Ultimate Guide to Content Distribution Strategy (2022)

10 min readMar 4, 2022

To really make your online business take off, you need to understand both the importance of creating quality content and marketing. You can’t just concentrate on one side and expect the results to magically appear. So, here I will go over Content Distribution Strategy which is a crucial strategy that can help you achieve the success of your business.

With the web touching $100 trillion in 2021, content is king. And what king needs are loyal citizens for their kingdom to flourish. Right?

Content Distribution Strategy: The Ultimate Guide (2022)

A study revealed that 42% of marketers found it hard to generate leads from online content. The reason?

Most businesses focus 100% on creating great content and 0% on distribution.

So, content distribution is very important for brand awareness, traffic, sales, and much more.

But what is content distribution, anyway? Let’s find it out.

What is Content Distribution?

There are three pillars of modern digital marketing: SEO, social media, and content. While SEO works to improve organic visibility and social media is used to build brand awareness, content is the most important part of any inbound marketing strategy.

Content is an integral part of the entire buying cycle. It helps build trust among your target audience while educating them about the problems they face. It also establishes your brand as an industry leader and a trustworthy advisor.

But how do you get your content in front of your target audience? That’s where content distribution comes in.

Content distribution can be defined as a process that helps you deliver valuable content to the right people at the right time so they can take action. Let’s dig deeper into what it means and how you can use it to promote your business.

Types of Content for Distribution

Your content distribution strategy is only as good as the content you’re distributing.

Unless you have a dedicated audience of subscribers, followers, and fans, your content might fall on deaf ears. And even if you do, they could get bored of the same type of content over and over again.

That’s why it’s important to create different types of content to keep your audience engaged. Some will be more effective than others at attracting new audiences, but all are important to maintaining a healthy balance between acquisition and retention.

Here are the most popular types of content for online distribution:

Articles and blogs
Images (photos, infographics, memes)
Videos (YouTube, TikTok)
Podcasts
Influencer or guest posts
Email newsletters
Success Stories
Case Studies
Whitepapers
Landing Pages
Ebooks
Templates
Checklists

And the list goes on. Professional content types like blog posts, social media updates, and infographics can help you reach and engage with your audience online. By using these content types, you can improve your web presence and connect with more people.

But first, be sure to use all of the content distribution channels available to you. It will require some effort on your part, but it’s important to know which channels work best for your business. Use both free and paid content distribution channels to maximize your reach.

Paid Content Distribution Channels

Paid channels are a successful choice for content distribution. The most popular paid content marketing channels are:

Social Media: The more followers you have on your social media accounts, the better your chances of getting your content in front of them. To achieve this, many brands create social media ads to promote their content and drive traffic to their website.

Paid Ads: According to a report from HubSpot, paid ads are one of the most effective ways to spread content. Google Adwords, Facebook Ads, and Twitter Ads are some common paid ad services that marketers use to promote their content.

Free Content Distribution Channels

Content distribution channels are the ones through which you share your content. Depending on your target demographic, the channels you use may differ. You usually have two options for content distribution: owned and earned media.

Owned Content Distribution Channels

Owned content distribution channels are a type of content distribution channel where the content is hosted on your own website. Owned channels don’t generate direct traffic to the website and rely on external links to get traffic back to the site, but they can have other benefits in addition to driving traffic. Your blog, newsletter, and social media presence are all examples.

Earned Content Distribution Channels

Earned content distribution channels have a direct impact on your content being found by people who share it. Bus, they are the most underutilized aspect of content marketing. They shouldn’t be, because they provide both 1) value to your audience, and 2) great SEO benefits.

There are a variety of earned distribution channels that can help promote your content. Some examples include bloggers, review sites, relevant forums, and more. By harnessing these channels, you can increase awareness and reach for your content.

How to Build Your Content Distribution Strategy

According to a study by the Content Marketing Institute, only 30% of B2B marketers and 41% of B2C marketers have a documented content marketing strategy.

This is an alarming number because, without a content distribution plan, you won’t be able to achieve your content marketing goals. A content distribution strategy shows you the path to success for your content. It helps you understand where to focus your efforts and allocate your resources.

The success of your content depends on its reach and engagement. A good distribution strategy helps you to reach more potential customers who could become future leads.

But, Why is the content distribution strategy essential?

Content distribution and marketing strategy are essential for a number of reasons.

First, content marketing is an effective way to build relationships with customers and prospects. By creating and sharing valuable content, you can connect with your audience and earn their trust. This can help you to convert leads into customers and create lasting relationships with your customers.

Second, effective distribution is critical for getting your content seen by the right people. If you don’t have a plan for getting your content in front of the right people, it’s unlikely that it will reach its target audience. Distribution planning and execution are essential for success.

Finally, content marketing and distribution go hand in hand. If you want your content to be successful, you need to have a distribution strategy that amplifies your content and targets the right people.

