Getting it out there – The 4 step process that’s guaranteed to get your content noticed
I often have small business owners come to me asking for advice. They’ve heard that “content is king” and have spent a lot of money to have whitepaper’s written and articles posted to their website. In their mind, they are doing everything they should be in order to get noticed by their target audience. They are sharing their expertise! So why aren’t they getting results?
These people are all missing a piece of the puzzle that just can’t be left out – content syndication. Having a successful business online these days is about more than just creating content. Once you create it, you’ve got to do something with it. You have to launch it out and away from your website! You have to get it in front of your target audience on multiple strategic platforms and share information that will lead people back to your site. You’re basically leaving a trail of breadcrumbs around the internet so your target audience will be able to find you more easily. You’ve got to syndicate!
Below is the 4 step process I use to syndicate everything from blog posts to videos. Follow each step – don’t skip one – and you will soon begin seeing the results you’ve been hoping for!
Step #1 – Create strategically valuable content
The content you create must be valuable to your target audience. This sounds pretty simple but very often quality gets left behind in favor of quantity.
I typically recommend clients begin by forming two large types of content. The first is lead generating content such as whitepapers, ebooks and reports that are intended to solve a pain their target audience is facing and showcase the client as an expert in this area. The second is informational content that is intended to share quality, helpful information that is valuable to their target audience and will showcase my client’s brand in a positive light. This content typically comes in the form of blog posts, articles, videos, etc.
Small content such as Tweets on Twitter and posts on Facebook, LinkedIn, etc are then created by sharing small snippets of information from the larger lead generating and informational content.
Your content must speak directly to your chosen target audience! It should be interesting, thought provoking, educational, inspirational or a combination of all of the above mentioned items.
Step #2 – Encourage sharing
If you are going to go to the trouble of creating valuable and engaging content then it only makes sense to let others help you share it!
Make sure you have a prominent RSS feed on your website/blog so those who are interested in your content can easily subscribe to it. Add Tweet buttons, Facebook “Like” buttons, “Send” buttons and “Share” buttons to your content so others can share it with their favorite networks. These are all very simple things you can do to ensure your content has the best opportunity for getting seen!
Step #3 – Interact
If you haven’t done this already then it’s time for you to get social.
Once you have great content and are allowing others to share it, you’ll want to begin connecting with your target audience, listening to them and sharing that value yourself! Sites like Twitter and Facebook allow you to join your target market’s community, connect with them and share information that they will find valuable. Social bookmarking sites like Digg, Delicious and Reddit are another great way to help your content get found with the right audience.
And never underestimate the importance of sharing a little of yourself as you interact in an online environment. Some of the best connections I’ve ever made were as a direct result of something personal, a quote, a sentiment or even just a kind word. Whichever sites you choose to use, you’ll want to ensure that you are there to interact and not just promote. People will be able to see through to your underlying intentions and your results will be directly proportional to how others perceive you.
Step #4 – Resources/Tools
You’ve got the basics of content syndication. Now all you need are the tools. And there are some really great tools you can use!!
Just a few of these great tools include Posterous, which allows you to syndicate your content simply by sending an email! Networked Blogs is another great Facebook app which allows you to syndicate your blog post to your Facebook newsfeed. TubeMogul allows you to syndicate your videos out to multiple online video sites with a simple click of a button!
Technology is a wonderful thing and the tools and resources available to help with content syndication just keep coming. I’ve put together a list of over 250+ tools and resources that were designed to support you in your efforts to syndicate your content among your target audience. Click here to receive this detailed list of over 250+ tools to help with your content syndication efforts http://bit.ly/kwJVFN
If content is King then content syndication has to be Queen! It’s as simple as that! Create the right content, make it easily sharable, interact with your target market online and ensure you have the right tools in place. Do all of this and marketing yourself and your business online will become infinitely easier!
