What is Content Amplification?

Barb Dittert

• Content Marketing

Your brand’s blog gets updated weekly. You’ve learned about SEO, crafted stories that speak to your target audience and follow a publishing schedule to keep the posts flowing. You feel on top of your digital marketing game, but something just isn’t playing out.

If you’re wondering why your site isn’t seeing an upswing in traffic despite following a calculated blogging strategy, it may be because your plan doesn’t target users at each stage of the decision-making process and funnel them toward your site.

Think of the quantity of content gracing your inboxes and social media feeds. While much of it is from your friends, family, and brands or accounts you follow – a lot of it isn’t. You didn’t ask for this random content to appear, so how did it get there?  

Your Next Step: Content Amplification

Every brand wants (and needs) to get their message out there. But just putting something “out there” isn’t enough – this is where content amplification comes in to play. By using the right methods and tools, you can figure out how to put your message in more places where more members your target audience are likely to be.

How do we do this? We crunch the numbers from behind-the-scenes analytics and look for consumer patterns so we can create a content amplification strategy that meets your specific goals. By creating a meaningful online presence for your audience that resonates with their interests and needs, your business stands out.

5 Content Amplification Actions

For many brands, posting a link to their most recent blog post, with a bit of snappy copy, is the start and end of their content amplification efforts. A week after the blog post was published, it collects virtual dust and pageviews dwindle.

At Volume Nine, we know more can be done. And, there’s not a one-size-fits-all approach to content amplification. Twitter readers want something different than fans on Instagram. We realize your audience varies depending on the specific product or service you’re promoting. And when it comes to creating messaging, unique social posts for each platform keeps readers engaged.

Five of the strategies we use to amplify content for our digital marketing clients include:

• Influencer marketing: We can partner with popular bloggers and social media personalities who have audiences that mirror your ideal consumer to promote your content. Bring on the new wave of viewers!
• User-generated content: Social media users love to be seen. We can use your content as a focal point to start additional conversations online. We’ll ask your fans to follow-up by tweeting with a specific hashtag or posting a pic to Instagram that illustrates how they use your product or service.
• Email marketing: Need an e-newsletter? We can polish your content and arrange it in a tidy email piece that’s informative and fun for readers on your email list to explore. This is a great way to compile a week, or month, of content and serve it up once again.
• Sponsored posts: One way to put your blog content in front of more eyes is by turning your social media updates into paid sponsored posts. We can tweak this option and run it in waves (TOFU, MOFU, BOFU) so your ideal buyer persona and target audience are addressed at various stages in the sales funnel.
• Content repurposing: Finally, think of your blog posts as flagship pieces of content. We can turn segments of them into videos, quotes, memes, Tweets, newsletters or any other type of content you need. We believe in the idea of creating once, then sharing many, many times.

All of these content amplification methods funnel readers back to your company’s site, in-turn bolstering your brand identity and customer satisfaction.

What You Can Do Right Now

If you want to test the waters with a few quick amplification techniques you can implement in just a few minutes, consider these ideas.

• Entice readers with preview posts. Tell them what’s coming up next on the blog and why it will benefit them. This is a soft onboarding process to get them used to updates on specific days or times, and gives you an opportunity to promote a subscriber list so they never miss another post.
• Engage on social posts. Using your brand’s profile, leave thoughtful comments on posts from partner programs, influencers you work with or related businesses. This builds your visibility online for when you’re ready to launch a more structured outreach.
• Think beyond the 9-to-5 audience. Start posting on a 24-hour cycle (using scheduling software) to nurture your customers in other time zones. This is particularly important for travel-focused brands, online retailers and global chains.

Are you ready to make your marketing budget work harder for you? The team at Volume Nine can help you amplify your blog content to an audience that’s eager to learn more about your brand positioning, products, and services. Contact us here.