You spend a lot of time creating quality content so you want to make sure you’re reaching as many people as possible.
Too many people are posting content online for their business and getting no engagement. No likes, no shares, no comments. And we don’t want that to happen.
50% of content receives less than 8 shares when posted on social media. Between the algorithms and varying times people are online, the success of content marketing actually comes down to what you do after you publish your content.
The next time your content doesn’t get any engagement, don’t just assume it was bad content. It was probably really good! You just have to make sure you’re giving it the boost it needs to reach people.
To make sure your content is getting out in front of as many people as possible, try combining some of these tactics:
1. Share and then share again.
If you’re only promoting your newly published content the minute it goes live, you’re missing out on a lot of potential reach. Social media moves so fast (especially on Twitter), so sharing content multiple times a day has become an expectation for brands.
The more often you post, the more chances you have to grab the attention of someone who may have missed your post the first time. Just make sure not to go overboard. You want to share original content every time (don’t just repost the same copy over and over) and avoid flooding people’s newsfeeds.
Create multiple posts with unique copy, photos, and hashtags that make everything seem fresh despite linking back to the same content.
2. Use tags strategically.
We all know hashtags on Twitter and Instagram are a great way to increase a posts’ reach, so you should definitely be making the effort to research and use them. But tagging users is another great way to increase your reach. Tagging relevant users in your content is a smart way to conduct outreach and encourage other users to help you promote your content.
If you tag a relevant influencer or industry partner, they might engage with your content or give you a shoutout. For example, we usually tag clients when we share their content on social. This way, the post helps both of us get more reach.
3. Repurpose and recycle old content.
If you’re creating evergreen content, it’s reusable. (We have a whole blog post dedicated to evergreen content). Different types of content perform better on different social media platforms. So it’s important for businesses to find ways to repurpose their content. Say you had a data-heavy blog post that was really popular – use that content to create an infographic for Twitter. Want to start publishing on LinkedIn Pulse? Start uploading some of your old blog posts to their platform. Maybe you have a popular how-to video on YouTube – write an instructional blog post based on the transcript.
These are all easy ways to stretch your content and allow you to cross-post it (and make it relevant) to multiple platforms.
4. Create share-worthy content and prompt your audience.
“Good” content provides value to the viewer. A lot of brands notice that their “how-to” and problem-solving content performs the best. Your content should be actionable and easy to understand, and you want to make sure you’re giving them an opportunity to spread the word. Ask them questions, include a call-to-action, and include social sharing quick links. This all helps promote engagement.
The key takeaway from this tactic: create content that your viewer would actually want to share and then remind them to share it.
5. Pay for ads.
Unfortunately, sometimes you can’t rely on organic reach alone. You don’t always have to buy ads, but sometimes paid tactics are the best route. If you’re trying to build excitement for something like an event or a product launch, Facebook ads are a solid starting point. They help get your content out there with paid reach, which will also naturally increase your organic reach.
Effective content marketing isn’t just about publishing content. It’s also about consistency and promotion. None of these strategies are the “key” to increasing your reach and going “viral;” however, combining them will help you maximize your content and make sure you’re getting more views and shares.