5 Ways To Promote Your Content With Owned Media

Gone are the days, thankfully, that we have to wait on a media outlet to pick up a news release or run a story we’ve written. Technology has empowered business owners to be creators of their own destiny, giving us platforms to publish our own content as often as we want on whatever topic we like by utilizing our owned media assets.

Owned media is simply content that you own and are responsible for maintaining, such as your company website, blog, or newsletters.  On these channels, you control the creation, publication, and distribution of content.  Think of yourself as an editor in chief.

While some struggle to figure out what to write about, creating content won’t be your biggest hurdle to overcome. Getting that content into the news feeds and inboxes of decision makers will be.

Content starts with strategy.

You shouldn’t have a conversation about content promotion without first talking about the content strategy driving it.

Content strategy helps you answer two important questions: why are you creating the content and who are you creating for?

Fellow marketer Jay Baer has been quoted as saying, “Content helps achieve business objectives, not content objectives.” In other words, it’s not about how many blogs you can crank out per month.

You first want to decide what you need to accomplish in your business for a certain period and then determine how your content can help you do that.

For example, check out the following business objectives. We’ve paired them with content you own that can be used to hit your targets:

•   Increase in-store sales by 20% by sending weekly emails with printable coupons

•   Increase the number of appointments set by creating case studies on your blog and emailing links to them to qualified leads through your monthly newsletter

•   Increase engagement and a sense of community online by creating a private Facebook or LinkedIn group and delivering exclusive content to participants

You don’t want to create content just to do it. It’s too time consuming. Develop content that creates value for your readers and ultimately a profitable response for your business.

Content should be relevant.

Once you determine why and for who you are creating content, you can figure out where and how to amplify it.

But, there’s one more step before we get to that point – the quality of your content. Even a great promotional strategy can’t save poorly written content. So now that you know who you’re creating content for, spend time getting to know what topics they’re seeking more information on.

To do that, read review sites and community boards. Dig into complaints expressed on Twitter. Those little nuggets of angst are potential content topics for you to explore on your owned media channels.

Even great content needs a promotional strategy.

Honestly, there’s so much clutter out there that it takes a miracle to get anything read these days, especially through organic means.

But, a good promotional strategy can help you navigate the choppy waters and set you on the best course to reaching your destination – your target audience.

The best promotional strategy combines a mix of owned, paid, and earned media. But let’s look at five things you can do with your current owned media assets to get some traction for your content:

1. Set up an editorial calendar – this doesn’t have to be over the top. But you do need to keep track of what content you want to publish and when it makes sense to do so. For example, if one of your business objectives is to attract more Hispanic consumers, your editorial calendar would include content written to hit around certain times, like during Cinco de Mayo or Hispanic Heritage Month.
2. Create a good website – this is how many people will be introduced to your business, so work to create a site that is visually impressive, but also gives visitors the answers they’re looking for. Less is more, so don’t write a book report out there. Give them what they need to know then direct them to contact you or opt in for additional info.
3. Maintain a blog – publishing a blog regularly is a great way to tell search engines that your site is alive and well. But don’t just write about anything. Remember those pain points we talked about above, use them here.
4. Send emails – email marketing still outperforms social media in terms of ROI. Select an email platform with an easy drag and drop editor and whip up mobile-friendly emails that are informative and engaging. Make sure all links work and don’t forget your calls to action.
5. Utilize social media – you don’t need to be on all networks, just the right ones for your business. Because you can’t control the twists and turns of social media, some don’t even consider it owned media. But setting up private groups and sharing exclusive content is a good way to build a less transient community engaged in what you do.

So take control of your owned media assets. With a good promotional strategy, you can draw more attention to your business and more leads to your sales funnel.