Content is king they said, plan your content. Invest in your content. Stay consistent with your content… so you did. But let me tell you a secret, even though most business owners and entrepreneurs are putting huge efforts into content creation – they’re then not maximising on their investment because they haven’t got a distribution plan. They’re just slinging it anywhere and moving on!

I know people like me keep adding to your to-do list, but the truth is, you need to put some time in and create a content distribution strategy and stick to it. Make sure you include all your channels, include repurposing actions, KPIs and set a date to review the strategy. The instruction is pretty simple and I could stop this article there, but there are perhaps a few questions worth answering. So here goes!..

What is a content distribution strategy?

Think of this as a workflow. You’ve created this amazing piece of content, you now need to make sure it is posted in the right places and in the right way so that it can be seen and consumed by as many people as possible. When I hit publish on this article it appears on my website – but I can hit publish again and again on a variety of platforms to really push this out to the world. As a side note, ‘content’ is all-encompassing; it could be a blog, eBook, video, PDF, image, infographic, email campaign… anything you create that carries your message is content.

Where should I distribute my content?

Wherever you have a presence and you know your ideal clients are hanging out! Think of your content distribution channels as falling into three categories.

1. Those you own – Your website/blog, your emails, your social channels (think organic posting here)
2. Those you earn – People engaging with your content that creates distribution, guest posting on third party websites and social media channels.
3. Those you pay for – Social Ads, Google Ads, PPC (Pay per click). (influencer marketing strategies can also fall under this.)

When it comes to implementing your plan, I suggest you approach your distribution channels in this order too so that you gain maximum exposure while ensuring maximum benefit and keeping your budgets in check! It’s also important to think of these as cyclical – a piece of content may start as a guest blogging slot you have paid for and therefore sits at number 3 on the list, initially. You then need to take it through points 1 and 2 on the list. Another time an item of content might enter at point 2, a social media post that has generated more engagement than usual, for example, might then develop into a paid ad at point 3 and the comments brought together via an article that you add to your website at point 1. You’d then go through the other points again! Make sense?

How should I measure success?

Good Old KPIs… Not a very sexy answer I’m afraid! Look for things like website traffic increases, by that I mean quality traffic! If you triple the hits to your website because you’re getting loads of traffic from the US but you only actually deliver your service in Rochdale in the UK… it isn’t really a win!

Look for engagement and sentiment signals. Is the bounce rate on the article high? Are people staying on the site long enough to read the article? Have you had comments on social media? Have people been reacting to the content?

Look for indicators that your content has created buying signals – are people clicking through? That could be a click-through from social to your website, or it could be that when they’re on the site they’re then clicking through to additional pages. (I suggest you look for both!)

What does a content distribution plan look like?

It could be as simple as a checklist or you might want to create a spreadsheet to help you manage things. (Yes, we all know I LOVE a spreadsheet!) A little tip for you is that if you can incorporate this so your content and distribution plan are all in one place you’ll find things easier to stay on top of.

I’d love to be able to give you a content distribution plan you can take away and stick to but there are a few moving parts – it’s something I’d much rather jump on a call and talk you through for your business individually. But essentially, the bare bones would be:

1. Add it to the website
2. Share on social immediately (If it gains traction, add budget)
3. Distribute via email marketing
4. A week or two later re-post on platforms such as Medium
5. Assess KPIs (If KPIs do not show this to have been a well-received piece, move to step 8)
6. Edit for distribution on partner sites
7. Video version created (Implement steps 1-3 for the video content)
8. Date set for edit/update in either 6 months or 12 months

Please do not take the steps above as simply as I’ve written them here – these are the bones, you need to add the meat! Different types of content may skip a step (something short-form intended for LinkedIn is rarely going to make it onto your website, for example!) and others may go through the process a few times because they offer you so much opportunity!

So, let’s wrap this up…

If you’re creating content and you know it just isn’t getting seen, I hope this article is of use to you. If you want to talk things over or if you’ve got to the point where it’s just a headache and you just want to give it to someone else to look after for you! Then as always, I’m here. We just need to set up a call!