Promote Your Content Beyond Social Media

After hours of researching, writing, creating graphics, filming, or taping, you just finished creating a beautiful piece of content. This content will engage your readers, offer valuable insight, and offer solutions for annoying industry problems. It will change your viewer’s lives. That is – if they ever see it.   

If you thought your job is done with a piece of content the second it’s published, think again. It’s just the beginning of phase two! Because the phrase “content is king” has been thrown around for so long, the sentiment gained traction with businesses around the world. With everyone pumping out content, it’s more competitive than ever to get in front of your audience. Pair that with the reach of social media on a constant decline, and it’s the perfect recipe for minimal engagement.   

As a content creator, you have to get more creative than ever to connect with online viewers. That means you will have to step outside of your comfy social media box to get real results. Social media can seem like the only channel of content sharing, but it’s far from it if you are willing to dedicate some time to find new opportunities.  

You have the content. Now, it’s time to share it with the world.  

So, you just hit ‘publish’ on Facebook. Now what?  

Here are five ways to promote your content past just posting a standard post on your social media channels.   

Download our checklist of 30+ ways to promote content here.

Photo Credit: Google

Promote on your Google My Business Profile  

Your Google My Business profile is a great promotional tool that people can forget about. If you have a Google My Business, you have the opportunity to create posts that look similar to a standard social post, but they will show up when someone views your Google My Business profile.   

Google My Business posts last seven days, so that piece of content has a whole week to entice any viewers. These posts consist of a caption, an image, a link, and a Call To Action that you can choose from a list.   

Google My Business posts are great to use for content promotion because viewers don’t need to be on social media or your website to see there is new content. It also fills out and makes your Google My Business profile look more inviting. It is also a great way to show to potential website visitors that you create content and are constantly offering new info, instead of leaving your website content on a dusty shelf for years!  

Image Credit: HubSpot

Promote content in email newsletters  

Email newsletters are great for promoting new content. Individuals who click into your newsletters are actively looking for that new info, so they are more likely to be interested in your newer content than most. If they subscribed to your newsletter, they are interested in your industry expertise, company or organization causes, and offerings. This is an ideal person to reach with your newest content.   

Newsletters are great for promoting content because you can showcase your content as much or as little as you like. It could be a simple link within a paragraph, explained in a small blurb, available in a list of other pieces of content, or it could be the main newsletter Call to Action showcase with a flashy image and paragraphs of context.   

It all depends on what you think the content is worth, and what the newsletter priorities are. If your new piece of content is the most important info you want to share, you can make that the star of the newsletter!  

Here is an example of a link-building outreach email we sent to Outdoor Voices. It’s short, personal, and (in my humble opinion) humorous!

Build links or repromotion opportunities through outreach  

Building valuable links is one of the best ways to showcase your content because you can reap the benefits of that link for years to come. If that webpage that links to your content continues to have consistent traffic, so will your content.   

Link-building can be a daunting process – it takes time and rejection is a part of the process. But, if you create quality content and incorporate link-building into the creation process, you will eventually find some success. You also might get some repromotion of your content on their social channels to reach a new audience.  

If you don’t know where to start with your link-building outreach, just make it a habit to reach out to any company or individual you mention in your content. Write a short, personal email that is conversational instead of boilerplate, and explain why the company would want to link to or promote your content.   

Try some cross-promotion on your video and audio platforms  

You have a voice – use it! Whether your company has a video presence, manages a podcast, or does PR interviews, you can name-drop your newest or most important pieces of content in your other communication channels.   

This doesn’t have to be the overly-direct “go visit this page right now” rhetoric that can sound sales-y or desperate. You can weave it into conversation like “We just posted a blog post that explains this topic well” or “If you want to learn more, we created an infographic that will explain the topic in detail. It’s available on…”   

Make viewers and listeners aware of the content and give them the options to visit without being pushy. If you mention a piece of content on a video or in a podcast, make sure to link to the content in the caption so your viewers and listeners can find it easily. This can be as simple as saying “Discussed articles: ” 

Image Credit: Lasting Adventures

Feature it on your homepage  

Your homepage is the most important page on your website, and the information featured on it does not need to be static. Having a homepage with frequently updated information helps your company look active and like it’s constantly evolving and improving.  

Include a featured blog post/video/podcast/whatever section so website visitors will be able to see that content without needing to navigate other pages. This not only helps your pieces of content get more traffic, it makes your homepage more valuable and helpful to users.   

Having a featured section also means you can prioritize multiple pieces of content to showcase on the website, so your most important or most recent content can always have front-and-center attention.  

You worked hard on the content you create, so make sure you milk it for what it’s worth! By spending a little extra time on your content promotion strategy, you can extend your reach from a handful of regulars to several new audiences. As with most things – you get out of it what you put into it!    

If you need help creating a content promotion strategy for your company, reach out to our team!