Top Content Distribution Mistakes to Avoid

It’s no secret that content marketing is a fool-proof strategy for driving customers to your website and social channels. In fact, according to the 2021 HubSpot State of Marketing Report, 82% of companies reported using content marketing. 

Though content marketing is being used by a vast majority of brands, that doesn’t mean most of these brands are using it effectively. And in this digital age, content must be both engaging and distributed correctly in order to be effective.   

What is Content Distribution

Content distribution refers to the channels through which pieces of content are spread. These include your website, blog, social media handles (i.e. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, Twitter), email blasts, and more. 

If there’s one thing you should take away from this blog, it’s this: not all content pieces should not be spread on every channel your brand uses. In other words, your brand should make strategic decisions for the placements of the content you create.

The reason? Different channels have different types of audiences and thus require different types of content to effectively convert cost-effectively in relation to your marketing goals. 

Why A Strong Content Distribution Strategy Matters

Consumer fatigue is real. We are constantly being bombarded with branded content – in both obvious and sneaky ways. Branded content inundates our TikTok feeds, Facebook timelines, email inboxes, and Google search results. 

As content creators ourselves, we aren’t telling you to avoid content marketing. Quite the opposite. We think you should create content and implement a distribution strategy that makes sense for your brand’s audience. The best way to avoid consumer fatigue is to create and distribute content that your ideal customer wants to see. 

Three Common Content Distribution Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Ineffective content distribution strategies lead to content pieces that are expensive, time-consuming to create, and don’t reach many people or the right people. We outlined three common content distribution mistakes for your team to avoid in order to achieve the results you deserve.

Insufficient Content Planning

Organic content performs better than more contrived content, but that doesn’t mean your content strategy should be left to the will of the universe. Branded content that blends seamlessly into its distribution channel might seem effortless, but achieving that seamlessness actually takes a lot of initial planning.

To avoid insufficient content planning, consider outlining the marketing goals of content pieces. When a prospective customer sees this piece of content, what should it encourage them to do? These goals could include increasing brand awareness, driving traffic to the website, informing a new audience, or creating sales.

Content plans should be specific and include goals that are individualized to your brand’s target audience segments. Customer personas, channel-specific distribution plans, and social media content calendars, as well as aligning with relevant content creators, will help you optimize your content marketing campaigns. 

Inaccurate Audience Research

Brands often do not accurately understand the demographics, needs, and motivations of their target audience. This lack of understanding can lead to the use of ineffective distribution channels.

Having a detailed understanding of your ideal customers will help determine the channels these customers interact with most, the content they want to see, and when they would most likely see it. 

Inaccurate audience research can lead to content that differs from what resonates with the audience, is shared at the wrong times, and is distributed in formats that don’t align with how the customer spends their digital time or makes purchasing decisions.

Here are a few general audience types and some content distribution plans that would be effective:

• The audience is Gen Z female students with part-time jobs. Reach this group with short videos demonstrating the product and influencer testimonials on TikTok.
• The audience is mid-to-late sixties retirees with disposable income. Reach this group with informative video content on Facebook.
• The audience is entrepreneurs struggling to balance work and home life. Reach these people with LinkedIn articles and eye-catching email campaigns.

The bottom line: if you’re trying to reach retirees with funny TikTok videos, you’re probably missing the mark. Know your audience and where they spend their digital time in order to reach them more accurately.

One-Note Channel Strategy

You should always diversify content depending on the target audience, campaign goals, and results from past campaigns, but did you know that you can re-share content pieces?

One beautiful thing about content marketing is that individual pieces of content can often be shared across multiple channels. For example, YouTube videos can be embedded in blogs, blogs can be sent out in email campaigns, and TikToks can be repurposed on Instagram as Reels. 

It’s important to note that just because content can be distributed on multiple platforms, that does not mean it should be. To avoid a one-note content strategy that falls flat, cross-posting content requires planning and finesse.

The key to reusing content is optimizing it for each channel. For the same reason why it’s vital to understand your brand’s target customer, it’s also important to understand the ins and outs of your content distribution channels. If you want the content you spent all that time and resources creating to lead to something beneficial, it must be distributed in ways that demonstrate variance. 

Optimize infographics to fit the square image aspect ratio that defines Instagram feeds, grab a quote from a blog that intrigues email subscribers just enough to read more on the website, and PLEASE don’t share horizontal videos on TikTok. The goal of content distribution should be seamless channel integration, so reuse those content pieces correctly.

How to Avoid These Content Distribution Mistakes

Now that you know some of the top mistakes brands make when distributing content, it’s time to create a distribution strategy of your own. A marketing agency can provide more personalized advice on how content marketing could drive results for your brand.

At Crimson Park Digital, we use an SEO-focused approach to create strategies that attract the exact lead or customer your business needs. Our content marketing management services include services customized to what your brand needs. Click here to request a free content marketing consultation.