Artificial Intelligence What is Content Distribution in Digital Marketing & How Can AI Help With It?

Have you ever found yourself wondering about the difference between a content distribution and content marketing? Do you want to dig into the concept of content distribution and see how you can improve your content marketing strategy?

If that is the case, this article will address your concerns. The use of AI in the content distribution has revolutionized content distribution for digital marketers. Here is a complete breakdown of everything you need to know about content distribution.

What is Content Distribution?

Content distribution allows marketers to channel their marketing efforts depending upon the audience of different media formats through various channels. Content marketing requires a thorough understanding of the channels you can adopt to market an offering to a specific audience. 

The recognition of a content marketing channel also helps in distributing your marketing efforts optimally. It can get the best results from every marketing channel.

How is Content Distribution Related to Digital Marketing?

Content distribution is closely intertwined with digital marketing and is vital to supporting its success. Here’s how content distribution supports digital marketing:

Increased Reach and Visibility:

Content distribution ensures that your valuable digital marketing reaches a wider audience across various online channels. By distributing your content effectively, you can expand your brand’s reach, increase visibility, and attract more potential customers.

Targeted Audience Engagement:

Content distribution allows you to tailor your content to specific target audiences. By strategically distributing your content on platforms and channels your target audience frequents, you can engage with them directly, building brand awareness, trust, and loyalty.

Lead Generation and Conversion:

Well-distributed content can act as a lead-generation tool by driving traffic to your website or landing pages. By optimizing your content distribution strategy to target relevant audience segments, you can attract qualified leads and guide them through the conversion funnel.

Brand Building and Thought Leadership:

Content distribution helps establish your brand as a thought leader and industry authority. By consistently distributing valuable and informative content, you can position your brand as a trusted source of knowledge, gaining credibility and influencing customer perceptions.

Social Media Amplification:

Content distribution and social media marketing go hand in hand. By distributing your content on social media platforms, you can leverage the power of social sharing, user-generated content, and influencer collaborations to amplify your reach, increase engagement, and foster brand advocacy.

SEO and Organic Search Traffic:

Effective content distribution is essential for improving your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts. By distributing optimized content across various channels, you can generate backlinks, increase social signals, and improve your website’s visibility in search engine results, driving organic traffic to your digital properties.

Data-Driven Insights and Optimization:

Content distribution provides valuable data and insights to inform your digital marketing strategy. By analyzing metrics such as website traffic, social media engagement, click-through rates, and conversions, you can understand what content resonates with your audience, optimize your distribution efforts, and make data-driven decisions to improve overall performance.

Customer Relationship Building:

Content distribution supports customer relationship building by nurturing existing customers and fostering loyalty. By distributing valuable content through email newsletters, personalized recommendations, and exclusive updates, you can strengthen customer relationships, encourage repeat purchases, and drive customer advocacy.

What are Content Distribution Channels?

To date, marketing channels are sorted into three distinct categories. These categories are Owned Media Channels, Earned Media Channels and Paid Media Channels.

Owned Content Distribution 

Owned content distribution channels are essentially a part of your business ownership. In the digital landscape, owned content distribution channels include digital assets and properties. These assets are brand-owned, such as email newsletters, blogs, microsites, social media, podcasts, DIY channels and other resources. 

Owned Distribution channels are essentially used to either directly promote the offer. They can also support the main offering from owned content placement properties.

The role of content distribution here pertains to deciding the type of content marketing strategies. It also extends to finding the right frequency of marketing efforts that can bring the best results.

Read More: 6 Content Marketing Goals You Need to Follow for Better Brand Success

Since owned media serves as an extension of your brand, you need consistent efforts to maintain your owned media content. The goal is to create as many points of interaction with customers as possible. 

Earned Content Distribution

Earned content distribution is one of the most effective ways to promote your brand on third-party channels. The third parties distribute your content through various methods such as guest articles, press coverage, contributions, shares, retweets and product reviews. 

Earned content distribution is an effective way to spread positive word of mouth about your brand among your target audience. One of the best ways to dominate earned content distribution is to set new trends or counteract existing trends. 

Read More: Top 2022 Content Marketing Trends That Should be on Your To-Do List

If you want to boost brand engagement, sentiments and traffic, earned media is a great way to get started. 

Paid Content Distribution

Paid content distribution is one of the most widely used means of gaining paid traffic to your brand. When you run paid marketing campaigns like PPC, CPC, or similar models, paid channels are used. In paid content distribution, the brand has to pay for content distribution to a marketing platform. 

The correct paid distribution strategy for displaying paid ads on various platforms drives traffic to your brand. Thus, it complements your own media marketing efforts.

Why is content distribution important?

