Since getting your content out there is one of the trickiest parts of content marketing, now is the time to try new things.
If the people who could and should become your customers aren’t exposed to your content, it won’t do you much good no matter how good it is. In the end, it is this group that must foot the bill.
Perhaps the most challenging aspect of content marketing is distribution, both because of the sheer volume of competing messages and because there is no foolproof “1-2-3” formula.
Marketers in the modern era increasingly rely on social media platforms for content dissemination. As a rule, this means using platforms like LinkedIn and Google AdWords PPC when selling to other businesses (with some Facebook and Instagram for good measure).
The question is, “Who can blame them?” These distribution channels are like microwave dinners for marketers; they’re simple to use and allow them to quickly and easily target specific demographics. Marketers are tempted by the prospect of using the wealth of information these platforms possess about their users (users are the real product, after all) — from our browsing habits and recommendations to our political leanings and voting patterns.
Reasons Why This Is Significant
- Excellent effort. You may now proceed with the distribution. If you want your content marketing efforts to be successful and reach your target audience, you’ll need to distribute it.
- Please put this to the test. Possible restrictions on the use of personal data in advertising could present an opening for innovative strategies and the exploration of untapped distribution channels on the part of marketers. Exploring options like advertorials, niche communities, and sites like Reddit and Quora can help marketers learn more about their target demographic and identify promising new distribution channels based on the results of their audience research.
- You could also use some common sense. To find the best medium for disseminating one’s content, it’s important to use one’s common sense, curiosity, and experimentation.
Exploring Alternative Data-Spread Mechanisms
But what happens if you turn off the data pipeline?
Meta (Facebook, Instagram, etc.), with European headquarters in Dublin, was reportedly told by a confidential EU privacy watchdog decision in December that it could only use user consent to run advertising based on personal data.
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Of course, there will be significant disagreement over what counts as “consent” under the GDPR and the UK’s Data Protection Act (DPA). However, it’s becoming clear that the data-farming-for-resale model may have a finite lifespan. All the major platforms, not just Meta, will be affected by this.
Numerous marketers will be troubled by this, but it is not the end of the marketing world as we know it. After all, salespeople have always made do with the channels they had at their disposal. By definition, we’re imaginative people.
In reality, this is an excellent chance to try something new, break out of your usual distribution routine, and discover what you may have been missing out on.
Without data-driven advertising, distribution is the same as it has always been: finding the platforms where your target audience spends time and distributing there (whether through advertising, partnerships, PR, whatever).
Finding the niche opportunities you’ve been overlooking for so long will undoubtedly require more digging. Unfortunately, this is not something that can be easily fixed with some code and a single click. Let’s discuss strategy.
You must begin where your target audience is.
Identify the primary online hangouts of your target demographic. There’s martech out there for that, of course. Useful in this regard is SparkToro, a tool for identifying your target audience by the websites, social media accounts, and hashtags they frequent.
However, that’s not the only option. Create a short, easy survey with a half decent incentive, and ask your current customers what kind of content they enjoy and where they find it.
