more information.
It's an easy solution to apply if you feel like your content strategy doesn't have the depth you want. Plus, it can allow you to connect effectively with your target audience. What's more, the more detailed your e-book is, the higher your reputation as a subject matter expert.
For example, the Content Marketing Institute published a influencer marketing ebook which is based on stunning graphics and data-based information.
Interactive content
It's no longer possible to load your content items with text and images. What marketers are always looking for these days are innovative ways to present all sorts of information. Interactive content meets and exceeds expectations in this regard.
Over 88% of marketers say that interactive content is useful in differentiating themselves from competitors. Interactive content can be embedded in your web pages, e-books, infographics, and a variety of other digital content formats.
A great example of this is The Content Creator's Guide to Interactive Marketing by Ceros. This eBook, which aims to educate interactive marketers, relies on interactive content - a very effective way to lead by example.
Newsletters
Today, businesses rely heavily on newsletters to build a stable base of prospects and customers. One of the main factors that put newsletters on this list is the ability of businesses to personalize newsletters for their subscribers.
Email newsletters are a great way to connect with your target audience and send them updates. In a sea of promotions and unwanted emails, newsletters can stand out as rich sources of information if they are designed and handled diligently.
Tel; dr Marketing is one of those newsletters about the digital marketing which offers expert perspectives on recent digital marketing trends and news in an easily digestible format.
Thought leadership
Thought leadership content can be very useful when businesses want to share valuable knowledge and information with their target audience. Thought leadership content can come in multiple formats, such as blogs, webinars, podcasts, and more.
If users find your content useful, your brand builds a solid reputation and credibility. Needless to say, this can offer you a lot of benefits from an SEO perspective.
For example, Brian Dean from Backlinko is a thought leader who inspires and educates his subscribers on all things SEO.
Long format content
When you produce content on a regular basis, you may want to add different levels of detail to your pieces of content. With this in mind, if you want to discuss a topic in detail, longer content may be the best solution.
Long-form content can be in the form of detailed guides, eBooks, or white papers, among other content formats. In addition, long-form content also offers you the possibility of integrating a lot of keywords.
Podcasts
Written content is good, but at a time when attention spans are dwindling, it's important to have other types of content that can work in your favor. Les podcasts allow you to transmit complex and voluminous information in an audible format.
The biggest benefit of podcasts is that customers can choose how and when they want to listen to them and can do so alongside other tasks. The reason you need to invest in podcasts is simple: you'll reach a larger audience that isn't captured by written or video content.
Video tutorials
If you have a product that requires a bit of technical know-how or has a lot of features, you're probably going to prepare tutorials. The best way to deliver product tutorials is the video format.
These videos establish immediate familiarity and relationship with the audience and allow them to learn easily, according to the principle of “see everything, do everything.” Over 54% consumers say they would like to see video content from brands they support
Case studies
You may have heard it before, but very few content formats are as effective as case studies. They offer social proof and demonstrate the skills and experience you claim to have.
Case studies can be defined as documentation of a product or service that is supported by adequate research and data. Les case studies published by Fractl on its website, which highlight the exact metrics and data that highlight its performance, are a great example.
Blog posts
Here we are finally — perhaps the most popular content format today — blogging. We know that's not an exaggeration, because businesses that blog regularly get 97% more links to their websites.
While there are plenty of guidelines for how businesses can create and publish blogs, you can add your own creative flair to them. Having an active blog in multiple formats can help your business achieve the desired results and impact your content strategy.
3. Syndication
Creating content that can impact your audience and generate results for your business requires a lot of work. And yet, many businesses continue to publish their content in silos without people noticing.
Businesses that have high-quality content to offer and are looking for a way to promote it, content syndication may be the solution. Syndication consists of republishing a piece of content from your website on other platforms or websites. These sites can publish a summary, a short snippet, or even the whole of your content.
Syndication is a win-win process for publishers and original authors alike. Authors benefit from exposure across multiple platforms and publishers have the advantage of sharing fresh content with their readers. Additionally, brands can create a solid backlink profile with the help of syndication, by publishing content on authoritative websites.
