Content amplification is an important part of your content marketing strategy. Not a stand-alone tactic, it works with your optimization and distributions strategies to maximize your reach and increase conversion rates. Consider that 50% of posts get less than 8 shares (according to a BuzzSumo study) and TrackMaven found that 42% of professionally marketed blog posts get less than 10 interactions.
The concept is straightforward – to increase your reach, traffic, and engagement by aligning all your promotion and distribution efforts toward a common goal. Amplification of your content is a powerful strategy that has the potential to deliver extraordinary results.
Definitions
To amplify something means to increase the volume or signal – think magnify, intensify, or boost as synonyms. While a single definition of content amplification might suffice for some, I found the slight differences of focus interesting in the following definitions:
The use of paid, owned and earned media in promoting content in efforts to increase brand reach and to encourage new and existing users to move through the sales funnel.
A multichannel approach to promote and distribute content through paid, owned, and earned media.
The process of helping your content reach a significantly wider audience.
The process of increasing the impact of your content across a wide variety of channels to increase interactions with your ideal qualified people.
Whichever explanation works best for you, they all either directly state or intimate a multichannel approach. And it really is the use of a mix of different media channels to reach the largest potential audience.
Paid media: search, programmatic, influencers, social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
Owned media: blogs, websites, emails, your business social profiles, and email marketing.
Earned media: user-generated content, free influencer marketing, and press coverage at industry events.
Buyer’s Journey
In addition to channel consideration, content amplification strategy should also be catered to your audience just as your content creation is. Center your efforts around your target audience, their needs, and wants. Take into consideration channels they use, content formats they most engage with, and where they are in the funnel.
The role of content in the Awareness phase is to create a connection with consumers. This can be done through paid search and social, influencer marketing, press releases and other types of media coverage.
Content aimed towards consumers in the Consideration phase should answer questions they might have. Businesses can utilize organic social, email marketing, as well as paid and programmatic search to reach these consumers.
The role of content in the Decision phase is to validate consumers’ choice through paid social, paid search, influencer marketing, and email offers. Understand the target audience, the channel that will be most effective, and the role of the content given the audience’s place in the buyer’s journey.
Strategies
There are a number of different strategies that may be employed to successfully amplify your content. The following are just a few of those strategies:
Use social communities to amplify your content. Look for local business associations with social media profiles and join key groups. Be sure to share others’ (high-quality) posts to be seen as an interactive member of those communities. Take advantage of niche communities, too. Become a collaborating, contributing member. The more valued you become in the community, the more likely others will share your content.
Engage in tactical tagging of industry leaders or influencers. Give a shout out (@so-and-so) to anyone you quote or reference in an article. Let people know they’ve influenced you, build those relationships, and increase the chances of having your work shared.
Be aware of the calendar and aim for maximum impact with your content amplification. Holidays can hurt or hinder, depending on your content and timing.
Spend a bit of money on content amplification sites like Reddit, Quora, and any niche forums you have available to you.
Engage in targeted remarketing instead of blanket remarketing. Choose a group of people who share characteristics like age, interests, or purchase decisions – whatever is relevant to the content you plan to amplify.
Native advertising features your content on a wider network of publishers and in a more discrete manner. Based on targeted user search behavior and previous interests, this type of advertising is better received than blatant banner ads or a more traditional presentation of your content.
Encourage sharing or other action. Ask questions at the end of your post, include a call to action of some sort, or include quick links to social sharing. Pew research found that the median American uses three or more different social platforms so be sure to include smart social buttons on your posts. This sort of sharing also provides you with social proof which can increase traffic.
Content Amplification Tools
There are also a wide number of tools available to assist in your content amplification efforts. Some are basic, others quite involved, some are free, others expensive – it all comes down to your budget and the individual needs of your organization.
BufferApp or Hootsuite type tools can help maintain the freshness of your social profiles. They are excellent options for pre-scheduling social media posts and then understanding who is clicking on what. These are not effective options, however, for expanding your reach as they rely on your having an already established audience.
The IZEA ContentAmp takes your content and shares it with influencers on the platform. Those who think it is a good fit for them can choose to share it with their own followers.
If you are a business to business company, consider utilizing LinkedIn’s amplification tools. The platform offers options of sponsored content, text ads, and sponsored InMail.
If you are looking for a reason to invest in paid search, know that HubSpot found 75% of users don’t get past the first page of results in a Google search.
Spend a bit of money on paid promotion like Facebook Ads and promoted tweets. This will put your content in front of not only your followers but others as well. The average Facebook user spends 35 minutes per day on the platform. An added benefit of paid Facebook Ads or promoted tweets is that they take advantage of a channel you have most likely already established.
Outbrain is an advertising platform that presents your content unobtrusively as native ads. It embeds links with high-authority publishing sites making it an excellent traffic-driving tool. This option is best used by Internet-based business as it includes a network of websites like CNN, ESPN, and Time with international reach.
It goes without saying that you should amplify your best content, not all of it. Work with the content that is relevant, timely, and value-added across a wide segment. Instead of focusing your content on the topic of the week, focus on things that make content conversation-worthy. I can appreciate a post and choose not to interact with it in any way. However, when a post strikes a chord, it becomes personal and I comment, I tag someone, or I share it. The emotional connections are what create relationships.
Sometimes, most of the time, organic traffic isn’t enough. It takes a combination of strategies and techniques working together to see results from your content marketing efforts. There is no proven formula for content amplification. Consistent, relentless pushing of high-quality content aimed at your targeted audience is key for success.
The experts at Strategy Driven Marketing are ready to help you with your content marketing and amplification needs. Contact us today for a free, 30-minute consultation. We look forward to partnering with you and helping you grow your brand to the next level.