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Content distribution is a term that is often used in marketing circles with no specific details. Yet the right distribution is often largely responsible for the success of content.
Content is king, distribution is queen. In other words, good content is significant, but practically useless if no one notices it.
Ahrefs estimates that almost 90% of all websites receive no traffic from Google. And why? Because marketers generally prioritize production and leave content distribution to the broader marketing team.
Since corporate website content usually doesn’t get enough attention anyway, in this article we’re going to prioritize content distribution in connection with the own website.
What Content Distribution Means
Content distribution, by definition, is the process of getting your content out to your audience in a variety of formats across multiple channels and media platforms.
This distribution of content is an important part of the entire digital marketing strategy. It can increase brand awareness, solidify brand authority, and help build a loyal fan base.
By gaining access to a wider audience, you also increase the chances of media mentions, backlinks, and social media shares, as well as drive traffic to your website.
More importantly, a comprehensive content distribution strategy increases the profitability of content marketing for your brand by increasing online visibility.
Why A Content Distribution Strategy Is So Important
The right content distribution strategy builds a framework for creating, maintaining, and most importantly, distributing content.
A well-thought-out strategy brings all stakeholders together and ensures that everyone works together efficiently. It also establishes benchmarks against which to measure distribution performance.
You can build a general content distribution plan using roughly this template:
- Research the target audience.
- Review the content.
- Choose appropriate distribution channels for all content.
- Decide on adequate content types.
- Set KPIs and goals for content distribution.
- Create an editorial calendar.
- Create appropriate content.
- Market the content.
- Measure and analyze results.
Different Types Of Channels For Content Distribution
There are three primary types of content distribution channels:
- Owned media
- Earned media
- Paid media
These generic terms refer to the form in which content can be distributed. In recent years, social media, which are often referred to as shared media, have increasingly come into play.
Which ones are used depends on the target group, the content formats, and the tools available.
Owned Content Distribution Channels
Owned content distribution channels are those that a business has full control over. In other words, the marketing team is responsible for publishing all content through these channels. Examples include company websites, blogs, email newsletters, videos on YouTube, etc.
These distribution channels are safe and valuable because as a company you have total control over the content. However, the content created here must be always adapted and highly usable on various devices.
Nowadays, you don’t just have to worry about the design of a classic company homepage, but also consider that websites need to be displayed correctly on various mobile devices.
Shared Media
These are the profiles in various social networks already mentioned above. Although they also belong to owned media, they are subject to somewhat different rules than, for example, a corporate blog or a company’s website.
On LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and the like, the company merely owns a profile. However, this is subject to the rules of the social media platform. Why is this difference important?
If a company invests all of its time in building a channel on a platform it doesn’t own, changes to the platform can dramatically impact the effectiveness of content distribution.
That’s why it’s recommended to first focus on building branded content distribution platforms, such as your website. After all, here you have more control over the distribution process.
Earned Media
Earned media is when others share your content without your direct influence. This is advertising that is organically derived from promotional efforts.
This type of promotion can be the result of marketing efforts such as public relations and direct media outreach or organic amplification.
For example, if you publish an article on LinkedIn that goes viral and is shared by thousands of people, you have earned that distribution.
The distribution comes from the quality of the content you publish.
Earned Media includes mentions in articles or word of mouth, for example. Reddit, Quora, online communities, and online product reviews can also be part of Earned Media when people talk about you without your intervention.
Paid Content Distribution Channels
As the name suggests, these are channels that are paid for to get your content in front of the right audience. Some of the options for paid distribution include:
- Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising
- Social media advertising
- Paid influencers
- Sponsored content
- Display ads
- Press releases via a press service
For example, if you promote your content via Facebook Ads, you can set the budget and estimate relatively accurately how many people will see and click on the content. You can also track the performance of the campaign in real-time.
Often, the content you create falls into several of these categories. This is because, on the one hand, the transitions between owned, paid, earned, and shared media are fluid, and on the other hand, the individual channels can only reach their full potential together.
Example: You shoot a video and upload it to your YouTube channel. Here we are already talking about both owned media and shared media. If you decide to monetize the video, it also falls under the category of paid media. If the video is ultimately shared by third parties, we are talking about shared media.
This interaction of two or more media types is called Converged Media. A good content marketing strategy, therefore, does not focus on just one channel but juggles all four channels.
The Most Important Tools For More Efficient Content Distribution
A content management system is about facilitating content marketing thanks to software.
A CMS is a software application that allows users to create and manage a website. It also helps in the collaborative creation, editing, organization, and presentation of digital content.
Probably the best-known tool for this is WordPress. The open-source CMS is so popular because even people without programming skills can use it and the program is free.
Other popular content distribution tools and software include Outbrain, Hootsuite, and Mailchimp.
Especially website maintenance is often neglected in content distribution. In times of social media and influencer marketing, many companies focus on shared, earned, or paid media and forget the important part of the corporate website.
Topics such as SEO for the corporate blog or responsive design are often overlooked. However, these topics play a major role when it comes to content distribution and can now be managed well thanks to some tools.
Using a CMS to create and manage the website can help it grow with the times. Not only does it store all web content in one place, but it also supports cross-team collaboration, allows for quick and easy updates, and provides templates and extensions for customizing a website.
Reasonable Website Content Distribution With a Headless CMS
So what is this headless CMS all about?
A headless CMS is also known as headless software, headless system, or decoupled content management system. It is any type of backend CMS where the content repository, the body, is separate or decoupled from the presentation layer, the head.
This means that a headless CMS allows you to manage content in one place and deliver that content through any frontend. These features come into play when it comes to content distribution or even responsive design.
After all, content is usually no longer published via a single website these days, but must function and be available simultaneously in an app, on various websites, and additionally on various end devices.
Headless CMSs are key to omnichannel strategies because they allow you to integrate content into any system, software, or website. Instead of manually adjusting information on countless subpages, you can get the job done with just one click.
Thus, headless CMS essentially differs from the above-mentioned utilities.
Since WordPress is the most widely used CMS software in the world – around 62% of all CMS-based websites use WordPress, we at GREYD have been looking for an easy solution to create global content on WordPress. That’s why GREYD.SUITE puts you one step ahead of other WordPress users.
It allows you to use WordPress almost exactly like a headless content management system. You have no content design restrictions and can customize any type of content across all channels.
Global content allows you to always display certain content on all pages and display different content individually for each site or device’s website.
GREYD.SUITE is the first WordPress suite that is natively built on this and thus has all the necessary functionality already integrated in one tool. It offers you a content distribution service that is otherwise only possible with complex headless CMS.
Through the central administration, you’re saving time, because changes need to be made only once and are automatically transferred to all websites. In addition, your content is always displayed appropriately, so you no longer have to worry about the design on different devices.
GREYD.SUITE offers you possibilities that go beyond the well-known WordPress standards. Create websites faster and according to your taste!
Bottom Line
Content distribution is an essential part of any digital marketing strategy because it increases brand awareness, creates loyal followers, and encourages your target audience to use your products or services.
Since your website acts as a sort of digital business card, this content, in particular, should not be forgotten. The visitor should always have access and insight to any content, regardless of whether they obtain it from the corporate website or an app. Regardless of the end device, your website content should always be attractively prepared and available.
Are you hooked yet?
With GREYD you can actively experience the further development of WordPress and learn how you can use the tool even better to your advantage.