Some of the main content syndication strategies that brands use include the following:
- Syndication to a similar website
- Syndication to a bigger and more authoritative website
- publish articles in major publications and then distribute them on the website.
- Get organic links from big publications
Note: In the case of syndication, you'll see a “originally published in” or “originally appeared on” mention under the message.
4. Multichannel presence
As a brand, it always makes sense to be where your customers are. If they are active on several platforms, it is not enough to have a website and hope to succeed. Be present on all platforms where your customers are likely to spend time to increase the visibility of your brand and content.
For example, if you rely heavily on video content to promote your brand, could we suggest that you leave your website? Over 2.3 billion people In the world use youtube every month. So, it's beneficial to publish videos on the platform to get maximum traction and exposure.
Additionally, brands should never underestimate the power of social media platforms and their impact on brand performance. Did you know that the average person juggles with At least seven social media channels every month?
So you are wondering what such a multi-channel presence can do for your business?
First, they will allow you to connect with the right customers and help you better engage with them. In addition to having a greater reach, you'll also be able to take advantage of these platforms to generate positive results for your website.
How do you measure the effectiveness of your content distribution strategy?
Now, you've already gained a better understanding of the different content formats you can explore, and some of the content distribution strategies you should consider.
But remember, your efforts mean nothing if you're not able to measure their effectiveness using the right metrics and tools. Let's see how you can do it...
Define your KPIs and content distribution goals
You should, of course, start by identifying the key performance indicators and content distribution goals that you need to monitor.
Let's take a look at some of the key performance indicators you should track in this regard and the subsequent metrics you should look at.
Traffic/Search
As reporting time approaches, site traffic plays an important role in determining whether your content delivery strategy is really working. But to really understand the effectiveness of your content distribution strategies, identify the channels that bring in the most traffic.
This will help you understand which platforms you should focus more on and which platforms you can reduce your dependence on. In addition to traffic sources, you can also narrow your scope of action by calculating:
- users (the total number of unique visitors to the website)
- (total number of times your web page has been viewed)
- unique page views (several pages viewed by the same user grouped into a single page view)
You should also aim to get an average of 30% of visitors coming back each month. It will also be beneficial to analyze the amount of traffic you generate from your social media accounts.
Commitment
So you've already seen that your website traffic is increasing. But does that mean your content is working the way it should? It certainly means that you are successful in getting clicks on your website.
But you'll need to measure engagement to know if your readers will find your content useful. In this category, you'll also need to check how long your website visitors spend on a web page and how many web pages they visit during a single session.
Besides website engagement, you should also look at the social media engagement that your content can produce. The aim here is to look at the number of impressions of your messages and the number of times they have been shared on social media channels.
To be able to successfully measure reader engagement with your content, also consider the following:
- Average session length (average time users spend in a single session)
- Content click rate (number of user impressions that result in clicks)
- Inbound links
Higher content (and lower content)
Remember when we talked about the different ways your content strategy plays into the success of your content distribution strategy?
This is one of the reasons why content quality is such an important parameter for your content distribution strategy. Find out which content items are generating traffic and actively engaging your readers. Here are some of the main steps you should take in this regard:
- Top Page Views (the pages that are viewed most often)
- Top Exits (pages that fail to retain users and end in exits)
- Content downloads
Additionally, make it a point to analyze content elements to identify those that don't hit the mark. This will help you identify content types and formats that don't meet your goals.
Impact
High-quality content can have two types of consequences: it can generate buzz or it can generate impact. While generating a buzz leads to greater brand awareness, impact is the effect your content has on your audience.
Impact can be measured quite easily by identifying the actions your audience takes after coming into contact with your content. Are they transacting with you? Does he share content on social media? Are they reading other content on your website?
Looking for answers to these questions can help you identify the level of “impact” your content has on your readers. Here are some of the main measures that will help assess the impact of your content:
- Pages per visit (average number of pages a user consults during each visit)
- Impressions (feedback you get on your content)
- Conversions (how many users turn into paying customers)
Sentiment
Sentiment describes how your readers react to your content. Reader sentiment has the potential to make your content go viral or to fall directly into the archives.
