When you’ve spent ages working on a really great piece of B2B branded content, you want to get the most value out of it you possibly can. But how?
Okay, so you’ve posted links on your website, emailed it to your mailing list and shared it on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. But if you want serious exposure, you can’t stop there. It’s going to take a lot more work, but it’s going to be well worth the trouble.
Here are six essential exposure-boosting tactics to work into a killer content marketing strategy.
Do a thought leader a favour
It doesn’t take a genius to realise that a leading influencer talking about your content to their followers will boost your credibility and widen your reach.
But if you want this person on your side, presumably so do a lot of other people in your industry, all of whom are bombarding them for favours that, at best, will get a cursory retweet - or at worst, will leave them with a bad taste in their mouth. Neither of these outcomes will do you much good.
Instead, think about what you offer that person – not what they offer you. Rather than begging for a retweet, take the time to contact them and explain the research you’ve been doing and how it would enrich their following, then offer to let them reuse or repackage it on their own blog, podcast, video, etc. for free – provided, of course, that it’s credited back to you.
Contact journalists in your field
Self-serving press releases are the bane of a journo’s life. That said, if you’re working in the niche they write about and you’ve produced some genuinely valuable content that sheds some light on the industry, this might be very welcome indeed.
Embeddable videos, whitepapers, survey results and infographics can all help you to generate coverage and point back to your brand.
Plan other content around it
One lonely little eBook won’t make waves by itself. You need to look at the bigger picture. What other content can you create around this topic, or using the research that you’ve already done? How can you press into other mediums, like video, podcasts, webinars, microsites? Can you blog about it? So long as you’re linking back to from each of these other sources, you’ll be helping to guide a much larger audience towards your original piece.
Share the limelight
It stands to reason that people are keener to share (positive) stories or other content about themselves than about other people. Work with that.
The more interviews, quotes, case studies and other references you make to important figures in the field, the longer the list of people that’s likely to promote it for you. Plus, it gives your work that extra stamp of authority.
Update and refresh it regularly
The better you future-proof your content, the longer it will remain valuable. But things change fast in business and exciting news today will be old news tomorrow.
Handle this by designing well-structured content that you can easily update and replicate. Maintain relationships with interviewees and researchers whose work you use. Next time, you’ll have a clear, efficient model that allows you to streamline production. Plus, it ensures consistency of style, message and output – essential for engaging your audience.
Reach out to your cheerleaders
Keep an eye out for those people who are always first to download your content. Who respond positively to a blog post. Who always seem to share your stuff. Who buy from you first.
Treat these people really, really well. Thanks them publicly on social media. Ask them for their opinions. Offer them VIP first access to new products, free gifts and other loyalty rewards. Once you’ve nurtured a team of cheerleaders, they will sing your praises to their network and grow your exposure for you. These people will be your greatest asset – so long as you don’t take them for granted.
For more great tips and case studies for your content marketing strategy, download the B2B Content Creation Masterclass.
