Too often businesses mistake content (e.g. blogging) as a traffic generation tool in itself when in fact it isn’t. If you write a blog and let it sit there, it is very unlikely to do anything. Even if you email it out once, post it twice on social media, that is not enough. This hope that you post a piece on content and then boom, you will increase your website traffic is, unfortunately, not how it things work.
It is often said that you should spend 20% of your time on the content and 80% on generating traffic. How long do you generally spend on promoting your content? Do you let it sit there on your site and hope it will attract an audience? Do you email it out once and post it on social media a few times? Well, if you do, you are not alone most people are guilty of this. However, you can change that with a well thought out promotion campaign for each piece of content. To get you started on we have pulled together seven of the top strategies that you can use to make sure you stand out from the crowd and get your content seen.
First Things First: Content
Before you begin, it is important you take the time to decide what you will spend that initial 20% of your time on. Will it be blogs, videos or whitepapers? Whatever it is, ensure that it is in a format that will appeal to your target audience. Also, make sure it gives them a solution that they may be seeking. This is what people are searching for really; solutions. See your content as a problem-solving exercise. Research your audiences’ challenges and then provide them with the answers.
Then it is time for the promotion…
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Facebook Ads
One of the most effective areas to grow a quick blog audience is through Facebook advertising. I know this may sound like it is expensive, however, it doesn’t need to be. For example, if you spend £10 on promotion you can get as many as 500 views of your blog at 0.02p per click, which is not uncommon at all. There are also incredibly useful targeting tools for you to ensure your blog is reaching the right audience. Another knock on effect is that if you have a Facebook page you will get a significant increase in likes on there through an ad campaign such as this. So, for as little as £10 you can increase your blog traffic and build your Facebook audience in one go. Adopt this as a consistent strategy and you will see amazing blog growth over time (here is a quick guide to get you started).
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Google AdWords
Google Adwords is similar to Facebook Ads in many ways. However, it has one major bonus in that you target your audience by what they search for. This means that you can ensure you are targeting the exact people that are looking for the solution you provide. This is a huge benefit when targeting your ideal customers. This may cost you a little more per click than Facebook but the targeting aspect may mean you attract much higher quality readers.
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SEO
It is often shrouded in mystery, but SEO is not as complicated as many people think it is. With a little research, you can ensure that all your content is maximised for Googlebot to notice it. There are various things for you to consider such as your keywords, images, layout and links. However, this is an essential tool to generate traffic and, if applied consistently, will provide unbelievable results over time. If you can crack the Google equation, the traffic you generate from that search engine will outweigh any other traffic generation strategies. With 3.5 billion searches per day Google really is where everyone is “hanging out”. To help you in your SEO quest here is a really handy guide to get you started.
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Guest Bloggers
One of the most effective ways to increase your audience is to tap into someone else’s. Take your time to cultivate relationships with other bloggers in your niche. Then ask them if they would mind doing a guest blog post on your website. They can then share it with their audience and help promote not only themselves but your blog too. You can, of course, reciprocate the favour and do the same with your audience for them. Also, perhaps it is worth adopting a few incentives to encourage people to contribute on your blog. This is a powerful, but simple and collaborative way to bring new readers in your community.
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Appear on Podcasts
Similar to the above, this is all about reaching a new audience through other people. With the immense growth in podcasts over the last 5 years, it would be crazy to ignore the potential benefits it could bring to you and your business. Much like with other bloggers, try cultivating relationships with podcasters in your niche or just reach out to podcasters with a pitch as to why you would add value to their show. This is a really great way to reach a new audience and have the chance to promote yourself as an expert in your field. If you are wondering where you might get started on this, here is a great article on how to do exactly that.
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Regular Social Media Posting & Engagement
It is quite surprising how many people think one or two posts on social media will suffice to promote their content. The reality is that it is simply not enough. You should be looking at twenty plus at least, spread across a few networks over a few weeks. One great way of making sure you do this is to make a template of how and when you will post your content. For example, I will post three times on Twitter and once on Facebook on each publication date, then twice on Twitter the next day, Then once again, and then again on Facebook, and so on. In addition to this, try writing a series of seven or eight headlines so you can alternate what you write in the post and keep the content interesting.
Having a system of posting like this makes it really easy to get your content out there. It also ensures you are posting enough to maximise the audience that sees it. Then your only job is to engage with people who comment or share it. Engagement on social media is paramount, so ensure you take the time to talk, comment and thank your audience.
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Ask Influencers to Share
Within many of your pieces of content, you should link to or reference other influencers’ work. This gives you a great opportunity to reach out to them and ask if they wouldn’t mind sharing your post or video. Something as simple as an email thanking them for their work, showing how you have used it and asking if they would mind sharing with their audience can prove extremely effective.
Writing content for a business can often take up a lot of your time, however, don’t let it eat into the more important job of promoting it. You are not alone if you have been guilty of not taking the time to get your posts out to as big an audience as possible. We hope these handy steps will help you build a system for promoting your content, that will provide you with higher traffic to your site and more interest in your business.
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