Content is king. We’ve heard this quote so many timed. Today, it still holds. Modern consumers need to be educated informed to lead them into the buying process. Yet, there is more to content being the king of digital marketing. A digital marketing speaker Hong Kong has noted that the means of content distribution is more important than the content itself.

5 million articles and blogs are written daily. These do not include posts from Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and other social media platforms. For brands and businesses, content live or die by their distribution and promotion choices. Thus, it is vital to understand the three key types of content distribution channels. This is to get your content in front of the right audience at the right time and in the right way. 

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF CONTENT?

There are many different types of content marketing. The long list includes:

  • Articles
  • Blogging
  • Checklists
  • Courses
  • Ebooks
  • Email
  • Free Apps
  • How-To
  • Infographics
  • Lead Magnets
  • Physical Leaflets
  • Podcasting
  • Product Demos
  • Quizzes/Tools
  • Slide Decks
  • Slide Shares 
  • Social Media Posts
  • Video
  • Visual Content
  • Webinars
  • Whitepapers

and more. Their key focus is as free entertainment and information among target audiences to support a brand or business goal. They can build communities and relationships. They can drive traffic to landing pages and social media pages. They can spread brand awareness. Just like now, what you are reading is content marketing.

A video marketing agency Hong Kong highlights the importance of short-form video content today. This type of content has convinced 84% of viewers to buy a product or service after watching them. Even 93% of brands have acquired new customers after posting short-form videos on social media pages. With such a type of content dominating the market, brands and businesses should focus more on their creation. 

WHAT IS CONTENT DISTRIBUTION?

According to a social media agency Hong Kong, content distribution is the process of promoting content to online audiences in multiple media channels. There are three key types of content distribution channels. These are earned content distribution, owned content distribution, and paid content distribution.

  • Earned Content Distribution means distributing content among third-party channels like guest articles, press coverages, product reviews, retweets, social media shares, etc. 
  • Owned Content Distribution means distributing content to websites that belong to the brand or business. They can be a blog site, email newsletter, microsite, social media pages, websites, etc. 
  • Paid Content Distribution means explicitly paying for content distribution. Under this key type of content distribution, the payment schemes can be under the Cost-Per-Click (CPC) or Cost-Per-Impression (CPM) model. 

The Three Key Types of Content Distribution Channels

An effective content marketing strategy is knowing the three key types of content distribution channels by heart. Each channel plays a unique role. How brands and businesses should utilize each channel depends on the type of content marketing. To drive response to your campaign strategies, here is an overview of each distribution channel. 

The first key type of content distribution channel is earned content distribution. They are the central content distribution channel among brands and businesses. It is where they have full control of what content to post, remove, or update. It is the best channel to build a community, communicate directly to your audiences, and nurture contacts and leads. Earned content distribution channels include brand mentions, forums, guest posts, industry communities, review websites, testimonials, and user-generated content (UGC). Under earned content distribution, the best KPIs should be brand awareness, conversion, lead generation, and user engagement. Earned content distribution can also be a perfect way to drive traffic to your owned content channels.

The second key type of content distribution channel is owned content distribution. Brands and businesses have a little bit of control over this channel type. It is the best channel to partner with influencers and KOLs. These channels include the blog site, business podcasts, emails and newsletters, social media pages and profiles, and websites of a brand or business. Under owned content distribution, the best KPIs should be brand awareness, conversion, lead generation, and user engagement.

The third key type of content distribution channel is paid content distribution. They may be the most challenging distribution channel. It is because brands and businesses need to carefully forecast their budget planning. But they are the best distribution channel for ads and campaigns. You can use them to kickstart a campaign and get measurable results within a day.  These channels include display ads, paid influencer social media profiles and websites, pay-per-click (PPC), pay-per-impression (PPI), social media ads, and sponsored content. Under the paid content distribution, the best KPIs should be brand awareness, conversion, lead generation, and user engagement. To reap success in paid content distribution, the main focus should be its return on investment (ROI).

THE BOTTOM LINE

An effective content marketing strategy is knowing how to promote the right content to the right distribution channel. 

  • Prioritize building and growing your audience group through “owned media channels.” Leverage other channels to drive traffic to your owned content pages. 
  • Use “Paid media channels” to promote your most essential content. These may include landing pages content, lead generation offerings, etc.
  • Focus on creating mission-driven and shareable content to achieve success with earned media channels.

These tasks may be challenging for a brand or business to do by themselves. You can always consult a digital marketing agency to expand your content reach and lead you to greater marketing success. 

Reference: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/key-types-of-content-distribution-channels-infographic/606106/