If your organization wants to do anything and everything that it can to attract and keep customers, you’ve got to focus on customer experience. And if your organization wants to do the same to innovate and generate that customer experience, you’ve also got to address your approach to content distribution.
Why is this so? Well, consider these examples from Should You Pay for Content Distribution?
[W]hat if you’re craving Tom Yum and your favorite Thai spot doesn’t deliver? Have no fear—GrubHub has your back. Out of toothpaste? Amazon Prime Now will drop a package outside your door within two hours. Not sure what to binge-watch next? Netflix has plenty of recommendations. You get the picture. Today’s consumers are so used to having things delivered, they’re spending less time seeking them out. Sure SEO best practices will launch you to the top of search engine results—but what if your content doesn’t even make it to the search engine? –HubSpot
Your audience can’t hang out with you if it doesn’t know where you are or if there’s nothing interesting for them to see.
We love what HubSpot says next as for why you need to start shelling out for content distribution. It’s not “a case of ‘everyone else is doing it, so you should, too.’ Rather, it’s a case of “everyone else is doing it, so you must do it better.” And the way to do it better is to make sure you are choosing the right channels and actually distributing your content—new, republished, even paid for content. These are all important!
According to Contently’s State of Marketing 2016, the content you’re putting out there that will get the highest conversions has is that content which generates the most interest and consumer engagement. That content is your high-quality, personalized content.
What do other top marketing entities have to say about content distribution, promotion, and paid content distribution?
We addressed the value of publishing across platforms and how important it is to be where your audience “hangs out,” in Why You Need to Be Publishing in Multiple Platforms, but just how much should you be spending when it comes to your content marketing efforts? We sorted through some of the top advice on the subject from leaders in the industry. Here’s what they say:
Our state-of-the-industry survey indicates that 70 percent of marketers spend under $1,000 a month on content distribution. There is a huge delta between the majority of content marketers and their most successful peers, who tend to spend a much higher share of their content marketing budgets—around 30 to 50 percent—on paid content distribution. For brands already creating effective content, paid content distribution is the best and easiest way to take a huge leap in 2016. –Contently
You’re certain that the content you’ve created is valuable, so why are you not seeing the traffic and conversions? Often the problem is down to distribution. Sure, we execute the usual activities: Share to our social platforms, send out an email campaign, encourage our employees to share. But what about new visitors? Where are they? This problem is usually caused by the lack of a proactive content promotion strategy. We do things that will nurture our current audience, but when building new relationships, we often shy away. –Content Marketing Institute
Only 26% marketers are investing in content distribution, even though more than half believe they need to. –Forbes
After hours of research and writing, you need to spend even more time promoting. The whole idea ‘create it and they will come’ doesn’t exist. If you have a goal of driving traffic and leads, you’ll need to dedicate a large percentage of your marketing budget towards content promotion. –Teknicks
It’s not just digital marketing that’s evolving, too. Consumer behavior plays a major role in the need for paid content distribution. As our society becomes more and more technology-dependent, consumers are spending less and less time going out of our way to find things online. These days, customers want the content to come to them – they’re not likely to seek it out. So unless your content is REALLY GOOD, people likely aren’t coming to your website on a regular basis to see if you’ve posted anything new. Which means you need to place your content in areas where your customer already is, such as Facebook, Twitter, and popular news and entertainment sites. –The Frank Agency
You might be behind on customer experience, and if you are, you are likely behind on how content distribution efforts and budget. Let us help you hang out where your customers are and provide them that experience they’re looking for. Email us: projects@thirtyfive.io
