If content is king, distribution must be queen

Written by Amanda Rose

Internet marketing wisdom has long held that content is king — and it is. But there are roughly a billion blogs out there producing content. That’s one for every seven people across the globe. So there’s no point in producing content (even brilliant content) if it’s not getting in front of people.

Just like the tree falling in the forest without sound, if no-one is reading your content, watching it and engaging with it … was it even produced at all?

Okay, maybe that’s a stretch, but you know what I mean. That’s why I always say that content is king, but distribution is queen.

Certainly, we need to spend the time and effort to produce content that only we can produce. And gone are the days where we fear our competition reading our articles, or watching our videos. In fact, we want them to. We want everyone consuming our content — not least because it signifies that it is valuable to the industry we’re working in.

That’s the king taken care of, now to the queen.

When it comes to distribution, we are in a position today to create our own publishing channels — such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, iTunes for podcasts and YouTube for video — along with making the most of online blogs and traditional media.

However, proper distribution means getting this content in front of as many of the right people as we can, that we classify as our audience (current and potential). This may be 50 to one person and five million to another. But whatever the number, it needs to be hitting the right eyeballs and ears.

Content and distribution, king and queen together, it’s a royal example of teamwork.

Here are some ways to ensure your content is being distributed.

1. One piece of content can be communicated via a range of mediums. For example, if you write a blog article it can also be used for a podcast, a video clip, a social media quote and also as your points for a presentation or workshop. Just one piece of content.
2. Choose the right distribution channels. This is key. Consider the best way for your content to be distributed. Is your content better suited for traditional industry media publication (such as an association)? Or is it suited to online via a blog? It is better to approach an external media outlet with your original piece of content before you start using social media channels.
3. Build a following or make the most of the one you have. If you have a following on LinkedIn then be strategic in using it to promote your content, especially if it has more views than your actual website. Same goes with your social media platforms. Use them strategically, people are following you for a reason, don’t disappoint them.
4. Share other content. If you are looking for others to pay attention to what you produce then make sure you are also paying attention to what other people produce and share it on your platforms. This will show your audience that you are a leader in your field while also building behind the scenes alliances with other like-minded content producers.
5. We have a world that is hungry for quality content with a unique voice in a time where we have an ample amount of options to distribute such content.

So get writing, get recording — and get it out there.