Here’s how to create your ideal content distribution strategy:

Go for the Perfect Content-Type

Every type of content has its advantages and disadvantages, depending on your goals and target audience. So, go for the type which best suits your business.

Audit Your Content

The first thing you should do is audit all of your past content. You will analyze your content performance, successes, failures, and further opportunities. Then, you will identify what works best for your users and what doesn’t work at all.

Understand Your Audience

If you want to make sure that your content distribution strategy is effective then you have to understand who are your readers. You need to know their demographics, interests, needs, behavior, and preferences if you want them to engage with a certain piece of content or not. Once you segment them properly, only then can you start distributing the right content through the right channels to the right people at the right time.

Choose the Perfect Content Distribution Channels

Once you’ve identified what works best for your users, it’s time to choose the right channels for distributing this content. There are so many different places where you can share it. The important thing is to make sure that you’re choosing the ones where most of your audience hangs out.

Start Distributing and Marketing Your Content

Based on the previous step’s results (and other data about your audience), start distributing the best performing content on social media platforms and other websites that present high value for your business. As a part of the distribution process, you should also start marketing the same content with paid ads to get more traffic from search engines and social media platforms (such as Facebook and Instagram) as quickly as feasible.

Set KPIs and objectives for content distribution.

The first step is to establish what you want to achieve with your content. Prioritize your goals, so you can focus on the most important aspects of your content marketing campaign. Before you start distributing your content, you need to know about the results you want from it and how to evaluate them when they are achieved (or not).

Analyze the Results and Act Accordingly

It is not enough just to distribute your content and wait for the results. You should always check how well it is performing, so you can make adjustments if needed. And you can only do that by collecting data about:

The engagement rate — shares, comments, likes, etc.;

The traffic — how many people are visiting your site;

Conversions — whether or not people fill out the forms or buy products.

Content amplification and distribution platforms

These platforms allow you to distribute your content to other sites, reaching new audiences and boosting the visibility of your content. Basically, these platforms allow you to syndicate your content by making it available to other websites that are looking for great content to share with their audiences. For example, instead of looking for websites that will link back to your site, you can use these platforms to reach out to them directly and ask them to publish your content. Some of these platforms charge a fee for the distribution, so make sure that you are prepared to pay for it.

Social networks and influencers

By far the simplest way to promote your content is by sharing it with your audience across social media. If you have a relatively small following, this might be all you need to get some good traffic from your content.

You can start promoting your posts as soon as you publish them. Just share them with your audiences and ask them to share it with their followers. You can also leverage tools like ContentStudio or Buffer to schedule social shares over time.

Social Media Engagement

Another effective way to promote your content on social media is by engaging with your audience. For example, if you create a video, you can engage viewers by asking questions and encouraging them to answer in the comments section. You can also publish polls, ask for feedback, and even start live discussions around your topics.

Social engagement is a great way to get more people interested in what you’re sharing and encourage them to share it with others. It will also increase the views on each individual piece of content, which is a positive signal for search engines. The best part? Unlike many other methods of promotion, engaging with your audience costs nothing but time!

Reach out to the people you mention in your posts

It doesn’t matter if you publish an amazing post, if you don’t share it, no one will read it. Outreach is one of the most important ways for bloggers to get their content noticed, which is why we’ve dedicated an entire section on outreach to this guide!

If you’re writing about a topic that’s relevant to other people or companies, don’t hesitate to reach out to them and share your work. It’s best if you mention them in your posts as they will be more likely to respond and share your posts with their network.

Mobile app push notifications

Mobile apps are one of the newest ways of distributing content because they’re relatively new still. While they’re on their way to becoming mainstream, there are still many people who don’t use them regularly. However, if you have a great mobile app or if you follow a business that has one and sends out push notifications about new content, then chances are high that you’ll see those notifications. This is an excellent way for distributing your content because it’s easy for people to open notifications on their phones and check out the new information.

Email newsletters

Email marketing is one of the most effective ways for distributing your content because it allows you to reach out to people directly. People are subscribed to email newsletters because they’re interested in what you have to say. They don’t want to miss any new content you publish, so they want it delivered right into their inboxes. But don’t forget that you should only send out an email when there’s something interesting for your audience, otherwise they might not open your emails anymore.

Blogs and podcasts

Blogs and podcasts are a great way to distribute your content. If people follow your blog regularly, they’ll get notified when you publish new articles. Podcasts work in a similar way. Many listening apps will notify users when their favorite podcasts publish new episodes. If you produce valuable content, people won’t want to miss it, so they’ll listen to it as soon as possible.

Conclusion

Start thinking outside the box and asking yourself questions like, how will you spread the word about your business? Where will you distribute your content? How often should you post? I have done my research and found answers to these questions to build a solid content distribution strategy. If you want to know more, I welcome you in the comments section!