The main reason to distribute your content is to get more exposure for your brand, products or services. You want to make sure that as many people as possible see what you have to offer so they can take advantage of it. If you don’t share your content, no one will ever know about it! That means fewer sales and less profit for you. So if you want to succeed in digital marketing, then distributing your content should be a top priority for you. Here are some other reasons why distributing your content is so important:

Builds Customer trust 

When someone sees that others are talking about or recommending something, they feel more comfortable buying from that company themselves because they know there must be something good about them if other people like them too!

Boost Brand awareness

If you want people to know about your business, then you need to make sure they see what you have to offer. The best way of doing this is by distributing your content so that as many people as possible can find out about it.

Increase conversions 

When someone sees a piece of content from one of their favorite brands or influencers, they are much more likely to buy something from them in future because they feel like they already know and trust them! So if you want lots of sales in the future, then make sure that as many people as possible see what you have on offer today!

Increase traffic 

The more places where people can find your content, the more people will see it. This means you’ll get more traffic to your website and social media pages which can lead to more sales!

Reputation Management

If there are lots of bad reviews out there, then the person feels safer buying from another company instead because they assume the product must not be very good otherwise everyone would love it! So by getting lots of positive reviews on social media and elsewhere online (and by responding quickly and politely when anyone has a complaint), builds trust with potential customers which makes them much more likely to buy from you in future!

Content Distribution and Content Marketing Go Hand in Hand

While it is a common practice for digital marketers to mistake content marketing as content distribution, the two practices are very distinct in their objectives.

Mass marketing efforts mainly focus on promoting brands to the public, without targeting specific audiences. However, content distribution is a very focused effort to target specific groups of audience on specific channels. 

A content distribution strategy helps you refine and personalize your content marketing messages according to the desires and preferences of the target audience. Moreover, it enables you to adopt the right kind of hybrid content distribution approach consisting of the perfect amalgamation of paid, owned and earned distribution channels. 

To get the best results in terms of brand traffic, valuable leads and conversions, marketers shall adopt mass promotion as well as content distribution methods. Promotion maximizes brand awareness and exposure. On the other hand, content distribution helps you target the right kind of audience at the right platforms to get the best leads.

Essential Content Distribution Methods for Every Marketer

How Do I Distribute My Content?

One of the most common concerns for every digital marketer is to find the right kind of content distribution strategy for the target brand. 

Once you have clearly defined your audience, and you are sure you have content that:

• Entices your audience
• Provides useful answers to questions
• Attracts the attention of influencers
• Gets more traffic & better ranking for your pages

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The next step is to determine which marketing distribution channels will work best for your content marketing objectives. For this purpose, it is essential to go back to three different types of content distribution channels i.e owned, paid and earned distribution channels. It is important to identify which of these channels or which hybrid approach of the above-mentioned content distribution channels works the best for your brand.

Suggested Read: Ways in which Artificial Intelligence Can Help with SEO

There are lots of other distribution channels where you can promote your content to a broader audience: 

• Social media – Facebook, Twitter.
• Email marketing – newsletters etc.
• Blogging – guest posts, owned blogs 
• Google Ranking – SEO and backlinking efforts
• Video marketing – YouTube videos, video ads, informational and promotional videos.
• Podcasting – iTunes podcasts, Android podcasts, independent podcast channels.
• Press releases Direct mail Marketing automation (email drip campaigns)
• Online events – Webinars, workshops, discussions and Q/A sessions
• Document sharing – Infographics slide decks, Infographics landing pages, eBooks, White papers, Case studies, Whitepaper PDFs Product descriptions, Product images
• Customer feedback – Videos Testimonials, Quotes Customer reviews, Testimonials Reviews
• Influencer Outreach – asking influencers to promote your brand to their audience.

It is important to keep in mind that email marketing and social media are among the most effective ways to get the best results to date. According to a report, up to 65% of US adults^[1] are on social media.

Also Read: Is Email Marketing Effective? Top Reasons and Tips to Use It

Popular Content Distribution Channels – Key Characteristics

Content Distribution Channel	Key Characteristics	Example
Social Media Platforms	Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc., allow you to share content with a wide audience. They offer various formats, engagement features, and targeting options.	Example: Facebook – Allows sharing diverse content formats, including text, images, videos, and live streaming, while providing audience targeting options and engagement through likes, comments, and shares.
Blogging and Content Platforms	Dedicated platforms for hosting and distributing long-form content, such as blog posts and articles. They often have built-in SEO features and enable commenting and sharing functionalities.	Example: Medium – A popular platform where users can publish and discover articles on a wide range of topics, offering a built-in audience and social sharing capabilities.
Email Newsletters	Sending regular newsletters to subscribers via email, providing a direct and personalized channel for content distribution. Allows segmentation, customization, and tracking of engagement metrics.	Example: Mailchimp – An email marketing platform that enables you to create and send newsletters, automate campaigns, and analyze email performance metrics.
Video-Sharing Platforms	Platforms dedicated to hosting and sharing video content. They provide opportunities for video optimization, engagement metrics, and the ability to reach a large video-centric audience.	Example: YouTube – The largest video-sharing platform where users can upload, search, and discover a wide range of videos, build a subscriber base, and monetize content through ads.
Content Syndication Networks	Networks that distribute your content across multiple websites and platforms to reach broader audiences. They offer additional exposure, backlinks, and access to niche communities.	Example: Outbrain – A content discovery platform that recommends articles and sponsored content on various high-traffic websites, increasing content reach and driving traffic back to your site.
Influencer Partnerships	Collaborating with influencers who have established audiences in your niche. They can amplify your content through sponsored posts, reviews, or co-created content.	Example: Instagram Influencer Partnership – Working with a popular Instagram influencer in your industry to promote your product or service through sponsored posts or endorsements, leveraging their large and engaged follower base.

