Content is the foundation of the entire Internet. Almost everything that you see on the web is content in one form or another: for example, videos or photos with cats, smart (and not so much) blog posts, infographics, etc. Google gives an excellent definition of what content marketing is:
“It is a type of marketing that includes the creation and exchange of online materials (videos, blogs, posts on social media) that do not promote the brand openly, but attract attention to it and stimulate users’ interest in its products or services.”
Content marketing is one of the most important strategies of Internet marketing because, without it, any other campaigns would not exist at all (or would not be so effective). There are two main reasons why content and its marketing is useful to almost every business:
- Content increases the awareness of potential customers about your product or service. Why would anyone pay you if they do not even know what they are buying and why? The central task of content marketing is to fill this knowledge gap;
- Content enables you or your business to become an ideological leader in your industry. To get this status means expanding the distribution area of the brand, attracting more traffic, and opening up many new prospects for its development.
But even if you create a perfect content, how to convey it to potential customers? In this article, you will find descriptions of 5 working content distribution tools you should start using now to reach a broader audience.
1. Quora
Quora is a website where users can ask questions on any topic and get detailed answers. The good news is that among all similar platforms, Quora is the most accessible one for self-promotion.
To a question that somehow relates to your product, you can give an openly advertising answer that can be well upvoted by the public. The main criterion is to reveal the topic. As a result, with regular work and a little luck, you will have a couple of most-liked answers that will help the website’s SEO positions and ensure the flow of customers to the business. Also, if you act as an expert in any issue, Quora will automatically promote you on similar topics, and you will be able to respond to the relevant questions faster than others.
At first glance, this may seem to you a futile and unnecessary activity. However, according to statistics, Quora has 300 million monthly active users, and 775,000 of them are Americans. Considerable numbers, do you agree?
2. Facebook groups
Traffic and content in Facebook groups are growing every year. Almost all organic traffic and activity go to the communities. It doesn’t matter whether it’s small or large, closed or open. The coverage of the post within the group is much higher than in the newsfeed. Even if you use the link to an external website.
The first thing to understand is that you should not create your own group. Facebook group administration is a complex, lengthy, and routine activity. For content distribution, it is best to use already formed groups with a suitable number and kind of followers.
Compelling content is always welcome in many relevant groups. If you have something to say, on business or professionally, do not be shy, write, share, and tell. Agree with the administration about event announcements, LIVE broadcasts, webinars, etc. Anything you are ready to discuss and show, share with users, engage in dialogue.
3. Email Signature
Email marketing is an incredibly powerful distribution tool, as it is a direct channel of communication between your business and current/potential customers. But for some reason, many people still underestimate the power of email signatures. As a rule, they create boring and long signatures with contact information and no graphics. But it is a big mistake!
The email signature is another small element that can attract customers with its originality and uniqueness. If you do not know how to create it right, you can always use a free email signature generator. Here are some useful tips:
- Do not include too much information.
- Use the correct format and image size.
- Attach relevant graphics (photos, images, GIFs).
- Insert social network icons.
- Add a banner linked to your content.
Email signatures can be a powerful and free content distribution tool, which can be used in various cases. Therefore, if you are not yet using this technique in your letters, make one with an email signature generator and see how your efficiency will increase.
4. SlideShare
SlideShare is a free service that allows you to upload professional videos and presentation slides. Unlike YouTube, this resource focuses specifically on the presentations.
Do you already use SlideShare as a marketing tool? If your answer is yes, congratulations, you are moving in the right direction! If you answered no, then pay attention to this information:
- about 60 million users visit this service monthly;
- it is the largest professional content sharing service that takes its place among the top 200 most visited websites in the world.
Despite these motivating indicators the current position of this service is comparable to the shares of a highly undervalued company, where the potential and benefits are high, but not apparent to everyone.
SlideShare is a working marketing tool that does not require in-depth study to achieve results. The main thing here, as anywhere, is the high-quality content of your materials. So, do not wait anymore and start using all the advantages of Slideshare to achieve your content marketing strategy. For this, you need to design the relevant presentation and spend some time filling and promoting it. Also, you can download some excellent presentation slides that you have prepared for meetings or seminars.
5. LinkedIn Hashtags
Many companies see LinkedIn only as social media for finding employees. At the same time, about 56% of marketers use this network for marketing activities because of a hundred million active users. So, there are many different techniques for LinkedIn content distribution, but let’s talk about hashtags.
LinkedIn hashtags operate in a similar way to Facebook and Instagram – to categorize the content. Hashtags assist users in finding information on a specific issue. Thus, potential customers interested in your product will somehow find you. Moreover, on LinkedIn, users can follow hashtags, meaning that posts including their chosen one will appear on their feed. You can add LinkedIn hashtags almost everywhere: articles, comments, posts, personal profiles, company pages, etc. Just make sure that they are visible and do not add too much in one piece of content.
Conclusion
If you do everything right, these tools will surely give the needed result. Just do not forget that Internet marketing stays in constant improvement and development. No one knows which strategies will work in ten years, but you should keep up with the times and always use the most relevant and new techniques.