Once you’ve published a piece of content, most people kick up their feet and tick it off as being a ‘job done’. But this is why most people don’t get anywhere near the number of readers and social media shares that they deserve.
Whether you’ve written a blog post or released a premium piece of content, like a PDF download, your next goal should be to get people to read it. Thanks to your personal networks on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, it’s as easy as ever to share your content.
If you can follow these next steps, or even just do a handful of them, you’ll attract a much bigger audience in no time.
1. Add the URL to bit.ly
This way you can track the analytics and measure your content’s reach. Bit.ly will also tell you how many people arrived at your content via Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn and what country they were in. These are cool stats that will guide your future content efforts.
2. Add it your email newsletter
New content is perfect material to send to your email subscribers. I’d recommend sending a weekly email if you’re writing a weekly blog post. It can be the feature piece that you build your newsletter around.
3. Email it to your work colleagues
If your colleagues and friends like your content, ask if they’ll share it via their social networks and email.
4. Email it to people you mention
Very often you’ll make mention of someone you know personally or know of – and it’s courteous to ping them an email once it’s live. And if you don’t have their email, @mention them on Twitter so they know you’re tweeting their praises!
My unwritten rule here is never ask for anything in return like a backlink or tweet. They’ll know you want one, and if it’s good enough quality, they’ll share it with their network without you having to ask.
5. Email it to people you’d like comments from
A good blog post usually has a few comments, but the first one is the hardest to get. So kick things off by asking a few trusted advisors to read your article and post a comment if they feel they can add something insightful. Remember to share the love by reciprocating and commenting on their blogs when the time comes!
6. Post it to Facebook
You most likely have a company Facebook page which is perfect for your business-related content. There is also your personal Facebook profile, but it’s your call whether you post your work content to friends. Some prefer you not to, but others see great results. It’s up to you.
7. Post it to LinkedIn
Your company LinkedIn page is also an ideal place to seed your content. And your personal LinkedIn is a much more accepted place to be sharing your ‘work’ content since most of your contacts are in your ‘professional’ network.
The hidden asset of LinkedIn is definitely the groups. Once you’re a member, you are able to add links to your content and start discussions with a new audience. There are literally thousands of groups on LinkedIn, so go ahead and join a few related to your business.
8. Tweet it
Tweet it from your personal account, your company account and see if your colleagues will share too. If you want to get adventurous, try using a free tool like Hootsuite or Buffer to schedule a few tweets at different times during the night so followers in different time zones don’t miss out.
Of course, if you’re a true social media diehard, add it to Google+, Pinterest and Instagram too.
9. Say thanks to the people who share it!
If you’re friendly, polite and remember your Ps and Qs you’ll slowly build a community of happy readers, prospects and customers!
If you want to attract more clients with your content, please feel free to download the Content Marketing Checklist. And let me know your thoughts in the comments. Thanks!
Adam Franklin is the co-author of ‘Web Marketing That Works’, a professional speaker, and co-founder of Bluewire Media.
