7 Steps To Promote Your Content So More People See It in 2022

Ideas for promoting content is one of the perennial questions we get from our followers. So we’re sharing a totally new, seven-step plan that will help your content be seen while enabling you to crush your marketing goals. Here we go:

Step 1. Write a pillar page.

Pillar pages are receiving more attention these days and with good reason. Topic cluster content marketing addresses people’s ever-shifting search habits and the ever-changing search engine algorithms to keep up with their needs.

The combination of overview pillar content, in-depth cluster content, and robust hyperlinking provides the kind of information architecture that could improve your ranking on the first page of search engine results pages (SERPs):

• Experts say Google prefers it when you create a clean website experience where the hyperlinks make sense and tell Google exactly what each piece of content is about.
• Just one high performing cluster content page can elevate the search rankings for all other cluster content that’s linked to the same pillar page.
• HubSpot is seeing an increase in their rankings when they use more internal links.

Check out our recent article, Pillar Pages: What To Do Next To Get Found On Google, for more.

Step 2. Create a piece of gated content that relates to your pillar page.

Gated content is any type of content that people can only consume after they exchange their information to get access.

Companies are using gated content to improve their insight into their customers’ behavior, get relevant measurables for analytics and email list segmentation, and increase lead generation and eventually sales.

• 82% of marketers are also looking to increase lead quality
• 80% of B2B content marketing assets are gated 

Read 5 Ways Gated Content Improves Your Lead Quality for tips on getting the most from your gated content.

Step 3. Create a video related to your pillar content and teach one thing.

The statistics for video marketing effectiveness are über-encouraging:

• Video content is 1,200% more successful than other content.
• Viewers on social media absorb 95% of a message watching a video compared to 10% reading text.
• 94% of consumers watch explainer videos to better understand a product or brand and 84% decide to make a purchase after watching.
• Marketers see a 34% increase in conversion rate when video is used in an ad campaign.
• Video helped to generate leads for 84% of marketers and 99% are planning to continue using video content in their marketing.

It’s why you should create multiple videos if you have multiple things to teach related to your pillar content. When producing any of them, it’s important to optimize the video for the following:

Search results – Incorporate relevant keywords in your video title, meta-description, and tags to give it the greatest chance of showing up in search results.

Mobile watching - Statistics show viewing video on a mobile device rises by 100% every year.

Each social platform you choose – Do include a strong call to action to persuade your audience to do exactly what you want them to do.

Our recent article, Five Ways To Promote Your Videos, offers more information to help get your videos seen and help you achieve your marketing goals.

Step 4. Create social posts that include quotes from your pillar content, a visual call-to-action for your gated content, and snippets from your videos.

Producing your pillar page is just the first step. Marketing it strategically on social media can improve your results for interacting with current and potential customers, developing brand loyalty, and growing your business:

• The latest social media statistics for 2021 show that 48% of the current world population are social media users, 3.78 billion worldwide.
• 73% of marketers stand behind their social media marketing as “very effective” efforts for business growth.
• 54% of social browsers use social media to research products.

With the explosion of mobile usage and mobile apps, social media is growing in terms of its reach and impact and companies are continuing to include social media in their marketing strategies. Sharing content on social media is one of our 5 Tips For Successful Content Marketing. Click on the article to learn more.

Step 5. Build a series of email campaigns to promote your pillar content and your gated content.

People often wonder about the effectiveness of email marketing. But these numbers on people’s email habits don’t lie:

• 99% of email users check their inbox every day, sometimes 20 times a day, and 58% check their email first thing in the morning.
• 91% of women in the U.S. use email, compared to 89% of men.
• 74% of Baby Boomers think email is the most personal channel to receive communications from brands, followed by 72% of Gen X, 64% of Millennials, and 60% of Gen Z.
• 59% of Millennials primarily use their smartphone to check email, while 67% of Generation Z scans their inbox on mobile.
• 20% of retail, e-commerce, and consumer goods and services companies are personalizing emails based on gender, race, and ethnicity versus 11% in 2019.

To get six ways to immediately improve your email marketing strategy and send better emails, check out our recent article now.

Step 6. Create drip marketing campaigns for your pillar and cluster content over the course of three months.

Drip marketing campaigns are different from other database marketing campaigns in that the timing of the messages follows a predetermined, often automated schedule and the messages are sent, or “dripped,” based on the recipient’s resulting actions. They enable you to stay in touch with people and nurture your relationship based on how often they visit your site, whether they opened your previous emails, when they sign up for gated content, and other behaviors. Drip messages can also be personalized.

The most commonly used form of drip marketing is for your emails; however, create drip campaigns for your social media posts and include a campaign just for the videos you produce, over the course of three months. Here’s why:

• Although 81% of companies use nurture campaigns initially, only 29% are nurturing their existing customers beyond the first purchase.
• More than 90% of consumers say they’re more likely to buy from companies that recognize and remember them.
• The single message autoresponder email had a 98% open rate and a 37% click-through rate.
• 60% of retail, e-commerce, and consumer goods and services companies are personalizing their drip email campaigns based on past purchases, versus 38% in 2019.

If you’re looking for ideas for your drip marketing campaigns, check out our article, Twelve Killer Ideas For Lead Nurturing Campaigns And Tips For Creating Them.

Step 7. Repeat and measure effectiveness quarterly.

To track the effectiveness of your pillar page and content measure and track the following metrics:

• Domain Authority - for your pillar topic
• Monthly search volume
• Relevancy
• Sessions and New Sessions - more sessions means more visitors
• Average Session Length/Duration – tracks engagement
• Bounce Rate
• Inbound Links
• Contacts Created from the Page
• Customers Created

You can monitor metrics using Google Analytics and use other tools to map activities back to contacts and customers in your marketing and sales software. If you're using HubSpot, the Content Strategy tool can help you plan, track, and optimize your pillar content.

If you also want to track the overall effectiveness of your website, review our recent article, 7 Metrics Every Successful Website Should Be Crushing.

11outof11 for Content Promotion

If you need help with how to promote your content or with any of the seven steps outlined in this article, connect with 11outof11. Request a complimentary call with an 11outof11 expert. Contact us to learn more.