How Do You Develop an Effective Content Distribution Strategy?

 Developing an effective content distribution strategy is essential for ensuring your content reaches the right audience and achieves its intended goals. Here are some actionable steps to help you create a successful content distribution strategy:

Define your goals:

Set specific, measurable goals for your content distribution efforts. For example, aim to increase website traffic by 20% within three months or generate 100 leads per month.

Align your goals with your overall marketing objectives to ensure consistency and focus.

Understand your target audience:

Conduct market research and create detailed buyer personas to understand your audience’s demographics, interests, and preferences.

Use analytics tools to gain insights into their online behavior, such as which platforms they frequent and what type of content they engage with.

Create high-quality, shareable content:

Develop content that is informative, relevant, and visually appealing.

Incorporate storytelling elements to make your content more engaging and memorable.

Optimize your content for search engines by using relevant keywords, meta tags, and descriptive headlines.

Leverage owned channels:

Optimize your website for SEO by using targeted keywords, optimizing page load speed, and ensuring a mobile-friendly design.

Implement social sharing buttons on your blog posts and web pages to make it easy for readers to share your content.

Create an email newsletter and encourage readers to subscribe to receive regular updates and content.

Utilize social media platforms:

Identify the social media platforms where your target audience is most active, and focus your efforts there.

Tailor your content to each platform’s format and audience preferences.

Engage with your audience through comments, direct messages, and by participating in relevant conversations.

Explore influencer collaborations:

Research and identify influencers in your industry who have an engaged and relevant audience.

Reach out to them with a personalized pitch, highlighting how your collaboration can benefit both parties.

Explore different collaboration options such as sponsored content, giveaways, or co-creating content.

Engage in content syndication:

Identify reputable third-party platforms or publications that accept guest contributions or syndicated content.

Adapt your content to suit their guidelines and audience, and provide value that aligns with their readership.

Include a clear call-to-action or a link back to your website or relevant landing page within the syndicated content.

Embrace email marketing:

Build an email list by offering valuable incentives like exclusive content or discounts.

Segment your email list based on interests or demographics to deliver targeted content.

Use compelling subject lines and personalize your emails to increase open rates and engagement.

Monitor and optimize:

Track key metrics using analytics tools to evaluate the performance of your content distribution efforts.

Analyze data such as website traffic, social media engagement, email open rates, and conversions.

Identify trends, patterns, and areas of improvement, and make data-driven decisions to optimize your strategy.

How can AI help You in Content Distribution?

Here’s how to smartly use AI to boost your content distribution strategy:

Identify Distribution Channels for Your Brand

AI Can help you identify those content distribution channels where most people are talking about topics related to your brand. If someone has already written about something similar on a blog or forum, then they might be interested in reading about what else is out there too!

So if someone mentions something related on Twitter or Facebook, then an AI-powered tool will automatically search through other social media sites (like Reddit) and blogs/forums (like Quora) looking for any mentions of those keywords too.

This means that when someone shares one piece of content from one site, another person who finds it will also be able to find other pieces of similar content from different sources which they might also like! This helps increase traffic because more people will see what you have on offer which means more sales!

Prioritize Content Scaling

With the abundance of tools for capturing and storing content ideas, a lot of clutter is created and every marketer has to spend hours sorting through it. Marketers often struggle to identify content ideas and topics which shall be posted first, which is where AI becomes useful. Machine learning can dig into the latest audience trends and find the most relevant ideas/topics to help you prioritize your content creation for better audience engagement. 

Improve Content Ideation Process

Have you ever found your marketing effort in a creative block? Marketers need additional help to identify content distribution channels suitable for their content ideation process. Machine learning can help you dig into latest content trends and devise ideas suitable to boost your content distribution and marketing efforts. Moreover, AI can model topic ideation and inspiration process, so you can hit the right kind of audience with the right content.

