The current content marketing landscape seems to emphasize churning out countless blog posts of decent quality, targeting every possible keyword. It’s a race to publish faster and more frequently than competitors, akin to a galactic conquest. However, this approach often leads to noise and inefficiency. Even with original, high-quality content, focusing solely on quantity can harm your website’s search engine ranking. Duplicate content and keyword cannibalization become issues, and outdated content continues to clutter search results. Smart content marketers prioritize quality over quantity. They understand the importance of promoting content strategically. In fact, some dedicate a significant amount of time to promotion, sometimes even 80:20. That might mean investing an entire workday promoting a blog post that took two hours to write. While this might seem excessive, finding the right promotion-to-production ratio is crucial. This article aims to provide innovative content promotion strategies to maximize your efforts. The key is to identify the ratio that yields the best return on investment for your specific needs. Research indicates that companies publishing 16+ blog posts per month attract considerably more traffic than those with less frequent posting schedules.
Image via HubSpot Newer blogs with limited resources might need to prioritize content creation, perhaps allocating their time on a 20:80 ratio favoring content development. However, if your blog has existed for a while, consider these strategies to increase traffic to your existing content. Let’s explore these strategies!
1. Utilize Video for Social Media Promotion
Video marketing is predicted to dominate internet traffic, constituting more than 80% by 2019. Currently, video marketing mirrors the early days of content marketing - businesses recognize its importance but struggle with implementation. It’s an untapped market brimming with potential, much like a digital Fertile Crescent. HubSpot reports that almost 50% of marketers plan to incorporate YouTube and Facebook channels for video distribution in the coming year.
Image via HubSpot Tools and services now simplify video creation. Companies like Wistia enhance video SEO by optimizing transcripts and metadata. Free tools such as Lumen5 empower anyone to produce captivating videos effortlessly. For instance, we used Lumen5 to create a promotional video for our blog post, “14 Fun & Festive Holiday Marketing Ideas for 2017.”
Here’s a comparison: our top-performing tweet featuring the Lumen5 video versus one with a regular GIF.
16 additional engagements demonstrate the power of simple video content! A few lines of introductory text and lighthearted GIFs were all it took. Depending on your content, a summary video might be more effective than a teaser. If your design resources are limited, consider featuring your marketing team in a more casual video format, similar to Whiteboard Fridays’s approach. Longer, informative videos offer unique advantages. They’re more likely to be shared, drive traffic to your YouTube or Vimeo channel, and provide long-term value for your brand. However, comprehensive social videos might discourage clicks to your blog. If your goal is blog traffic and on-page conversions, try incorporating short, engaging promotional videos into your social media strategy, particularly through Instagram stories if you have the option to link-in-story.
2. Skip Headlines on Social Media
A sad and tasteless creation. By yours truly. A recurring theme in this article is to prioritize quality over mindless repetition. While writing numerous blog posts and spamming the same headline in countless tweets might seem deliberate, it’s ultimately unsustainable. For inspiration, look no further than SEMrush’s Twitter account. What sets them apart? They rarely waste valuable copy space on generic headlines. Observe the following tweets:
The second tweet, despite showcasing industry leadership, received less engagement. Why? The first tweet’s teaser copy required more effort; it wasn’t a simple headline copy-paste. Occasionally using standard headlines is acceptable. However, many social media managers face time constraints, rely heavily on scheduling tools, juggle multiple responsibilities, and get distracted by tempting online sales. So, what’s the solution? Embrace authenticity! Extract three or four compelling text snippets from your content for social media. Statistics and influencer quotes tend to perform well. Perhaps your writer crafted a captivating introductory line. The key is to treat your social media posts like paid advertisements. Imagine paying for each post, and you’ll naturally dedicate more effort, minimizing follower fatigue.
3. Explore Influencer Marketing
When companies collaborate with social media influencers, they’re essentially investing in credibility, tapping into established audiences they wouldn’t otherwise reach. This approach streamlines targeting, exposure, and audience nurturing.
According to DemandGen, the majority of B2B buyers (87%) trust industry influencer content more. This has implications beyond crafting effective Twitter copy. Requesting quotes from influencers before writing or citing their work strategically positions your content for potential exposure on their platforms. They might retweet your post or, impressed by your content, link to it in the future. Either way, your content gains access to a new and engaged audience. We’re not talking about trivial internet memes here.
This is about promoting truly valuable content! Outreach is crucial in influencer marketing. Numerous tools, like Followerwonk, can help identify influential figures in your industry. Once you’ve identified key players, reach out before writing (to request quotes) or afterward (to inform them about the mention). Experimenting with both approaches is recommended. Consider the statistics, studies, companies, and individuals mentioned so far in this article. Each presents an opportunity to broaden the promotion strategy for this very post.
4. Allocate Budget for Paid Promotion
An advertisement about advertisements. While numerous free promotional avenues exist, paid promotion, particularly through social media advertising, offers the quickest way to reach your target audience. With paid social, you control audience targeting, delivering your content directly to the feeds of ideal readers. One effective strategy is retargeting your most evergreen, high-traffic blog posts to users who visited your blog within the last 30 days. This fosters brand loyalty while providing content tailored to their interests. Utilize audience creation tools to target specific demographics and interests. Our efforts typically result in an average cost of $0.12 per blog visit ($0.14 for Facebook and $0.10 for Twitter). Take a look at one of our targeted Twitter audiences:
The first image highlights our targeted Twitter accounts (follower targeting) within this ad group; the second displays targeted locations. This particular campaign also targets men aged 25-54. Follower targeting is incredibly useful for reaching individuals connected to businesses similar to yours. Unsure about your target audience? Twitter provides insights!
A $0.12 cost per blog visit is relatively affordable across platforms. For context, the average cost-per-click (CPC) for B2B Facebook ads is $2.52.
However, newer blogs with limited budgets might need to prioritize other promotional methods. For a comprehensive guide to paid advertising, refer to Quick Sprout’s insightful resource here.
5. Provide Valuable, Non-Spammy Comments
Comment sections are often saturated with spam links, irrelevant remarks, and negativity, making authentic engagement a rare gem. Become that source of value! While some believe in initially withholding promotional links when commenting, there are countless blogs with moderators overwhelmed by low-quality comments. These moderators would welcome a genuinely valuable resource. Here’s an example of an excellent comment from a recent post about AdWords budget adjustments.
A genuinely useful script for budget pacing. Not only did Nils receive a positive response from our typically stoic author:
but he also earned unanimous praise as “Comment of the Week” in our team’s Slack channel and a special mention in this post. Well done, Nils! The takeaway: Be genuine, identify blogs that would genuinely benefit from your content, and contribute actively and authentically.
Final Thoughts…
Content promotion is about connecting with your audience authentically. Refine your approach, carefully selecting where you present your content. Before moving on to the next keyword, invest time in promoting your existing content effectively, allowing it to flourish.