Sharing content is essential if you want to get it in front of the right people and direct more traffic to your site. The more people who see your content, the more shares and links it is likely to get, leading more people back to your website.
You’re probably sharing your blog posts on social media already. But do you feel like you could be doing more? If so, here are some more unusual ways to share content online that will help generate more interest in your business.
You’re probably sharing your blog posts on social media already. But do you feel like you could be doing more? If so, here are some more unusual ways to share content online that will help generate more interest in your business.
#1 Get Friendly with Influencers
One of the best ways to get your content shared and actually noticed is to make friends with influencers. Influencer marketing is a relatively new phenomenon, but it is already catching on in a big way.
The idea is that you identify an influencer in your niche and spend time getting to know them, sharing their posts, commenting on their blogs, reaching out to them, and getting on their radar.
When you know them better, you can try and encourage them to share your content. You might create a piece of content with one influencer in mind, something that provides enormous value to their audience and that they cannot refuse.
The idea is that you identify an influencer in your niche and spend time getting to know them, sharing their posts, commenting on their blogs, reaching out to them, and getting on their radar.
When you know them better, you can try and encourage them to share your content. You might create a piece of content with one influencer in mind, something that provides enormous value to their audience and that they cannot refuse.
#2 Share Your Content in Different Places
You can benefit from simply sharing your content in more places. You might find that a Reddit community is a great option to grow you brand. Or you could share it on Mix (Formerly known as StumbleUpon), where people are always searching for new and interesting content. The more places you get your content to show up, the more chance you have of getting eyes on it.
You could even take this further by reformatting your content. If you have written a blog post, take the information and turn it into a video that you can upload to YouTube or a presentation for SlideShare. This way, you can get your content in front of more eyes without having to create completely new content from scratch.
Once the influencer shares your content, their followers will notice. These followers are far more receptive to content that is shared by someone they know and trust, and they are more likely to share your content themselves.
This takes a long time, and it’s certainly not a fast way to get your content shared, But it can be incredibly effective. Once you have built up a good relationship with an influencer, there’s a good chance they will share more of your content in the future, making it even more worthwhile.
You could even take this further by reformatting your content. If you have written a blog post, take the information and turn it into a video that you can upload to YouTube or a presentation for SlideShare. This way, you can get your content in front of more eyes without having to create completely new content from scratch.
Once the influencer shares your content, their followers will notice. These followers are far more receptive to content that is shared by someone they know and trust, and they are more likely to share your content themselves.
This takes a long time, and it’s certainly not a fast way to get your content shared, But it can be incredibly effective. Once you have built up a good relationship with an influencer, there’s a good chance they will share more of your content in the future, making it even more worthwhile.
#3 Use Your Content to Answer Questions
You can also use your content to answer questions, and the best place to do this is Quora. This question-and-answer website is the biggest on the internet, and people ask questions here every day, many of which will be on topics in your niche.
You can build up your presence and authority on the site by answering questions that relate to your niche to grow your reputation as an expert.
One of the best things about Quora is that you can also use your own links in your answers. This does not have any SEO value, but you’re not doing this for SEO.
The trick is to answer a question in your niche and provide just enough information to show that you know what you are talking about. Then you can link to your content and suggest reading it for a more in-depth response.
This way, you can get your content in front of people who are interested in the topic and keen to find out more. Because Quora often ranks highly in the search results, this technique can be an effective way to drive more visitors to your content.
You can build up your presence and authority on the site by answering questions that relate to your niche to grow your reputation as an expert.
One of the best things about Quora is that you can also use your own links in your answers. This does not have any SEO value, but you’re not doing this for SEO.
The trick is to answer a question in your niche and provide just enough information to show that you know what you are talking about. Then you can link to your content and suggest reading it for a more in-depth response.
This way, you can get your content in front of people who are interested in the topic and keen to find out more. Because Quora often ranks highly in the search results, this technique can be an effective way to drive more visitors to your content.
#4 Be Active in Niche Groups
When you share your latest blog post with your own social followers, you might get a few likes and shares. But the results are often not amazing. One avenue you might want to explore is joining up and engaging with niche groups, where your content can be used as a valuable resource.
For example, you could join a Facebook group in your niche that is full of people interested in the topics you write about. They may or may not be your target customers, but the important thing is that they find your insights valuable.
Spend time in the group adding value, answering questions, building up your reputation, and becoming a useful resource. Then, when the time is right, share a piece of content that others find useful.
You’ve got to be careful with this technique because you don’t want to share too much content, and you don’t want to break the rules of the group. Many groups will either prohibit marketing activities or limit the links you can share, so you have to check the rules for each group.
But if you can use a link to your content to provide an answer or insight into a topic being discussed, there’s a good chance you can get that content to share much further than if you just shared it with your followers.
For example, you could join a Facebook group in your niche that is full of people interested in the topics you write about. They may or may not be your target customers, but the important thing is that they find your insights valuable.
Spend time in the group adding value, answering questions, building up your reputation, and becoming a useful resource. Then, when the time is right, share a piece of content that others find useful.
You’ve got to be careful with this technique because you don’t want to share too much content, and you don’t want to break the rules of the group. Many groups will either prohibit marketing activities or limit the links you can share, so you have to check the rules for each group.
But if you can use a link to your content to provide an answer or insight into a topic being discussed, there’s a good chance you can get that content to share much further than if you just shared it with your followers.
