Author: Sharan Ahluwalia

In Jonah Peretti’s words, “Content is King but distribution is queen and she wears the pants”.

The CEO of Buzzfeed and the co-founder of Huffington Post, Mr. Peretti believes in creating ‘shareable’ content, which has been the USP of the internet media company.

Content distribution can spread your story among a large pool of a very targeted audience. It can be achieved through many media formats using different channels. Even if you are confident that your content provides value, what good is that value if it does not reach your target audience?

Content Creation vs. Content Distribution

Some people might think that content distribution is not as creative as content creation. However, the fact that you have to be creative to distribute what you have produced, requires intricate knowledge of the infinite possibilities and methods in which it can be done.

Your primary objective after content creation is to circulate it to your audience. As important as content creation sounds, your efforts will get you nothing unless others can see what you have created.

In short, content distribution and a content distribution strategy is a significant step to see rewards for the efforts you make, and it demands lots of creativity as well. Social media giants such as Facebook, Netflix, and YouTube, etc have developed multiple tools and algorithms based on its user data to distribute content effectively.

Channels of Content Distribution

Driving organic data to your website or blog can be quite challenging. An excellent content distribution strategy can help you achieve that. When your audience organically accesses your content, you know that they are genuinely interested in you and are not forced to view your content.

Further, when the traffic is organically driven, the chances of people linking back to your content increases exponentially and we know what it means – more SEO traffic!

There are three main channels of content distribution today:

1. Owned:

This refers to disseminating content on your blog, social media, email broadcast, etc. Owned channels of content distribution help you build long-term relationships with your existing and potential audiences. You can engage with your audience using different social media platforms and create a dialogue with them by regularly posting on these platforms to attract more traffic towards your content.

2. Earned:

Here, the audience distributes your content via guest posts, product reviews, shares, retweets, etc. Earned distribution speaks volumes of your content because it provides “social proof” for you and your content.

3. Paid:

This form of content distribution is usually bought. Payments can be made in different forms, but it usually works on CPC (cost per click) model where you pay a certain amount each time somebody clicks to view your content. It can be done using different methods such as display ads, paid search or sponsorships. The major benefit of paid content distribution is that it can be scaled and controlled.

Designing a Valuable Content Distribution Strategy

Designing a valuable content distribution strategy and executing it well, will definitely add value to your business and its growth. Here is a quick guide to making a better content distribution approach.

1. Know your Audience:

Businesses always have a target audience, however, you never know whose ears or eyes the content may fall on. Identify active communities, groups and get involved while providing valuable information on multiple platforms and engaging in dialogue. For example Quora, Reddit, LinkedIn, etc.

2. Influencer Marketing:

Forbes predicts that Influencer Marketing will explode in 2017 as it is only the beginning of personal branding. Top notch brands are integrating with personalities who have a recognizable level of influence over audience and fans. For instance, in July 2017 WATConsult along with Motilal Oswal launched a digital campaign #TheOnlyTIP featuring stand-up comedian Mallika Dua and actor Manav Kaul.

There have been multiple instances of brands integrating with comedians, actors, politicians and other social media influencers to market and distribute content in order to reach a broader audience.

3. Earned Distribution triumphs over Paid Distribution:

You cannot purchase genuine interest and love. When it comes to building relationships, an earned distribution will leave a bigger impact than paid distribution. When people share your content because they relate to it and genuinely want to share it further, it builds an unbreakable chain. So earn it!

4. Identifying Distribution Channels:

Having a pre-defined set of targets and distributive channels, whether owned, paid or unpaid, will only help you execute your strategy well. Capitalize and utilize maximum channels in order to reach a wider audience. Explore!

5. Email Marketing is Still Relevant:

Newsletters, publications, white papers, e-Books or general greetings, e-mail marketing has been used for ages and it is here to stay. Make it exciting by using more tools and refining the way you land up in someone’s email. No Spamming!

6. Tools of Content Distribution:

In this day and age, there are multiple analytical tools to aid you in managing your distribution channels and strategies. Some of these are discussed later in this article.

7. Consistency is Key:

Consistency, and frequency of content distribution are as important as content distribution itself. You do not want your audience/potential customers to lose interest and become disengaged because of it. So keep at it!

Also Read: 25+ Trending Topic Ideas for Content Writing to Rank #1 on SERPs

8. Using the best the technology

Has to offer-Using AI in content marketing and content marketing resources.

Tools of Content Distribution

Here are some of the tools that can help in executing your content distribution strategy.

• MailChimp: Email delivery is one of the pillars of content distribution. It can be painful and time-consuming to write personal emails to each of your audience. MailChimp allows you to send automated emails, marketing messages and other content to your target audience.
• GaggleAmp and Amplify: With the help of these two tools, you can engage your entire company with content distribution. You can invite your employees to your Gaggle or Amplify and distribute your content.
• Curate it: Another tool that you can use to make your co-workers distribute your content. It focuses on email, and you can use this tool to provide daily content in the form of the newsletter containing your articles, blog posts, etc.
• Taboola and Outbrain: These place your content on a variety of websites and drive new traffic and readers to your work. Their main focus is to target the audiences that might be genuinely interested in your content. You can use these tools to your advantage
• Nativo: This is a native advertising tool. It circulates your content as sponsored posts on different websites. Its payment policy is different than other paid content distribution tools. It charges at Viewable Cost per Thousand or CPM rate and not the popular CPC rate.
• Social Media Sharing Tools: Sharing tools that allow you to access multiple digital platforms, have unique distribution apparatus and an integrated dashboard. Scheduling your messages is easy and your content distribution strategy is more effective with these tools. For e.g. HootSuite, Crowdbooster, Bitly, Social Flow, Social Oomph, etc.

