You have just been struck by a powerful inspiration and just wrote a killer piece that everyone, including the President, should read.
After proofreading, spelling and grammar check, copy scan, and all the shiny formatting, it is ready to see the world. But then the world does not see. A thing. At all.
Yes, great content drives engagement but the sole act of publishing is not really going to do it. Unless, perhaps, Stephen King happens to pass by your site, reads your soul-draining piece and decides to share it.
Pretty unlikely, truth be told.
What you really could be missing is what is known as “content amplification.” This powerful technique, if used correctly with proper on-page seo strategies, can greatly increase your audience and bring more traffic to your site.
What is Content Amplification?
Content amplification is the process through which you bring your content from playing in the local amateur baseball league to hitting grand slams at the Major League Baseball.
Or, in more technical terms, it is the process through which you make your content reach a wider audience.
You do this through effective content amplification and promotion strategies. But how do you do this? We have collected a list of 12 strategies to bring your content to the World Series.
12 Content Amplification and Promotion Strategies to Help Grow Your Site
1. Amplify your Best Content
You probably believe that every single piece you write is simply super awesome. There is no problem with you thinking that except that its probably not the case. Sometimes, you write something and it simply does not do it.
This does not mean that the content was poor necessarily. It could also mean that the topic was not relevant at the moment or that people were just not looking for that.
Focus on the content that you know is relevant, important, and has actually generated some traffic. Consider investing money in promoting such content through social media and ad services.
2. Put Those Social Buttons to Good Work
Social media buttons are a good metric of how well your post is doing. They represent validation that your content is actually valuable.
But keep in mind that having those social buttons is not it. The numbers showing how many times the content was shared is the kind of juice you want. For this to happen, your content must be “juicy” enough for people to want to share it.
3. Participate in Forums
Taking part in forum discussion as a sage on your topic is a great way to generate traffic as you build trust. But don’t just launch glitter into the air and hope it lands somewhere. In other words, find forums that are relevant to what you do.
Reddit, for instance, is not a good place if you want to market your content. Instead, find forums where your topic is relevant and will be appreciated by like-minded people.
Consider these tips when joining forums within your niche:
- Focus on becoming a trusted member of a community.
- Get involved in the conversation and don’t just put links to your content.
- Post relevant links that people will find useful.
- Start discussions.
- Respond to questions better than anyone else.
When you become a trusted member of a community, a benchmark if you must, you will not have to resort to annoying marketing strategies.
4. Amplify your Content through Shoutouts
When you are writing a piece of content, quote or mention established authorities and well-known experts in the industry. You want to let them know, so use a shoutout so that they actually do.
This increases the chances of your piece to be shared as it adds credibility (If they said it, it must be true, right?)
This is also a good way of connecting your business with relevant names and brands. Also, you get to nicely thank other people for their brains.
5. Get Featured in Relevant Roundups
It sounds easier than it is. Getting your pieces on lists of authoritative sites will take some work. There is not really an exact procedure and no guarantee that you will always get desired results.
You want your piece to be shared by influential people. There are several ways to get that:
- Email influencers asking them to share your content via a link. It’s essentially a backlinking strategy. Consider that influential people get dozens, or even hundreds of emails every day, so be nice, short, and polite.
- Use social media to mention influencers. Mentioning an influence on social media might result in them clicking on your content and hopefully them reading it and sharing it. Sounds like a long shot? That’s because it is. But it is worth the try every time.
- Leverage your content through theirs. Use what influencers say as a starting point to your content. This is a great way to leverage the power of influencer marketing.
6. Post on LinkedIn
According to experts, LinkedIn is the place where leads are generated and, basically, this is where professionals gather. Chances are, you will easily find your niche and engage with them.
Take advantage of these opportunities to share your content on relevant spaces. Engage with other businesses and harness the power of collaborating with like-minded members of this virtual community.
7. Use Storytelling
Everybody likes to hear a good story. Even more a great one. Storytelling is effective in that it is a great opportunity to connect and engage.
According to producers in Pixar, a story must be able to connect to the audience at an emotional level. Stories do this perfectly, especially when your audience can effectively relate and connect with what you are trying to say.
8. Build your Blog Audience Through Content Syndication
Content syndication is an excellent way to build upon the effectiveness of your content amplification strategy.
What is content syndication?
Essentially, content syndication refers to pushing your content on third-party websites. It could be in the form of a full article, a snippet, or a thumbnail. Any type of digital content can be syndicated.
It is a win-win situation for both parts. You, as a content creator, get a link on another website, plus the potential of traffic. The third-party website gets relevant content without having to invest in it.
In the case of a full article, you can get this website to publish your entire content and give you due credit at the end with a link to your site.
9. Reach out for Key Influencers and Collaborate with Them
Amplify to earn links more than shares and mentions. Remember that it is links that will help build advocacy around your brand.
One strategy to get good signals from influencers and show them that you are the real deal is through collaboration.
Think of a project in which you can get the input from several industry experts as they discuss a topic you propose. For instance, create a piece that includes the opinions of experts. Send them a question and offer to publish the answer. Or, you could even ask them to get your business featured in their blog.
10. Contact people who Have Shared Similar Content
It is OK to ask for advice from those that have walked the path before you. Remember those forums you should be in? Use them to contact people who have shared content similar to yours.
What worked for them? Did they have to edit and/or update after the publishing? How did they connect their content to relevant sources? How about traffic?
Of course, you can use email outreach for this while you build a strong community. Plus, email outreach itself is something you should be able to master if you want your content marketing strategy to roll.
11. Amplify Your Content Through Paid Advertising
As we mentioned earlier, you will probably have to make an investment in advertising to give your content a good push.
Pretty much all social media channels offer paid services of promoting your content. In most cases, you can customize who gets to see your content and at what times. It is actually a great way to earn visits and amplify content.
12. Use Tools to Help with The Process
Now that we have the arsenal of strategies to amplify your content, we can consider content amplification apps. They are necessary to help boost your product and bring traffic to your site.
Some of these tools are free and others are subscription-based. A shortlist of those who have proven cost-effective include:
- Buffer is not only a social media scheduling tool. For once, users now have the ability to provide optional times to tweet or publish in any other social media.
- BuzzStream is an app with a huge range of features worth taking a look at.
- Little Bird allows the connection between you and influencers in the topic you are trying to educate people in.
Concluding Thoughts
We tend to think that everything we write will immediately become viral and conquer the world because it is THAT good. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. So you have to implement a solid content strategy to have a better organization of tasks.
