Content Marketing Reach: The Human Touch

17 Sources To Expand Your Content Marketing Audience

human reachWant to expand your content marketing reach? If so, apply the adage, “It’s not what you know but who you know.”

By distributing your content by platform, chances are you’re overlooking opportunities that can significantly enhance the breath and quality of your potential audience. Instead, focus on getting your message to the influencers and people who can amplify your message by sharing it with their networks.

When I was at The Economist, I asked my PR counterparts in the UK and Hong Kong to help extend my press release distribution. As a result, I got a quarter of a page story placed in the Sunday edition of South China Morning Post. This was a huge win since a major print media entity carried a story and interview of a digital business. 

Here are 12 categories of people who can help you expand your content marketing reach. While it can be as easy as asking them to help you, you need to establish relationships with them first.

People like to help others but they don’t like to feel used. So tailor your content to meet their audience’s needs. Remember you can’t appear to be pushy or promotional.

Internal

  1. Marketing. This department is often in charge of content marketing creation so that they’ve already lined up the relevant resources. If this isn’t the case in your firm, then talk with them and see where they think that the content should be distributed.
  2. PR. For key pieces of content, get help to reach out to bloggers and other media to support your launch.
  3. Sales. By their nature, salespeople are outgoing and in constant contact with prospects and customers. Provide them with useful information to incorporate into their communications.
  4. Customer service. Like your sales people, customer service representatives interact with customers. Categorize your content so that it’s easy to add to their emailings and social media engagement.
  5. Senior management. Bear in mind that not all senior executives are natural salespeople. Further many aren’t active on social media. That said, they often have high level contacts.
  6. Investor relations. Don’t underestimate the value of sharing information with investors.
  7. Employees. Get your employees to share your content with their circle of colleagues outside of your firm. It’s like expanding your communications team. Make sure that you provide guidelines for how employees should use your content marketing and represent themselves when distributing company information.

Corporate connections

Think beyond your internal audience. Consider the external groups of people you’re regularly in contact with.

  1. Prospects.  The people have raised their hands to hear from your organization,
  2. Customers. These are your past customers who should be interested in finding out more about your products and services. Consider positioning this information as special to give your best customers the velvet rope treatment.
  3. Fans. These are your biggest supporters who love you. They’re the ones who actively seek out your content. Give them advance peek at your key content efforts. Go one step further and invite them to participate in its creation.
  4. Influencers. These are the people with their own audiences, who love your product and talk about it.
  5. Suppliers. Don’t underestimate the value of sharing your content with the businesses that provide your firm’s raw materials. They may have limited access to content resources.
  6. Distributors. These are the businesses that sell your products and may distribute to an array of other businesses or be a end seller.
  7. Business organizations. Put together a list of the various organizations your company’s employees are associated with. Think industry (like the IAB), professional groups (like the AMA), local (such as Rotary and Lions) and conferences (Note: They often have blogs that are always in search of new content!): Create a centralized list of the associations to which your employees belong and the conferences that they attend. Don’t make it sound like a corporate mandate but rather position it to make them special.

Third party

  1. Social media. Integrate social media distribution via your company presence into your plans. Where appropriate, tailor your information to the platform.
  2. Guest writers. Often high profile members of a firm may write a regular column for an established media entity. Help them fill their pipeline by offering guest posts.
  3. Columnists. Build relationships with columnists in your niche. They’re always looking for new information to write about. Act as an always-ready-to-help resource. Use personal outreach rather than pushing press releases. (Please note that we don’t accept press releases!)

Of course, with people-based content marketing distribution, you need to tailor your content based on the group as well as training different audiences to modify your information. Remember: you don’t want to have a duplicate content issue for search.

What other audiences do you use to help distribute your content marketing?

Happy Marketing,
Heidi Cohen

P.S. Please join me on Tuesday, November 19th at 12 noon ET for #CMWorld chat.


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