For a long time, focusing on search intent and organic traffic was all you needed to be successful. That still holds true for organic traffic.
However, organic traffic is only one part of the complex puzzle that is digital marketing. As the adoption of content marketing has grown, so has competition for search terms and audience attention – especially in competitive industries. A lot of content pollution muddies the ocean of content marketing.
Let’s talk about a scary scenario: What happens when organic traffic isn’t driving the results you need to bring your business success? Or when you see results but not enough to make your boss/CEO/manager happy with your content marketing ROI?
The bottom line: If content is not converting on its own, it’s hard to prove the ROI of content marketing.
This doesn’t mean you should stop creating content. It just means that our ability to use channels outside of organic traffic to deliver our content to desired audiences has never been more essential. As competition for organic rankings climbs, so should your ability to think ahead.
In other words, don’t think that your work is done after creating content. Instead, adopt this philosophy: The very best content marketing strategy can only go as far as a great content amplification strategy will take it.
In fact, when we looked at a client of ours, we found that 50% of its traffic over six months came from a variety of sources other than organic:
- Paid search
- Display
- Direct
- Referral
- Social media
If we had focused on an “organic only” solution, we would have missed valuable traffic, leads, and conversions for their business. That’s why content promotion and distribution (or as we refer to it – content amplification) is a must for any digital marketing strategy.
What is content amplification?
Content amplification is a multichannel approach that uses paid, owned, and earned media to promote and distribute content. The goal of amplification is to increase your brand’s reach while encouraging your audience to move seamlessly through your sales funnel.
Content amplification is not a one-off task. It’s an in-depth practice that requires a lot of work to get right. Amplification is about making your owned, paid, and earned media efforts work together to drive the best results for your business. To get started, there are a few things you must do.
How to start amplifying your content
1. Determine your goals and KPIs
Make sure to establish obtainable goals with content amplification. Ask:
- What do you want your content to accomplish for your business?
- How do you want your audience to react to the content you promote and distribute?
- Which channels do you have access to right now?
- What’s the best-performing content on your site?
- Which channels are performing best for your site?
Here are some KPIs and suggested goals to measure throughout your content amplification efforts:
2. Understand your customer’s journey
Using a cross-channel content strategy to re-engage your customers along their path to conversion is how you…
