Best practices for successful content distribution

February 5, 2016
Angela Peters
Content Marketing, SEO, Social Media Marketing

When it comes to content marketing it’s not just the content that should be the focus of your brand’s strategy, but also the context of platform. Not every method of content works with all platforms and not all content keeps the attention of the audience on chosen platforms.

Before we get into the best platforms and methods to use when distributing content let’s briefly go over content strategy. When brainstorming a strategy for content always remember that value is key, this is true for your brand and your audience.

Have a clear, consistent strategy and create a tone that keeps the attention of your audience. Get to know your audience, adapt to them and gauge the tone, whether it be casual, professional, sales, etc.
Understand the platforms you use to distribute your content and understand which ones compliment each piece of content. We’ll further discuss these later.
Respect your audience. Be assertive, timely and specific. Be aware of the audience’s time- keep them engaged, but also get to the point. Make them feel like they are walking away with more knowledge than they had before they viewed your content; this is how you form recurring members.
Always have a call-to-action. Have a strategy behind your call-to-action. Remember you’re trying to convert traffic, so be sure to not just share content just to share.

Now let’s review how to decide what to include in the context of our content, as well as how to implement the content. Here are a few of our favorite platforms and methods of content distribution. You can learn more on content marketing and strategy by reading “7 traits to creating a successful content marketing strategy.”

Tumblr
- Tumblr serves as a casual and informal platform, but it’s one of our favorites. You can choose from a plethora of communities to be a part of and the methods of content you share can vary from video, to blog and even discussion.
Inbound.org
- Inbound is a professional platform specifically geared toward marketing discussions and shared content that’s trending. You’ll be penalized and even booted off if you veer from topic or post unrelated content. Here you can find helpful feedback on all things marketing and can even start insightful conversations with peer professionals.
LinkedIn
- LinkedIn is a great way to connect with like-minded professionals and businesses. You now even have the option to publish your own content on LinkedIn.
Huffington Post (and industry related publications)
- Huffington Post gives anyone the opportunity to become a contributor. Use this to your company’s advantage and contribute to the business blog. This will allow you to reach an even larger audience and peak the audience’s interest in viewing more work published by your brand.
Youtube
- Yet another more casual platform, but also very useful. Youtube can be used to reach audiences via “How to” lists and “Checklists.” This is geared toward the hands-on user and can be used as a teaching platform.