Blog Amplification Ideas
Writing blog posts can feel like talking to yourself.
You spend all this time doing keyword research (if you’re an SEO nerd like us), searching for ideas, writing outlines, actually writing then editing your post. Once you put it “out there” on your site for the world to see, you hope for likes, feedback, and general love.
Only to get nothing.
No likes. No reads (or evidence thereof). Nada.
So, how do you get more readers?
That’s the million-dollar question.
The truth is that there is no “one size fits all” solution for content promotion, but there are definitely things you can do to attract more readers. Part of the answer is based on simple statistics. The more you put your blog post in front of potential readers (i.e customers), the more likely you are to get responses.
We thought we’d put together a list of ideas for you to peruse and try out if you’re one of the gazillion lonely bloggers online today.
To get your blog posts in front of more readers try doing some or all of these suggestions:
Post Your Blog on All Social Media Channels
This one goes without saying, but you’d be amazed at how many companies still haven’t put this together. Your blog posts should be part of your social media content calendar. So, if you post on your blog every Thursday, that blog post should be your social content for Thursday (or Friday or whatever “Blog Post” day is). Simple as that.
Post Part of Your Blog Post on Your Google My Business Profile (GBP)
Your GBP allows you to post up to 1500 characters (“characters”- not words which seems like more than it really is). You can add a “Learn More” button and put the link to your blog post below, so people can finish reading.
Plus, when you post to your GBP, you’re adding keyword-rich content to this free real estate on Google which can help the visibility of your profile.
If Appropriate, Join Multiples LinkedIn Groups
LinkedIn has an endless selection of different groups you can join all over the world. There is a limit to the number of groups you can request to join at one time and there are probably some limitations to the number you can belong to, but we’re at 30 presently. Each of our groups has over 1,000 members, so each week, we post to all the groups we belong to.
We’ve actually gotten some like, share and even calls off our blog posts which completely shocked us, but hey, we don’t mind!
The obvious goal here is to only join groups that contain the highest number of potential customers for your business, so select the groups you request to join with that in mind.
Post On Reddit & Quora
Both of these are forums where tons of interesting information is posted, discussed, and shared all around the world. There are some fiercely active threads on both of these.
Just make sure you read up on both platforms and follow the guidelines. There are significant differences between the two. But both can bring your site some traffic.
Along with the traffic, when you post your blog (or any link of your site for that matter), you’ll be picking up a backlink to your site. A backlink is a connection Google sees from one site of higher authority to yours. It’s great for SEO.
There are “follow” and “no follow” backlinks, and both help your website’s overall backlink profile. Getting links from these two sites are “no follow” backlinks which is the less desired of the two, but it’s still helpful. It’s really more about getting the traffic than the backlink though.
Email Blast
If you’re not sending out consistent emails to your target market, you really need to give yourself a time out and think about your behavior (or lack thereof). For many, many industries, email marketing, when done correctly, can lead to more sales.
And, since you’ve already taken the time to write and post a blog entry, you might as well repurpose that content and send it out in an email blast to your loyal customers. They need that information too you know! (Along with a special offer or two)
Use email marketing to help build and maintain a group of brand-loyal customers. That’s time well spent that can increase your bottom line.
Write Excerpts That Can Be Shared and Install Social Media Icons
Install social sharing buttons on each post of your blog to make it simpler for visitors to share your content on social media, notably the frequently overlooked but incredibly powerful “Tweet This” button.
By adding “Tweet This” buttons next to informational excerpts in the body of your posts, you give readers a quick way to share your blog’s content on Twitter.
Create Sharable Images
The next time you’re about to insert a stock photo into your blog post, take it a step further by generating an image that effectively communicates your idea through visual means, such as an infographic or diagram.
You can reach a larger audience by making a visual depiction of your blog because your original thoughts will appear in image search results, and you might be able to draw in more visually-inclined readers. Additionally, your blog will become more socially shareable.
Content Optimization for Search Engines
Even the best SEO campaigns can fail. Perhaps you haven’t kept up with the most recent SEO blogging best practices, or perhaps you just haven’t had the time.
Nevertheless, every post merits thorough SEO optimization. This means you should always take a little time to do a little keyword research to help goose your blog titles, subtitles, and text. This can not only help your blog post rank, but it can help your entire site rank by adding keyword-rich content to your website.
Medium
You’ll notice the headings “Get smarter about what matters to you” and “We’ll help you find amazing things to read” when you access Medium. In order to reach new audiences, writers can use the platform to write about specific subjects.
As a result of the ability to reach a specific audience, this website is a fantastic option for content amplification. Since Medium users must choose whatever categories or themes, such as technology or neurology, they want to read about, you can be sure that readers who find your content will be interested in your sector.
You can share blog pieces you’ve written or a piece of thought leadership on Medium if you want it to reach a wider audience.
Other Ideas….here’s where you can help me. Go through some of the links below and see if there are any other good ideas like Medium, etc.
Facebook Ads
We’ve discussed a little about leveraging various social media channels to amplify your content, but some—like Facebook Ads—are more effective than others. Facebook Ads’ emphasis on remarketing is one of the reasons it’s a great strategy.
Facebook gives a variety of personalization options and audience targeting to increase conversion, while other social media networks only offer retargeting tools and features. They also offer a choice of ad formats that allow you to focus specifically on the objective you’re pursuing.
For instance, to increase the impact of content, you should probably create a lead-generating ad and give it retargeting features. You can distribute various types of content that, for instance, email subscribers have seen but Facebook followers haven’t because Facebook lets you customize each ad.
Be a Captivating Storyteller.
From our days in a cave to sitting around the TV today, everybody enjoys a good story. One of the most traditional and effective forms of instruction is storytelling.
From the youngest to the oldest audiences, readers retain information better when it is weaved into a narrative that evokes powerful emotions in addition to the information that has to be retained, such as one that is touching, funny, or motivating. In order to give readers the best chance to appreciate, remember, and want to share your material with others, use stories whenever possible.
Giving your information a more personal touch increases the likelihood that it will resonate with your audience and ultimately compel them to follow you. Your content will be more memorable if it makes a personal connection. A story that goes viral can establish a ton of links.
In Conclusion
The most important thing is to deliver the appropriate content to the appropriate audience at the appropriate time. However, with the aid of content amplification, your site may get in front of your intended audience. Who doesn’t like to engage their audience effectively? Plan your content amplification strategy, then put it into practice to ensure that you, too, achieve your desired results.
Give the SEO nerds at Make It Loud a call if you need help with the heavy lifting of blogging or getting more customers to your digital front door.
Cliff Tillery, MBA is the Chief Operating Officer at Make It Loud which is a digital marketing firm located outside of Atlanta Georgia. He is also the Director of SEO. More than 14 years ago, he started search engine optimization at this agency and has taught digital marketing skills to business owners at the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce, the Gwinnett Entrepreneur Center and other groups.