Content items that don't meet the desired quality criteria will not only fail, but will barely be recognized by readers. On the other hand, if your content is valuable and memorable, it is likely to elicit immediate reactions from readers.
Some of the main measures that determine reader feeling and that should be followed include the following:
- Comments
- Actions
- Social sharing
Use Google Analytics and third-party tools to monitor KPIs.
Now that you know the key performance indicators (KPIs) and the specific metrics to look out for in order to effectively measure the success of your content distribution, let's see how you can calculate these metrics. Of course, to monitor and measure key performance indicators consistently, you'll need to invest in a few tools.
Google Analytics is one of the most used and reliable tools for measuring all your SEO and content marketing key performance indicators. Plus, this tool is completely free, allowing businesses of all sizes to start monitoring their goals right from the start.
Ideally, you'll be able to monitor all of your website and social media analytics on Google Analytics. All you need to do is set up your Google Tag Manager and to add social networks as a goal to your Google Analytics account.
In addition to Google Analytics, you can also rely on third-party tools such asAhrefs, and Moz also offers a wide range of features and modules that can help you monitor the performance of your content. With the help of these tools, you can track the performance of your content on your website as well as on your social media accounts.
Content distribution channels
Right now, you need to have a detailed understanding of the content delivery strategies and key performance indicators that you should use for content distribution. You also have a better idea of the tools you can use to track and analyze the success of your content distribution strategy.
Now it's time for us to dive deeper into content delivery channels. These channels are the ones you use to promote and share your content — the ways in which content is delivered to large, targeted audiences.
Types of content delivery channels
Here are some of the three main types of content delivery channels that you should consider when developing your strategy:
Owned Medias
Channels that are fully owned by the brand are classified as owned media. In fact, these are the media channels that you have total control over and that can be customized to suit your needs.
These channels are specifically targeted and used by businesses to build long-term relationships and facilitate interactions with potential customers. These channels are also more profitable because, apart from the initial set-up, businesses generally don't have to pay anything extra.
This is a good starting point so that your business can eventually take advantage of acquired and paid media.
Examples of own media - website, mobile application, blog, social media channels, etc.
Earned Medias
Seasoned marketers swear by word-of-mouth marketing, and for good reason. The fact that customers rave about your product or business without having to pay is an aspiration. When a customer reaches their “aha” organically and promotes your product on their channel, you've really “won.” These channels are classified in the deserved media category.
It's a great thing to manage earned media well because you're creating a powerful network that has the potential to make your content go viral. Make no mistake: the successful implementation of earned media comes from the good execution of proprietary and paid media.
Examples of media won - personal blogs, personal social media channels, etc.
Paid Medias
If you're a brand looking for immediate feedback, using paid media may be a good option for you. Paid media, as the name suggests, are channels that allow you to distribute content for a fee or payment.
Paid media channels almost always guarantee results. Even then, paid media is rarely the complete answer to your problems. On the contrary, paid media channels can be perfect mediums that lead to your owned media channels. In fact, earned media should be used to achieve the same goal.
Examples of paid media - Sponsorships, Display Ads, and Paid Search Results
Some common distribution channels
So now you know the main types of content distribution channels you can consider. Here are some of the most common channels businesses use today. Keep in mind that your choice of content distribution channels should depend on the goals you want to achieve with them.
Let's get to the heart of the matter.
If this option surprises you, you probably haven't exploited the full potential of emails. With more than 4 billion email users in 2022, the email marketing is a sure way to reach a large target audience with minimal effort.
If used properly, email can be a very powerful tool for distributing content - of all kinds and types.
Email conversions are known to be higher than social media conversions. Additionally, emails are ideal when you want to interact with your customers and increase the chances of making a sale in the future. Delivering content via email can deliver much better results than most other channels and help you build a solid list of subscribers for your content.
Video
As if it had already been said, videos are really the type of content that you need to invest a lot of time and effort in.
This should not seem like an unconventional option since YouTube recently became the second largest search engine in the world. So it's quite possible that your customers are looking for your business on YouTube and not on Google.
