The first part of any successful content amplification strategy is creating content that is easily amplified. This may sound elementary, but it’s not exactly easy, either. Throwing dry spaghetti at the wall hoping that it sticks just won’t work; the content has to first be worthy of amplification.
Making quality content, and then varying the format and platform in which and on which it is consumed, is key to pushing your content even further. If done properly, one piece of content can take on a life of its own and — hopefully — reach audiences on countless different platforms.
Here are just a few amplification techniques that the best content marketers employ to spread their message.
1.Skyscraper technique
The first stage of the skyscraper technique is to find existing content that’s similar to what you wish to produce.
After you’ve found a strong sample of similar stuff, filter it to identify which items have performed the best. Then, once you’ve determined the best examples, it’s your job to try to add value by creating even better content. Similar to standing on the shoulders of giants, the skyscraper technique involves building on others’ work to reach even loftier heights.
Improving already-excellent content may seem like a tall task, but Brian Dean, founder of SEO training blog Backlinko.com, suggests some easy ways to do it:
- Bring it up-to-date: Bring statistics or facts up to date, or include more timely examples or anecdotes.
- Make it appealing: If you can make content look better and more visually appealing, it’s more likely to get your audience’s attention.
- Increase the length: Expand the existing content. For instance, make a list longer or add more written explanation.
2. Guides and whitepapers
Do you need a lengthy piece of content to get your desired audience’s attention? Guides or whitepapers are larger pieces of content that can be used to gain credibility, respect, and readership. These longer pieces are valuable to people interested in your topic, and also present your company or organization as thought leaders on a given subject.
Another benefit of creating content like guides and whitepapers is that you can often leverage your existing knowledge or content. Expanding existing blog posts or other, smaller pieces into a longer format is always easier than writing a guide from scratch. By reformatting your content into longer pieces, you’re likely to reach an audience more deeply interested in your topic than those who check out shorter blog posts or tweets.
3. Tweetable snippets
Though we’ve just finished extolling the virtues of lengthening your (or others’) content, the fact is that sometimes the opposite is true: sometimes less is more. Lengthy pieces may be valuable to your audience, but can sometimes scare off readers. When it comes to initially grabbing a reader’s attention, you may have to break these pieces down to get readers primed for your longer, deeper content. The bottom line is that creating tweetable snippets which link to your longer content can help improve readership.
[ctt title=”Learn the amplification techniques that the best content marketers employ to spread their message: http://ctt.ec/dr4Gq+ ” tweet=”Learn the amplification techniques that the best content marketers employ to spread their message: http://ctt.ec/5cnaT+ ” coverup=”5cnaT”]
Tweetable snippets are small extracts from your longer content. Take the most exciting, intriguing, or otherwise attention-grabbing element of your content and share it, along with a link to the larger piece. Remember, you only have 140 characters to tell people about your piece on Twitter, so make every letter count.
Brands like @Popsicle & @ChapStick must guard against #trademarkerosion. Media monitoring can help: https://t.co/491FbJh8K8 @MediaMiser
— Jim Donnelly (@Jim_Donnelly) August 10, 2016
4. Industry and emotional appeal
Dave Landry, an online business journalist who specializes in social media amplification trends, says two crucial ways to gain audience attention are industry appeal and emotional appeal.
Using the former ensures that your content is à propos, and that the industry or vertical you’ve trained your sights on will care about it. Use words and phrases those in your target vertical will understand. And while sticking to the tone and lexicon of your target industry, also make sure to distinguish your own brand identity: Create content that fits with what others in your industry are creating, but give yours a unique voice that fits your specific company.
Emotional appeal is a bit more basic, but can also go a long way in eliciting audience interest. Cute, shocking, or funny content, for example, can all stir emotions in readers, and producing content or snippets that draw on these emotions can and will help drive views.
Want to know more about other content amplification techniques? Download our Content Amplification whitepaper and get your content out the door!
