As Ross Simmonds, CEO of the content agency Foundation Inc, likes to say: Create once. Distribute forever.
It may sound so simple and obvious, but the problem is that the focus is often distorted. If you are careless with the distribution, you end up not giving your content the right possibilities (the content that you spent many hours creating).
So give the content you’ve created justice.
Here are some of the cornerstones of successful content distribution on social media and a few tips to help you turn one text into an endless stream of posts using video.
What is content distribution?
Content distribution is all about making sure your articles, ebooks, reports, infographics, and other content types reach your target audience. And this doesn’t just mean the “physical thing” itself but the messages within it.
This is done by presenting and repurposing the information in new ways and distributing it on the right channels or platforms, such as social media, where your content can be easily found and accessed by your target audience.
In essence, content distribution is the key to effectively connecting your content with your audience.
The connection between content distribution & success on social media
To succeed on social, regardless of your objectives, you need two things.
Consistency and quality.
To get both consistency and quality, you need one thing: quantity.
It's impossible to stay consistent in your publishing without great quantities of content. And it's impossible to understand what quality is to you and your audience without quantity.
But how are you supposed to come up with enough content ideas to achieve the quantity you need?
Through effective content distribution.
Instead of looking for new and shiny things you can just reuse what you already have.
3 key tips for distributing content effectively on social
Here are three essential tips for maximizing your content's reach and establishing a powerful presence on social media through distribution:
1. Assume NO ONE saw your first post, or your second
When it comes to sharing your content on social media, operate under the assumption that no one saw your first, second, or even third post. The fear of being repetitive or annoying your audience by posting the same content multiple times is common, but it's also holding back.
In reality, repetition is not just beneficial; it's essential. Especially on social media.
Repetition ensures that your key messages reach your audience, enhancing recall and engagement.
Many companies fall into the trap of sharing a new piece of content, like a blog post, just once on social media and then hoping for the best. However, the likelihood that your audience will notice, engage with, and remember your content from a single post is slim.
Here are some of the reasons why someone might miss or overlook your content:
- they might not see it at all (thanks algorithm),
- they might see it but choose not to engage at that moment,
- or they might intend to return to it later but forget.
This is where the 'Rule of 7' comes into play. This marketing principle suggests that a potential customer needs to encounter your brand or product at least seven times before they decide to make a purchase.
This rule can be effectively applied to your content strategy as well.
By sharing your content multiple times, you increase the chances of it being seen and remembered, which is crucial in a crowded and fast-moving social media environment.
2. Don’t just share the link, repurpose your content in many different ways
As marketers and content creators, we often view our completed works as single entities, overlooking the many ways they can be dissected and repurposed for social media.
The common practice of sharing a simple link to an ebook, case study, or blog post and considering it "distributed" barely scratches the surface of potential engagement.
While sharing links has their place, here is why their effectiveness is limited:
- Only the most committed audience will click-through.
- The nature of social media, with its fast-paced and scroll-heavy environment, especially on mobile devices, means that asking users to click through to another site is a significant barrier to engagement.
- Moreover, social media algorithms are less likely to amplify posts that direct users away from the platform.
If you want to give your content the right opportunities, the key is to break it down into smaller, more "snackable" pieces that can be consumed directly within the social media feed.
The easiest way to do that? Videos.
Videos capture attention far more effectively than static links and images and are more likely to be promoted by social media algorithms, ensuring broader distribution and reach.
Take it from Elon Musk: “The more screentime users spend looking at a post, whether text, pic or video, the more it is boosted. Video posted natively to this platform will be boosted more than an external link, because way more time is spent watching a video than clicking a link.”
So, instead of relying solely on links, explore creative ways to present your content. Whether it's summarizing key points from a blog post, presenting specific numbers from a report or a short video highlighting the main takeaways from your ebook, distributing your content in new ways makes it more accessible and engaging for your audience.
Also, the point of your content is to get people to consume it. Does it really matter if they consume it in the feed or on your site?
Further reading: 5 ways to get more eyes on your reports
3. Don’t be afraid to test and fail
Distribute your content in many different ways, across many different channels, and don’t be afraid to test and fail. By distributing in a lot in different places, you will learn what your audience likes and what content works best on different channels.
If you post something your audience does resonate with, the worst case is that they will scroll past it. So ditch the fear and get your messages out there.
How to turn one text into an endless stream of content through video
Now the fun part. How do you turn your content into an endless stream of posts through video?
And also, why video?
- Videos get 5x or more times more engagement than other types of content on social media depending on what platform you’re on. For example, on LinkedIn, it's 5x more, and on Twitter 10x more.
- 91% of consumers want to watch more online video content from brands, so you are literally giving them what they are asking for.
But how do you find the time to create the videos that you need?
Well, it’s easy… you just Storykit it. Or more specifically you Storykit it using “Campaigns”.
Storykit is the complete AI video creation tool that takes the text and turns it into high-quality video. And with the “Campaigns” feature it does this at scale.
All you have to do is copy and paste in text, link to your content, or upload a PDF, and then Storykit will create 4 to 6 unique videos based on that one piece of content.
This is the fastest and most effective way to turn one piece of content into a variety of high-quality on-brand videos for distribution across your social networks.
Here is a video showing “Campaigns” in action:
5 examples for distributing your content via video
And here are five videos that we made using this exact article that we will distribute across our social channels:
Deep summary:
Tutorial special:
Important takeaways:
3 steps to:
Big question/thought leadership:
To conclude… Distribute again. And again.
At Storykit, we are certain that more video means greater results. You should therefore make many videos to reach many individuals. You should also not be afraid to publish the same content again. Share content that worked well many times on many channels. And if you’ve made content that did not really catch on, you should definitely try to distribute it again. Write a new post, make a new video, test a new angle, and dive in.
