One ingredient essential in building your brand and generating a strong customer base is content.
You must strive to create not just great content but one that goes viral. There are many secrets to creating viral content , and one of the toughest to master is the method of amplifying your content across social media channels.
Even if you use the varying number of content forms available and connect well with your target audience, your content can easily get lost in the massive ocean that is the internet — if you don’t amplify it. So how do you do that? Here are 10 strategies you must employ to ensure that your content stands out.
Encourage websites to link your content
With over 27 million pieces of content shared every day, you are bound to find a good number of blog articles, social media posts and videos that are similar to your creation. Many of these might already have hit big numbers in terms of views and social shares, but may lack certain information that your article or video contains.
The thing about content is, there is always room for improvement. When you find similar pieces, copy the URL and paste it on 'Open Site Explorer'. Doing this will give you access to all the sites that have used that content. Contact these sites and explain that you have content that can add value to their already existing ones.
Publish via Linkedin Pulse
Articles are written, published and shared every minute, but if you are writing for a niche audience and especially when your end goal is to promote your business, you’ll need a platform that supports and promotes your content in a quick, seamless way.
Enter LinkedIn Pulse. Using a similar blog-like formula seen on Wordpress, LinkedIn Pulse lets you create and promote content to all your business peers and to anyone who is new to LinkedIn and shares an interest in your line of work.
Be active on Quora
When it comes to online forums, Quora is the best there is. No matter what the topic, there is always an active discussion on the platform with loads of credible information.
Sign up to Quora and select topics to narrow down your target audience. When you’re all set, make it a habit to actively answer questions with samples of your existing content, and also providing links to your website or social media page. Quora answers are highly trusted and backed by Google search. This can add great value to your content and boost your website ranking.
Give ‘shout outs’
Sometimes, you may come across existing pieces of content that can prove useful for your own. In such a scenario, make sure to link the source of that content.
Everytime you publish your creation, mention credible sources. If you’re promoting a video, give a ‘shout out’; if you’re promoting on Twitter and Facebook, make a hashtag mention of the source.
If the source has a huge follower base, the chances of your content being viewed multiple times increases. This method of content sharing is essential as it helps build contacts in the online business world.
Request for a place in Industry roundups
Roundups are a collection of the best pieces of information about an industry. You can search for relevant roundups by limiting your search results on Google to a month prior to the current month. Pitch your content to the them, and if you’re lucky, they will select it.
Roundups are targeted towards the professional crowd of a particular industry, so this is a great chance to connect with a niche audience.
Sneak peak of content
As you near the end of an article you’re reading or video you’re watching, you would notice a bar slide across the screen, prompting you to explore further pieces of content that are similar.
This is achieved by a cool tool called Sniply, that links content together. You can drive conversions from one piece of content to another by creating a custom message that doubles up as a button prompt.
Follow pages that share third party content
Pages such a NowThis, WhatCulture, ScoopWhoop and Buzzfeed are hugely popular and known for their quirky, interesting and share-worthy content. If you 'like' and follow these pages, you will be able to spot other users who constantly share the content. If your pitch to the social media pages doesn’t pan out, you can always try and contact the users who share a lot.
Get acquainted with influencers
Influencers are everyday bloggers and vloggers who regularly update their followers on the latest trends in a domain of their choosing. Influencer marketing is becoming one of the most-used marketing techniques in recent times due to the supreme levels of credibility and trust that audiences have with their influencer. Find the right influencers that share content relating to your domain and get acquainted with them.
Join LinkedIn groups
LinkedIn is aptly called the ‘Facebook for professionals’. It is the best social media platform to use if you wish to connect with a niche audience. Just like Facebook, LinkedIn has a number of groups that are categorised on the basis of industry or profession. Do a quick search for such groups and request to become a member. Once you’re in, start posting your content. The more groups you are connected with, the wider the reach of your content will be.
The strategies mentioned above are used extensively by some of the best content marketers on the planet. Some of these strategies are bound to evolve, while others may become redundant. So keep yourself updated on the latest trends in digital marketing .