Automatically Create Relevant Content 

Take the hassle of relevant content creation out of your marketing efforts with AI Content Writer. Content distribution is a targeted effort and required content which is most relevant to a specific group of audience. AI Content Creators can help you automate and scale relevant and highly contextual content creation for specific audiences on different marketing distribution channels. You can also use AI automation tools to schedule content ideation, map content creation workflows, improve communication and enhance task assignment and scheduling to boost content creation productivity.

Also Read: Building Blog Audience – 9+ Effective and Easy Ways

AI-powered Content Mixology:

AI analyzes your existing content library, audience data, and market trends. This virtual mixologist uses its algorithms to suggest the perfect blend of content types, formats, and distribution channels for maximum impact. It combines the right amount of blog articles, videos, infographics, and social media posts, ensuring a well-rounded and engaging content mix.

Predictive Analytics and Planning:

AI-driven “predictive analytics” help you anticipate future content performance and distribution strategies. This magical analyzer uses machine learning to analyze historical data, audience behavior, and external factors to predict which content will perform best in different contexts. AI provides actionable insights like when to release content, which channels to prioritize, and even suggests potential partnerships or collaborations for increased exposure.

Autonomous Content Distribution Bots:

AI-powered bots autonomously handle content distribution tasks for you. These bots monitor social media platforms, analyze user behavior, and automatically schedule and publish content at optimal times. They even adapt the content format and style to suit each platform, ensuring your content reaches the right audience with minimal effort on your part.

Emotionally Intelligent Sentiment Analysis:

AI-driven “emotionally intelligent sentiment analyzers” go beyond simple sentiment analysis. These AI tools can understand the emotional nuances and reactions of your audience to your content. They provide actionable insights by categorizing feedback into positive, negative, and neutral emotions, helping you refine your content and distribution strategy to evoke the desired responses.

Dynamic Personalization:

AI-powered “personalization wizards” dynamically tailor your content distribution strategy to individual users. These wizards use advanced AI algorithms to analyze user data, browsing behavior, and preferences in real-time. They automatically customize content recommendations, distribution channels, and even delivery timings to provide a personalized experience that captivates your audience.

Agile A/B Testing:

AI-powered “A/B testing” helps you quickly experiment and optimize your content distribution strategy. AI algorithms analyze user response to different variations of your content and distribution methods. They rapidly identify the winning combinations, fine-tune your strategy, and ensure continuous improvement for maximum engagement and conversions.

Optimization and Performance Reporting

A key ingredient of successful content distribution strategy is performance tracking and reporting. AI helps you target your reporting efforts as it offers you in-depth insights which are vital to understand what is working for your business and what needs to be improved. 

Although humans can have as much data as possible aggregated on their dashboard, AI is the magic that can identify common patterns and interaction points to engage prospects effectively. Thus, AI helps you in better decision making to streamline your content distribution and marketing efforts.

Find Influencers to Promote your Brand 

If you want to get more exposure for your brand, then it’s important that people see what you have to offer. One way of doing this is by getting influencers to share your content with their followers. But finding the right influencer and convincing them to share your content isn’t always easy! That’s where AI comes in, it can do all the hard work for you so that all you need to do is sit back and wait for sales and traffic to come flooding in! 

AI Autoresponder on Social Media

AI can automatically respond when anyone mentions anything related on social media.  When someone posts something on social media, they are usually looking for a response from other people. So if you want to get more exposure for your brand, then it’s important that you respond quickly and politely when anyone mentions anything related to your business!

AI can automatically respond when someone posts something negative about your brand. When someone has a complaint or problem with one of your products or services, they will usually post about it online somewhere. This is because they want other people to know what happened so that no one else makes the same mistake! So if you don’t respond quickly and politely when this happens, then lots of people might see the bad review which could lead to fewer sales in future! But if you do respond quickly and politely (and offer them some kind of solution), then this can help build trust with potential customers which means more sales in future!

Improve Your Content Strategy using AI Content Writer

Read More: How to Write Content Using AI – Top Tips for Faster AI Writing

Have you ever had to sift through volumes of keywords, topic ideas and content editorial requirements to meet the marketing goals? How about taking the help of an AI content writer to organize all your content keywords, ideas and process flows in one place? Instead of spending hours sorting through keywords and topics, you can simply use an AI writing generator to store all the important content ideation cues for every project in a single place. Moreover, as you move on from creating one content to the other, the AI Content generator pitches in ideas to let you create new types of content so you can target customers from all the possible distribution channels. 

AI understands the data that you currently possess and it cross matches it with Google trends to identify the right customer interaction points. AI Content Writer can not only cement your content strategy in the right place but also help it fly!

Try AI Content Creator Now!

The Final Word

Content distribution is an essential part of digital marketing efforts as it helps in targeting specific groups of audiences. AI automates, refines, optimizes and scales content distribution efforts to boost performance, and brand engagement and increase conversions. 

References:
[1] Social Media Usage: 2005-2015 – PewResearch