94% of marketers report that they have successfully used videos to develop a better understanding of their products or services among customers.
Let's see how Headspace promotes its application through videos:
Additionally, you can encourage the sharing of your content by using various types of videos, such as demo videos, how-to videos, etc. You can also use social media to promote yourself and reach a larger target audience.
Podcasts
You didn't think videos alone created all the buzz, did you?
Based on recent trends and market performances, podcasts are more popular than ever. And you can't stop them.
With over 2 million podcasts broadcast around the world in 2021, its heyday has really arrived.
The main benefit of podcasts is that they can help you bridge the gap between your brand and your target audience. If used effectively, podcasts can be a great marketing tool and offer a good return on investment.
Regardless of the type of podcast, brands have plenty of opportunities to broadcast and promote their products and services. For example, SEO agencies that want to promote their services and expertise may benefit from appearing on one of podcasts reputable devoted to SEO.
Blogs and website articles
Even though the way people receive and absorb content has evolved over the years, there are aspects that never change. Whether you have a dedicated blog or a section on your website, there's no denying that this piece of text will be crucial.
Did you know that more than 77% of people Do people in the world read blogs regularly?
With such popularity, any expanding business would lose a lot of opportunities if they did not have an active blog. Blogs also offer plenty of space for businesses to incorporate SEO elements and techniques that can then help them boost their SERP rankings.
Additionally, blogs now offer content creators complete flexibility to include a wide range of elements that are meant to engage readers. Blogs now include videos, images, and many other interactive elements that make reading interesting.
In-person events
While the COVID-19 pandemic caused in-person events to pause for a long time, they're coming back today. Virtual events took place during this time, but they did not measure up to a good interactive in-person experience.
Creating highly informative slides and presentations is also a great form of content that can be easily reused online. For events of this type, you will also need to produce a wide range of other content materials, such as flyers, brochures, and comprehensive social media campaigns for promotion.
The biggest advantage? In-person events allow you to get active feedback from attendees, and give you lots of interesting ideas that you can then incorporate into your strategy. Additionally, you can build successful relationships with your customers and affiliates. It's really a win-win situation.
Online presentation platforms
We've just talked about how content produced in the form of slideshows and presentations can be reused. If you are wondering how this is possible, online presentation platforms are your answer.
Once you're done using presentations for your event, go to platforms like Slideshare and Speaker Deck, where you can download and share them with a wider audience. These platforms even offer the option to download detailed transcripts — a great opportunity for you to add keywords and amplify your digital presence.
Webinars or virtual conferences
When we talk about events and presentations, webinars are certainly at the top of the list. If you think webinars are not right for your organization, think again. Over 85% of marketers who use webinars as a marketing tool say they are very useful.
Also, just like presentations, webinars can create highly reusable content. You have the option of publishing the webinar as a video to add additional credibility to your website or channel. youtube.
Another good option for distributing content is organizing virtual conferences. Virtual conferences are easy to organize because they eliminate the numerous logistical processes that play a role in physical conferences. So you can focus on delivering quality content.
The biggest benefit of hosting webinars and virtual conferences is that your keynote speakers and panelists are likely to create well-researched content. Equipped with expert ideas and the latest information, this content can be a great addition to your website or video sharing channels.
Printed publications
There's no denying that everything is going digital nowadays — businesses and customers alike. But that does not mean in any way that printed matter is dead. In fact, there are plenty of niche publications aimed at specific business sectors that are revolutionizing the way you approach content publishing.
Did you know that marketing campaigns that rely on both digital and print generate 400% better results ?
If you are still not convinced, know that 82% of consumers still rely on print ads to make purchasing decisions.
If you're considering distributing content in print media, don't hesitate: you may be discovering a gold mine of advertising and marketing opportunities.
Choosing the right distribution channel for your brand
Now we've looked at the different types of distribution channels you can consider. Now let's dive deeper into the factors you should keep in mind when choosing the right distribution channel for your brand.