You can also make use of many other tools including Oneload, Slideshare, Buzzsumo, Columbia, Tribber, Buzzstream, Medium and Click to Tweet.Here is a link with more content discovery tools to get you started.

To conclude, frequent quality content distribution aided by a solid content distribution strategyis the best way to attract organic traffic to your business. Identifying your business needs and formulating a content distribution strategy combining the best tools and methods will serve your business in the long run.

Consistent brand story telling must be achieved through an efficient content distribution strategy fostered by effective content distribution tools.

“The key ingredient to a better content experience is relevance.” — Jason Miller

The Global Marketing Leader of LinkedIn, Mr. Miller emphasizes the importance of creating relevant content over anything else. When it comes to content marketing, even the sky is not the limit anymore. The industry has transpired into another universe where contemporary distribution channels (TV, print) have been surpassed by the web, people, comedians, activism, politics, and all the rest.

Analyzing the trends, one can fathom some common factors that separate successful content marketing practices from the rest.

1. Narration and Storytelling

“Humans are not ideally set up to understand logic; they are ideally set up to understand stories.” Roger C. Schank

Remember the Vicks commercial that went viral earlier this year? Well how can we forget the story of Gauri and Gayatri? The 2017 #TouchofCare campaign left an impact much deeper than it initially intended, through a heart warming real story of a mother- Gauri. While the brand managed to create a strong case for transgender in general, Vicks successfully went viral with the content marketing campaign thanks to its compassionate story telling on the hottest issue of present day India – Section 377.

Many other global brands like Clean & Clear, Nordstrom , Myntra , Close-Up have not been shy to capitalize on these bold trends through content marketing. Even HSBC came out in support of the LGBT community at the 2016 Pride parade across Philippines, Canada, the UK and the US, adding a feather to its cap with the campaign’s viral video. Tapping on social issues and marketing the voice of people to the people has proved to be a successful brand strategy

2. Tapping Emotion through Content

Many brands are selling an experience rather than a product.

Emotional engagement by brands invokes a personal customer-client bond. As a result ,by investing into emotions through their content, companies are creating a lasting relationship with their audience. Let’s look at Airbnb’s digital marketing strategy. Ranked among the top 8 US start-ups in the $10 Billion Club by the Business Insider, Airbnb has advanced tremendously through marketing its content. The Digital marketing team distributes content through multiple channels like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, AirbnbMag and Blog.

The Local Lens section on Airbnb’s Blog is dedicated to individual narratives just like the Stories section on their website. Therefore, by selling a lifestyle through its Magazine, the brand has successfully put forth an experience, rather than a product. With its 2016 #Livethere campaign, Airbnb has topped the cake by becoming a people-community.

Other content marketing campaigns that instil an instant emotion in the audience, through their content whether happiness, sadness, fear or surprise, are more likely to go viral and become ‘shareable‘ in the social circles. Apple’s Earth-Shot on I phone highlighting Climate Change, Microsoft’s #MakeWhatsNext campaign video- Change the odds, Nike’s bold ad featuring female Arab athletes and #LikeaGirl campaign by Always are some of the best content marketing examples of the past year.

Therefore,by highlighting stereotypes, visualizing and marketing on relevant social issues and creating thought-provoking content, brands have understood the relationship between emotion and virality.

3. Meme Marketing

It’s a great time to be alive!

Let’s face it! We are the Meme generation and Meme Marketing is real. Memes are synonymous with our everyday conversations and they have become one of the content marketing trends of 2018.. You may run out of emotions but not memes to demonstrate exactly how you feel.Memes often lead to viral marketing campaigns. Another interesting observation involves brands successfully marketing to millennials . And, multiple brands are jumping on this burgeoning band-wagon to keep up with the trend.

Italian Fashion giant, Gucci couldn’t hold back on the meme magic and launched its TFWGucci campaign dropping bomb memes and amazing visuals for customers.

Even the Bangaluru Police couldn’t resist it.

Brands consistently generating shareable content through innovative methods are bound to gain popularity.

4. Comedic + Episodic Brand Integration

One of the turning points in the Indian Content Industry was stimulated by AIB (AllIndiaBakchod) and its growing like wildfire.

AIB has 2.5 million Subscribers on YouTube ,11 million views/month on every video, 6.34 Million Followers on Twitter and 3,551,870 followers on Facebook

Marketing intelligent content and packaging it with humor, wit, and satire, AIB has become the voice of Indian youth by targeting political and social trends. AIB’s formula for creating viral, shareable and relevant content has transformed it into an international sensation. Through each web-series, AIB has also successfully integrated top brands likes Snapdeal, Ola, Google Duo, Swiggy, Truly Madly, Hyundai, One Plus, Netflix, Hotstar, etc into its content strategy

It’s a win-win for everyone.

According to Arunabh Kumar, Founder & Group CEO, The Viral Fever (TVF), “Web Series” is not the future but the present of content marketing. TVF’s original web-series “Tripling”  is the perfect example of content marketing, integrating a brand into storytelling and narration. The Tata Tiago, TVF and Maxus collaboration crossed 12 million views by the end of its last (5^th) episode.

To conclude, brands have identified the soul of it’s audience and some of the most hard-hitting and thought provoking content have been the ones which tell a story, engage the audience and are relevant enough to go viral.

Most brands also use multiple channels and are winning customers one story and one meme at a time.