#5 Press Releases
Press releases can be a great way to share your content. While you won’t get very far with a spammy press release on your latest blog post submitted to hundreds of sites, a press release that contains original research could be very effective.
If you have carried out a survey or done some research and found a few interesting results, don’t just share links to your blog post. Create a press release and submit it online. There are multiple press release distribution services you can choose from. There is a chance that it will be picked up by large publications, which could lead to some seriously powerful links and some excellent exposure for your brand.
If you have carried out a survey or done some research and found a few interesting results, don’t just share links to your blog post. Create a press release and submit it online. There are multiple press release distribution services you can choose from. There is a chance that it will be picked up by large publications, which could lead to some seriously powerful links and some excellent exposure for your brand.
#6 Use Your Content as an Advertisement
If you’re not getting much traction from sharing your content across your social networks, consider paying for it. This kind of investment in your content might not seem appealing at this stage, particularly if you’re a small brand starting out. But if it ultimately nets you a greater return further down the line, it’s an investment well worth making.
To that end, create an ad around your content and pay to promote it to a targeted audience so they are more likely to see it. As long as the content is good, this can generate a lot more shares and clicks. Obviously you have to pay, but it’s worth experimenting with.
You could also use native advertising by promoting your content using a service like Outbrain. You have to pay for clicks to your content, but you will get it in front of more people this way. As long as you get it in front of the right people, and the content provides them with value, it can help to generate more leads. There are many reasons to incorporate native ads into your marketing strategy.
To that end, create an ad around your content and pay to promote it to a targeted audience so they are more likely to see it. As long as the content is good, this can generate a lot more shares and clicks. Obviously you have to pay, but it’s worth experimenting with.
You could also use native advertising by promoting your content using a service like Outbrain. You have to pay for clicks to your content, but you will get it in front of more people this way. As long as you get it in front of the right people, and the content provides them with value, it can help to generate more leads. There are many reasons to incorporate native ads into your marketing strategy.
#7 Make Yourself Essential
Your online store isn’t just a place for customers to buy products or services. For many businesses, it can also a hub, a community of like-minded people who share a common passion. It might be arts and crafts, or extreme sports, or literature — whatever it is, your customers all have a common shared interest.
Your blog is your opportunity to connect that community by going beyond simply sharing single-use content. Instead, you should create comprehensive, detailed guides on universal issues that everyone in your target niche will find genuinely valuable.
For example, there is a plethora of tech and electronics stores available online, catering to a growing market not just of tech-heads, but of casual gadget customers too. The latter are the kind of people who use smartphones every day, but struggle with some of the more advanced tasks associated with phone maintenance.
An electronics store could help its consumers with these issues by creating simple, step-by-step guides. Topics such as how to factory reset an Android phone or how much customers should pay to replace a cracked screen all make for valuable pieces of content that (if optimized correctly) will see sustained traffic throughout time.
It might seem basic, but at its core, it’s a vital concept: provide essential guides for both the layman and the experienced customer makes your brand essential in turn.
Look at your product and service and think about how a novice would see it. Then create guides and instructional walkthroughs on your niche that are, essentially, idiot-proof. Not only will you make yourself essential, but you might even introduce a whole new wave of customers to your niche by making it more accessible too.
Your blog is your opportunity to connect that community by going beyond simply sharing single-use content. Instead, you should create comprehensive, detailed guides on universal issues that everyone in your target niche will find genuinely valuable.
For example, there is a plethora of tech and electronics stores available online, catering to a growing market not just of tech-heads, but of casual gadget customers too. The latter are the kind of people who use smartphones every day, but struggle with some of the more advanced tasks associated with phone maintenance.
An electronics store could help its consumers with these issues by creating simple, step-by-step guides. Topics such as how to factory reset an Android phone or how much customers should pay to replace a cracked screen all make for valuable pieces of content that (if optimized correctly) will see sustained traffic throughout time.
It might seem basic, but at its core, it’s a vital concept: provide essential guides for both the layman and the experienced customer makes your brand essential in turn.
Look at your product and service and think about how a novice would see it. Then create guides and instructional walkthroughs on your niche that are, essentially, idiot-proof. Not only will you make yourself essential, but you might even introduce a whole new wave of customers to your niche by making it more accessible too.
Make the most of your content by using unusual ways to share it
Getting your content noticed, read, and shared can be a frustrating experience. It can be tough to spend hours over a great piece of content only to share it on Facebook and realize no one is reading it. So think outside the box.These are just a few suggestions for how you could get more from your content and get more eyes on each piece you publish. So experiment with them today, build more buzz, and drive more targeted traffic to your site.
At Growth Hackers, we're one of the top digital marketing & growth hacking agencies. We help startups as well as established businesses with digital marketing (Content marketing, SEO, social media, emails, etc...) and growth hacking (Websites/Apps' optimization, conversion rate optimization, product development...). Our mission is to help businesses grow. What do we mean by growth? Driving qualifed and targeted traffic, generating leads, automating processes and increase revenue. Contact us at Growth Hackers if you're looking to grow your business.
Alexandra Kayleigh
I am a content writer for Micro Startups — a site dedicated to supporting startups and small businesses of all shapes and sizes. Visit the blog for the latest entrepreneurial news and side hustle tips and catch us @getmicrostarted.