Audience persona
Now you should know that the content delivery strategy goes far beyond creating and sharing content. It's about identifying, producing, and promoting the right type of content to the right audience. That's where the Audience Persona comes in.
To reach the right audience, who will become a paying customer for your business, you need to have the right content in the right places and on the right platforms. After all, productive buyer engagement is triggered by content that speaks to the right audience persona. Not to mention that the user's search intent plays a critical role in this process.
It is therefore important to create audience personas at the early stages of your content distribution strategy. By devoting targeted efforts to content, you ensure that a minimum of costs and resources are wasted on channels that are unlikely to generate the desired result.
When choosing a content distribution channel, ensure that your target audience is active in it.
It's not “one-size-fits-all content.”
When you've read about the different types of content to explore for your brand, you might have picked out a few favorites. Maybe you immediately decided to have an active blog section that you can focus your efforts on?
You're not wrong, but that's not enough if you're trying to come up with a winning strategy. Explore how different types of content can contribute to your strategy.
Instead, understand that you will need to create different types of content for different types of customers. For example, a business customer will appreciate having content come to them in the form of emails and blogs. In contrast, a younger demographic will enjoy other content formats more, like videos and podcasts.
So when choosing a content delivery channel, ensure that the platform supports different types of content.
Brand resources and capabilities
One of the biggest mistakes brands make when choosing content distribution channels is ignoring their own bandwidth. There's no doubt that everything seems very optimistic at first: your marketing team can handle anything you send to them. What is a new content delivery channel?
But it's not that easy. Each channel comes with its own set of guidelines to follow. Brands are advised to choose distribution channels carefully while giving due importance to the number of resources they will need to deploy.
Additionally, it's also important to identify your brand's capabilities before choosing a channel. For example, you decided to make your Twitter debut, but do you have editors who can create short, powerful texts for social networks?
Ask yourself these very relevant questions before choosing a specific content distribution channel.
Scalability potential
When you're a growing brand with ambitious goals, it's all about scalability, right?
Not only do you need a content delivery channel that aligns with your business goals and strategic needs, but you also need a platform that can help your brand grow. Even more, you need channels that can grow along with your brand.
Many social media platforms are now being created for the sake of scalability. For example, Instagram allows content creators to unlock a wide range of features as their followers grow, apart from the basic analytics that are available to everyone.
Logically, this is done because a normal user will have little use for advanced features, and brands that are growing and have a lot of followers will need some additional elements to incorporate into their posts. The same logic should be applied to your website. When choosing a CMS for your website, make sure it's scalable and offers features that can enhance your brand's content strategy.
Content distribution tools
1. HubSpot.
It is an all-in-one inbound marketing CRM software. With Hubspot, you can do everything from email marketing to content creation, social amplification and analytics reports. It guides the journey of your social communities using data obtained from landing pages, marketing campaigns, etc.
USP
Its social inbox allows you to manage, schedule, publish, and monitor social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, and more.
Pricing
- Basic: free
- Beginner: 45
- Professional: 800
- Business: $3200
2. Medium.
Medium is, for content, just like Amazon is for products. Created by the co-creators of Twitter, it is a unique platform for informative blogging on all sorts of topics with thousands of readers.
USP
It is used by over 17 million people per month and you can have free access to this audience. Your content will always reach a large audience, regardless of subject or length.
Pricing
- You can find out the cost of native paid distribution on demand by email at Medium.
3. PR Newswire.
PR Newswire is a press release distribution network.
It helps you find, target, and contact journalists and media organizations based on specific industries, geographic areas, and topics. It offers formulas for the local, regional and national press.
USP
- Widely used for the dissemination of newsworthy information like events, announcements, breaking news, etc.
- It allows you to distribute your content to over 200,000 media sources.
Pricing
iReach service (for non-members):
- $129 for the search package
- $299 for the web reach package
- $399 for the reach plus web package.
Premium membership service: $195 per year or $249 per year if invoiced.
4. HARO.
HARO is an online sourcing service.
It connects journalists and bloggers who are looking for expertise on a particular topic to include in their content with sources that have that expertise.
