Driving The Right Engagement to Your Kickass Content

The most frustrating thing that a content creator could ever face is the slap-down feeling of having great content with little to no engagement. You’ve got it all checked out, you have a solid piece that’s backed up by research, and it’s basically a treasure chest of good value and information. The only thing missing is the main reason why you put it out in the first place—people and views.

Tom Whatley of Content Marketing Institue breaks down a couple of workable ways to have people catch on to your content. Whatley did an interview with several B2B head honchos to ask about the most effective techniques to promote content. Of course, the cycle of putting out your stuff out there doesn’t stop once you hit publish. It’s an ongoing process of marketing and re-marketing that awesome piece you’ve got dancing on your palms.

Work With Influencers

One of the main reasons why your content isn’t getting enough engagement is because of the saturation of the exact same shit that you’re posting. So, in the vast realms of good content, what you’ll have to do is to be your own cheerleading team. PR the fuck out of that content! The best way to operate a no holds barred marketing strategy is to link up with the top influencers in your area.

Meltwater Head of Marketing Perri Robinson says that “no matter how good your content is, what matters is how you are distributing it.” This couldn’t be truer. The way Robinson handles this strategy is simple—she has a rock-solid relationship with bloggers, social media influencers, and journalists. We’ve previously written a piece about this, and it just proves that influencer marketing definitely reaps tremendous benefits for your brand.

“We do this by monitoring which social media channels people are engaging with, as well as the themes and messaging that is resonating the best,” says Robinson. “Sometimes this differs depending on the channel. I create a dialogue. For example, I’d say, ‘I found tip five really useful, have you thought about doing this as well?”

Focus On One Topic of Expertise

To help drive more engagement to your content, it’s best to zero in on a singular topic that you can practically explain and discuss while cooking, reading a book, and playing the goddamn PS4. HubSpot’s head of marketing, David Fallarme, advises content creators to narrow down on a singular topic. “Let your personas drive your target ‘topic clusters’ based on search volume estimates and competitiveness of those clusters,” Fallarme explains.

All your research and expertise should be devoted to a topic that you’re sure can deliver the most value and insight. Often, this could lead to you capturing that niche’s audience.

Bring Out Your Best

Nope, this is not a bullshit positivity mantra. This is about taking your best content to new heights by advertising it intensively. Most business owners today take to paid ads on social media (mostly Facebook and Instagram) to effectively market their content. It’s not a 100% effective way to drive engagement, but it does bring in the traffic and views that you need.

So, to get the desired results, you have to spend your budget wisely. Gaetano Di Nardi of Nextiva shares that in order for your paid ad to give you favorable results, you have to think of spending it on high-value matters.

“Facebook Ads have really moved the needle for us, but we choose to only spend on high-value initiatives like e-books, webinars, and conferences,” Di Nardi says. “These are the things that tie back directly to lead generation, growth, and attendees at our events.”

In other words, your content should not only be great but also something that could be used by the people in your target demographic. It’s better to focus on the individuals that your content would land on, rather than just focusing on a collective or a business.

Make Sure Your Content Can Be Translated Into Other Formats

Sure, you have awesome blogs that talk about specific topics extensively and with fervor. However, it would surely give you more engagement opportunities if you can use this blog into some other kind of content that’s shareable and relevant. For example, if you have a previous high-performing blog, you can repurpose that into a video. This form of content is currently the king in terms of social media engagement, so it’s just right for you to adapt the blog into a more viewable experience.

If All Else Fails, Automate It

Dominik Elmiger, a digital marketer and professor at the Chartered Institute of Marketing, encourages marketing automation as a tool to help you win over your audience more successfully. “It is about getting the right message to the right person at the right time – this is contextual marketing,” explains Elmiger. “The technology is now capable of truly delivering relevant and personalized user experiences.”

Taking advantage of the right triggers for your content would prove very beneficial for your content’s automated blast. Elmiger also adds that “triggering could happen through dynamic content modules on your site, promoting content to those who need it the most, or through emails, tailoring content to people who have expressed an interest or to a persona or industry sub-segment.”