You have a well-crafted blog post that is ready to go. You know it is good because you spent the time up front, considering the right topic, crafting the headline, bringing in compelling imagery, linking to other relevant content, and writing and rewriting the post until it sings.

Guess what? That is only half of the task.  You also need a thoughtful content promotion strategy to get your blog post in front of people.

There are five elements to consider in an effective content promotion strategy:

1. Your Website

Posting your blog post on your website is the first and simplest thing you must do. You need to have a single location you can use to drive traffic back to as you promote your content. Make sure to include a catchy headline, compelling imagery and any relevant links to other content that you want on the page.

2. Email, email, email

Sending your blog post through email should be the bread and butter of any content promotion you do.

Hopefully, you already have a list of emails for people who will find your content interesting, relevant and useful. Perhaps they subscribed to your blog and other company announcements. That list is a good place to start, but don’t stop there.

If you’ve reached out to an expert or obtained a quote from someone, make sure you email them (either the URL or the entire post) and encourage them to share it, too.

Also, you can even add a link to your blog in your email signature block.

If you’ve partnered with other organizations be sure to have those organizations include your blog in their email to their subscriber list.

3. Social Sharing

It is fairly easy to disseminate your blog post is through social media. The most often used channels for B2B are your company’s LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook pages. But don’t be shy about sharing it among your personal accounts, as well.

Encourage your employees to share your company’s post, too.  Tag the people who wrote the post and any quotes provided, as well as your company.  Remember to use hashtags around the subject matter and keywords. The more people who see your post, like and favorite it, and then share or retweet it, the wider you cast your net.

Cross-promotion is key in social media. So be ready to share others’ posts, link to external content and offer to write guest posts.  The more you share, others will likely share too of your content.

SEE ALSO: 5 B2B Content Marketing Techniques to Revamp Your Marketing Strategy

4. Keyword and SEO

Making sure your blog is optimized for search engines was probably an aspect that you considered before writing it.  You should have examined your current SEO keyword rankings and identified keywords for which you want to improve your ranking.  Then you’d use those in your blog post.  When it comes to the promotion of your blog post, remember the keywords you identified in the beginning to write about so that you can use those same keywords when promoting the content.  Keywords can have hashtags added to them and they should be included in the text of social posts. 

5. Paid Promotion

It is also possible to pay to get your content in front of the right audience. Several websites can help with content promotion. Outbrain, for example, promotes your content as recommended articles across leading publishers like CNN.com, Slate, and ESPN.  Your content is pushed out across these prominent websites to encourage engagement and exposure. Google Display offers a similar method of content promotion that is keyword-based.

Of course all of these methods serve a purpose. You disseminate your content, not for the sake of just sharing it. It should always lead to a bigger picture of increasing your SEO, your authority in the marketplace, and generating new sales leads.

Additional Resources

• Download Hinge’s Content Marketing Guide for Professional Services Firms for tips on creating content that builds credibility and demonstrates expertise.
• Get a copy of our Online Marketing for Professional Services book to learn techniques that will generate more leads and increase awareness of your firm.
• Join us on LinkedIn for more insights and resources on content marketing.

How Hinge Can Help

Content marketing is at the heart of Hinge’s flagship Visible Expert℠ program. It is the leading marketing program for delivering greater visibility, growth, and profits. This customized program will identify the most practical offline and online marketing tools your firm will need to gain new clients and reach new heights.