The Ultimate Guide to Content Promotion

Congratulations! You just wrote a killer blog post. So how are you going to make sure people read it? 

Your job isn’t done once you hit “publish.” Pumping out blog posts with no strategy or purpose won’t magically generate traffic. You need a plan.

The ultimate goal of a content promotion strategy is, of course, to convert leads into customers and generate revenue. But that doesn’t happen overnight. The web is crowded with content competing for your customers’ attention.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to execute a bulletproof content promotion strategy that gets your content in front of the right people and delivers real value to your customers.

Email Promotion

One of the best things you can do for your content promotion strategy is build an email list.

Email is one of the most effective channels for reaching people who have already shown interest in your brand. Your email subscribers already know who you are. They’re ready to open, click and engage with your content. 

The easier you make it for contacts to opt in to your emails, the faster your list will grow. Here are a couple ways you can start building your list today:

• Add clear calls to action (CTAs) on your website that let visitors subscribe to your list. You’ll want to include this offer on your homepage, blog page, “About Us” page and “Contact” page.
• Require visitors to enter their email address to download your content offers, like an ebook or white paper.
• Promote an online contest or free giveaway and have entrants sign up with their email address.
• Add a link in your employees’ email signatures that leads people to a landing page where they can subscribe to your mailing list.
• Collect email addresses at offline events like trade shows and conferences.

When you write a new blog or create a piece of content, email it to your subscribers. Use these tactics in your emails to encourage opens and clicks: 

• Write a compelling subject line that poses a question or gives a teaser
• Include brief, engaging email copy that describes the main benefits in the blog
• Add a clear CTA with a link to the blog

Social Media Promotion 

Did you know 81 percent of Americans have at least one social media profile? Using social media in your content promotion strategy opens the door to a massive network of potential customers. 

Here’s how to promote your content on social media:

1. Choose the right channel. Research the social sites where your audience hangs out. An ecommerce T-shirt brand might get high engagement on Instagram and Pinterest, while a cybersecurity company would find a better audience on LinkedIn.
2. Post at the right times. Lots of people schedule posts to go out at the hour or half hour. If you do the same, your content will quickly get buried in the social streams. Review the built-in analytics in Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to see when your posts are getting the most impressions and engagement.
3. Use hashtags. Research what hashtags are popular and relevant to your industry. It’s easy to overdo hashtags, so try to limit to 1-3 hashtags per post.

Remember these social media best practices when promoting content:

• Be engaging. Ask questions that people want to answer. “Like” or respond to mentions, questions and comments.
• Create unique posts for each social channel. Different types of posts work best on different channels. On Instagram, the quality and attractiveness of your image is most important. Facebook posts should include a compelling offer that people want to click.
  
  You also want to avoid copying and pasting the same text snippet across every social account. It will look spammy to users who follow you on multiple channels.

• Add social sharing buttons to blogs. This makes it easy for readers to share posts they like or relate to.
• Don’t share only your company’s content. Your social feeds shouldn’t be stuffed with self-promotion. It’s smart to share all types of content through your social channels – including content from other sources. As a general rule, maintain a 50/50 split. If you share five pieces of company content per week, you should also share five outside blogs or articles your audience might find helpful.

Consider using a combination of these tactics in your social media posts to increase the click through rate:

• A number or statistic
• A link to the blog or content offer
• A question
• An image
• 1-3 hashtags
• An actionable CTA

Tip: Use a social media automation tool like Hootsuite to schedule your social posts in advance. You can plan out a week’s worth of posts on different social channels from a central dashboard, saving you hours of time and boosting your productivity.

More Ways to Promote Content

Create Facebook Ads and Boosted Posts

You can boost your post on Facebook to place your content higher on people’s News Feeds and generate more exposure. You can choose which audience you want to target with boosted posts, including locations, ages, genders and interests. You also have the option to show boosted posts to people who like your Page AND their friends.

Obviously, you won’t want to spend money on boosting posts for every piece of content you create. Prioritize blogs with helpful content or popular Facebook posts that have already done well organically. 

You can also use Facebook ads to promote high-converting content offers like white papers and ebooks. 

If you have a niche product or talk about very specific topics on your blog, focus your ad spend on retargeting ads. People who have visited your blog or website before are most likely to be interested in seeing and clicking on your ads.

Read our step-by-step guide for setting up Facebook retargeting ads here. 

Post on Personal LinkedIn Profiles 

84% of people trust recommendations from friends, family and colleagues over other forms of marketing. And posting on LinkedIn is completely free.

Have your CEO and top management staff share blog posts on their personal LinkedIn accounts. They probably already have large networks of colleagues and potential customers, and they will generate the most impressions and clicks. 

Tip: LinkedIn provides free post analytics that make it easy to track impressions on every post. Click on your published post to get a summary of the job titles, company names and geographical regions the impressions came from.

Post in LinkedIn Groups

LinkedIn groups are popular hubs for discussion and feedback among industry peers. Your company’s subject matter experts can post in LinkedIn groups to establish thought leadership. 

Find LinkedIn groups in your industry that attract your customers. When posting in a group, avoid writing click-bait posts that solely promote your content. You’ll earn credibility and gain more clicks with high-quality posts that offer genuine value. 

You can also scan through recent posts and contribute new information to relevant discussions. 

Tip: Many LinkedIn groups send email notifications to members about new posts. You’ll be able to leverage the group’s email list to get more eyes on your content.

Add Blogs in Email Signatures

Have employees put a link to your blog or a specific blog post in their email signatures. Sales team members can also use helpful blogs and content assets as an email follow-up tactic after a prospecting call. 

Cycle Through Old Content

Don’t neglect old blog posts! Older content will continue to generate traffic over time. Create a schedule to promote at least a couple old blog posts every week. 

Post on Quora

Someone out there is talking about your topic on Quora. Find related questions and jump into the conversation with a thoughtful, detailed answer. This is a great way to share your wealth of knowledge and help people who might need your services.

Don’t simply repost your article. Blatant self-promotion won’t get you many clicks. Instead, write something sincere and offer valuable information, then mention and link to your article for more information.

A Content Promotion Strategy That Gets Results

Creating a successful content promotion strategy involves a lot of moving parts. But it doesn’t have to be complicated. 

At Human Marketing, we understand the importance of creating exceptional content and delivering it to the right customers at the right time. We help companies execute content promotion strategies that open the door to lasting, profitable customer relationships.

Interested in learning more? Contact us for a free marketing consultation today.