For brands, it's a gold mine for being featured in relevant articles on authoritative third-party sites and for building a solid influence in a specific niche.
USP
Journalists get a fuller story and brands get credible media coverage.
Pricing
- Basic: free
- Standard: $19 per month
- Advanced: $49 per month
- Premium: $149 per month
5. ClickToTweet.
ClickToTweet allows you to create your own pre-written tweets. Additionally, it provides a link that, when clicked, opens the tweet in the user's Twitter account so that they can tweet it directly. So it's no longer necessary to type a tweet every time readers want to share your content. You can add your own Twitter handle to the tweet and follow the people who share your content and those who mention you.
USP
Readers can share snippets and bits of your content on Twitter with a single click.
Rates
- Gratuit
6. Gaggleamp.
GaggleAMP is an employee communication and advocacy software that allows businesses to amplify their social reach. With this tool, businesses can enable their employees, partners, and stakeholders to actively participate in sharing corporate content to increase their social media reach, get more engagement on content and initiatives, and increase traffic, leads, and overall marketing performance.
USP
Businesses can promote their business content and marketing initiatives through their employees on social media and strengthen their digital presence.
Pricing
- Single plan: $300 per month
7. AddThis.
Originally launched as a free social bookmarking service that allowed website visitors to bookmark and share content on social media platforms, AddThis has become a suite of website marketing tools that help bloggers and marketers optimize content, build an email subscriber list, and develop personal, effective relationships with existing and potential customers.
USP
Used by over 15 million sites, AddThis helps website owners offer their visitors the easiest way to engage and share content on social media platforms.
Pricing
- Signature Plan: Free
- Business plan: Enterprise users who require personalized services should contact the AddThis customer experience team to get a quote.
8. Mention.
Mention is a social media monitoring and analysis tool that allows brands and agencies to listen to their social media audience and understand their perception. Using this tool, you can monitor what is being said about your brand or products online and measure the impact of your online marketing and digital public relations activities.
USP
You can easily keep an eye on important conversations with your audience, gain valuable insights, and monitor the success of your marketing efforts.
Pricing
- Basic: free
- Solo: €29 per month
- Pro: 99 euros per month
- ProPlus: 199 euros per month
- Company: Contact the Mention team for a quote.
9. SharedCount.
SharedCount is a social URL analysis service that looks for the number of times a URL has been shared on the most popular social media platforms, like Facebook and Twitter. Additionally, you can also track the number of likes, tweets, shares, etc. using this tool.
USP
You can see exactly which platform is behind the social shares on your input URLs.
Pricing
- Personal: $40 per month
- Professional: $160 per month
- Business: $640 per month
10. Outbrain.
Outbrain is a web recommendation platform. It helps marketers connect with their target audience through targeted ads and recommends blog posts, articles, slideshows, photos, and videos, and more to improve the experience for your readers. It provides recommendations by establishing data-based connections between user interests and actions.
USP
By using Outbrain, you can connect with a third of the global audience on the open web.
Pricing
- Minimum budget required: $20 per day
- Minimum CPC: $0.03 to $1.50 (depending on your industry)
11. WiseStamp.
WiseStamp is a fully customizable email signature generator that allows you to unify your brand with a global corporate design by offering you the easiest way to create and add professionally designed email signatures to your emails. It has a one-click configuration feature and is compatible with Gmail, Outlook, and other email service providers.
USP
You can create and deploy dynamic, professional electronic signatures from a central dashboard that works seamlessly across all major email service providers.
Pricing
For individuals:
- Basic: free
- Pro: $5.8 per month
- Soho: $8.25 per month
For organizations:
- Soho: $1.85 per user per month
- Teams: $1.67 per user per month
- Business: Contact the WiseStamp sales team for a quote.
Conclusion
Creating a solid content distribution strategy is one of the most important parts of your content marketing efforts.
You can have exceptional content that can captivate readers, but it won't do any good if you don't have the right channels to promote it. Focus on creating high-quality content and choosing distribution channels that can produce positive results for your brand. Finally, monitor and measure your performance using tools that can help shape your content distribution strategy productively.
