Do More Than Just Create Content. Use Content To Build An Audience
How you distribute your content is as important as the content itself.
In the race for clients’ attention and engagement, content marketing by communications agencies has become more sophisticated, more competitive and ultimately more useful.
The content that marketers are developing today rivals editorial in many ways. But the content itself is only half of the equation. The other half is distribution and audience development.
In our previous piece about content development (review it here), we touched on the various types of content and the ways to build an audience for it. We made an analogy based on the philosophical question “If a tree falls in the woods and there is no one there to hear it, does it make a sound?” The last thing we want is our content to be that tree. So, having an audience for your content is as important as the content itself.
The differences between organic content and paid distribution.
There are two types of content distribution methods to build your audience
Organic content
Paid distribution.
Organic content distribution will help you establish your brand’s voice, engage with current clients and followers and, to a lesser extent, reach out to potential clients. If your content is of high quality, organic distribution can potentially allow you to communicate with your audience at scale and do it relatively affordably. Organic distribution includes:
Owned platforms, such as your own website and social media.
Email strategies.
Earned and shared media platforms that agree to distribute your messages.
Paid distribution on digital platforms is essentially advertising featuring content that’s either easily recognized as advertising or reconfigured to look like content. Think of a display ad on a website versus an organic-looking social post (that has been “boosted” to reach more viewers). Both are paid distribution. And each is meant to elicit a different reaction. The format is selected based on your desired reaction or the goal of your campaign.
Unlike organic content, paid distribution generally has more potential to help you find new clients as well as reinforce your relationship with current clients and followers. Using the platform’s targeting capabilities (LinkedIn and Facebook have sophisticated targeting tools), you’re able to zero in on potential new clients or current clients that would benefit from receiving your message.
Importantly, paid content distribution comes with additional support mechanisms such as creative and target optimization, testing, target modelling and enhanced analytics. Paid distribution will:
Allow you to target new clients.
Reach larger audiences (depending on your budget) with your content.
Target current clients with specific messages and stories.
Help generate leads and drive conversions using targeting, optimization and analytics.
The five “need-to-know” basics for distributing your content.
Both organic and paid media should play a role in your outreach and storytelling. Your approach can include:
Organic posting: A well-crafted and potentially viral message may very well not need the extra boost that a paid post would provide. A viral post can elevate your reputation and remain cost effective.
Boosting: If you’re in audience growth mode, you may benefit from boosting your organic posts. In fact, while it may seem counter intuitive, boosting a post that has already performed well is an opportunity to further expose quality content, that you know is effective, to a new audience whicb may respond by becoming a follower or a client.
Targeting: If you’re paying to reach a larger audience through paid posting or advertising, take the opportunity to target whom you want to reach. You can choose demographics, behaviors, professions, companies (sometimes) or create a “look-alike model” of your current clients and target them with your content.
Testing and Optimization: Web and social advertising are tailor-made for testing targets, images and the copy in your content. A/B testing is the easiest and most common method. Test one image, headline or story against another. Identify the top performer and then test it against other images, headlines and stories to find your most effective elements. The same can be done with audience targeting. Test, optimize. Test, optimize. Rinse and repeat.
Learn and improve. Analyze your data and results. Track performance and continually optimize your creative, your targeting and your platforms.
So what’s it going to cost?
Content and audience development generate “above-the-line” and “below-the-line” costs.
Below-the-line, you have costs for writers, producers, graphic artists, video creators and the equipment that the creator community uses. Your investment is determined by your strategy.
Above-the-line costs are the additional expenditures for your media spend.
Planning and buying media demand solid expertise, not guesswork.
The cost of your media buy is a lesson in basic economics.
Prices are a function of supply, demand and your company’s goals. If you’re targeting high-value clients on social media or search, where your client “wins” are tallied in 5, 6 or even 7 figures of added agency income, the cost of targeting that group will be higher than targeting people who may be interested in something as inexpensive as snack foods. It is simply a smaller and more lucrative audience.
Time of year, day of the week and time of day can also affect pricing. Are you willing to purchase media when demand is highest? Can you purchase media when demand is low and still reach your targets? Trial and error (or already having expertise in media buying) are the only ways to determine what’s right for you.
HOW you buy media can make a big difference in its effectiveness.
Another important decision to make is how to buy your media. Marketers have the option of a) buying by CPM (cost per thousand) which is generally a brand marketing option, b) by CPC (cost per click) which is a good choice for garnering website visits or c) a few other less common audience buys.
Generally, the CPC average cost on LinkedIn is about $5.25, $1.25 for Instagram and $.80 on Facebook. CPM average costs are $6.55 for LinkedIn, $11.00 for Facebook and $10.25 for Instagram.
Here’s the question you need to answer: Is winning a client, who may end up paying you low- to mid-six-figures per year, worth a $5 CPC? $10 CPC? What is communicating with a potential client worth on social media? What is communicating to that client worth to you now? And what is it worth if they become a client?
Your own strategy, budget, goals and lifetime value of a client are the variables that will lead you to the answer that makes the most sense for your agency.
If you need assistance, our Prosper Group team includes people who are deeply experienced in developing business-building audiences through the right content… and helping you get where you want to go in this important area.
We’re here to help you prosper.
Prosper Group exists to help the owners of independent marketing communications agencies achieve their ambitions and maximize the value of their life’s work.
Our team is comprised of former agency leaders and owners who focus their deep experience on implementing proven proprietary methodologies across our three practices of agency performance, owner exit planning and M&A transactions in order to drive owner and agency success.
To learn more about us, please visit the Services page in our website.
