A Practical Guide for Small Business Owners to Effectively Share Content and Reach the Right Audience
So you’ve put in the work to create some killer content—great! But here's the thing: even the best content in the world won’t do much good if no one sees it. And this is where a lot of small businesses hit a wall.
It's kind of like the "if a tree falls in the forest" saying. All the glitzy, well-produced content i.e. podcast episodes won't do much to meet your needs, or even begin to do the job, if no one but you and a handful of friends see it, right?
You’ve got amazing blog posts, videos, and social media content, but the question is, how do you actually get it in front of the people who matter? That’s where content distribution comes in.
Think of content distribution as the bridge between your content and your audience. You’ve already done the hard work of understanding your audience and creating content that resonates with them—now, it’s time to make sure it actually reaches them. Let’s talk about the different ways you can distribute your content effectively, so it gets seen, engaged with, and delivers real value.
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1. Use Social Media Effectively
Social media is one of the most obvious—and most powerful—tools for content distribution. But here's the deal: not all social media platforms are created equal. What works on Instagram may not work on LinkedIn, and what gets traction on TikTok might fall flat on Facebook. The key is to understand where your audience spends their time and focus your efforts there.
Instagram and Facebook: Great for visual content—photos, videos, infographics. If your brand is very visual, like a bakery, clothing boutique, or fitness trainer, Instagram and Facebook are great options. Use Stories, Reels, and live sessions to add a personal touch.
LinkedIn: This is the place to be for B2B companies or if you’re sharing industry insights and thought leadership content. Let’s say you run a consulting business—LinkedIn is where you’d want to share articles, case studies, and whitepapers to show your expertise.
Twitter: Great for short, timely content. It’s perfect for sharing quick tips, linking back to your blog posts, and jumping into trending conversations relevant to your niche.
TikTok and YouTube: Video is the name of the game here. If you’re comfortable making videos and your audience loves video content, these platforms are goldmines for distribution.
Remember, it’s better to focus on a couple of platforms and do them well than to spread yourself too thin trying to be everywhere at once. The goal is to engage with your audience, not just broadcast.
2. Leverage Email Marketing
Email is still one of the most effective ways to reach people directly. It’s personal, it’s direct, and it gives you the opportunity to really nurture your audience over time. The folks on your email list have already shown interest in what you do—they’re your warmest audience. So, why not use email to distribute your content?
Newsletters: If you’ve got new content, make it part of your regular newsletter. This helps keep your subscribers in the loop and adds value to their inbox.
Segment Your Audience: Let’s say you run an online pet supply store. You could segment your email list into cat owners and dog owners. That way, you’re only sending cat-related content to cat owners and dog-related content to dog owners—making your emails more relevant and increasing the likelihood they’ll be read.
Promotional Emails: Did you create an amazing guide or e-book? Send out an email to let your audience know about it, and don’t be afraid to use enticing subject lines to grab their attention.
Email marketing tools like Benchmark and Constant Contact can make it easy to manage your email campaigns, automate your emails, and track results.
3. Build Relationships and Collaborate
Another effective way to distribute your content is by collaborating with others. Think about it—if you can tap into someone else’s audience, you’re automatically expanding your reach. Collaboration could mean working with another brand, an influencer, or even just someone who shares your values and audience.
Guest Blogging: Write a guest post for a website or blog that your audience loves. This gets your name in front of a new group of people who might not have heard of you before. If you own a small plant nursery, try writing a guest post for a popular home and garden blog.
Collaborate with Influencers: You don’t have to go for the biggest influencer out there. Micro-influencers (people with smaller but highly engaged audiences) can be just as powerful, especially if they’re well-aligned with your brand. For example, if you sell natural skincare products, partner with a skincare influencer who’s into organic beauty.
Cross-Promotions: Work with another small business to cross-promote each other’s content. Let’s say you own a coffee shop and you partner with a local bakery. You could create a joint Instagram post or video showing how great your coffee pairs with their pastries.
4. Optimize for Search Engines (SEO)
SEO isn’t just about optimizing blog posts; it’s also about making sure that all your content is discoverable. That includes videos, images, and any other content you’re putting out there. If your audience is searching for answers, you want your content to show up.
Keywords: Make sure your content includes the keywords your audience is searching for. Use tools like Ahrefs or Google Keyword Planner to find relevant keywords that will help your content rank higher.
Optimize Titles and Descriptions: When you’re sharing a video on YouTube or an article on your blog, make sure the title and description are optimized. A catchy, keyword-rich title is more likely to attract clicks.
Use Internal and External Links: Link to other content on your website and to high-quality external resources. This helps search engines understand what your content is about and shows that you’re providing value to your readers.
5. Repurpose and Republish
Don’t let your content die after its first use. One of the best ways to make sure your content continues to be seen is to repurpose it into different formats and share it across multiple channels. Repurposing not only saves you time but also helps you reach different segments of your audience.
Turn Blog Posts into Videos: Let’s say you wrote a blog post on “5 Ways to Save Money on Home Renovations.” You could easily turn that into a video, walking people through the tips step-by-step. Videos are more engaging for some audiences and might get more traction on platforms like YouTube or TikTok.
Create Infographics: If you have a blog post with lots of data or step-by-step information, turn it into an infographic. Infographics are highly shareable and can drive more engagement on social media.
Update Old Content: If you’ve got an old blog post that performed well but could use a refresh, update it! Add new data, update the examples, and republish it with a fresh spin. You’d be surprised how much mileage you can get out of old content with just a few tweaks.
6. Use Paid Promotion to Boost Reach
Sometimes, to get your content in front of the right people, you need to put a little money behind it. Paid promotion can be a great way to give your content a boost and ensure it reaches a wider audience.
Social Media Ads: Platforms like Facebook and Instagram make it easy to promote your posts to specific audiences. You can target people based on their interests, location, age, and more. If you’ve just created a new guide on home gardening, use Facebook Ads to target people who are into gardening and plants.
Google Ads: Promoting content through Google Ads can help you reach people who are actively searching for information. For example, if you’re a financial consultant and you’ve just published a guide on “How to Save for Retirement,” promoting it on Google Ads can help get it in front of people who are actively searching for those keywords.
Conclusion
Content distribution is where the magic happens. You’ve done the hard work of creating valuable content, and now it’s all about making sure the right people see it. Whether it’s leveraging social media, building relationships with others in your industry, using email marketing, optimizing for SEO, repurposing content, or even using paid promotions—there are so many ways to get your content out there.
The key is to stay strategic. You don’t have to do everything, but you do need to do the right things well. Focus on where your audience is, experiment with different distribution methods, and keep an eye on what works best for you.
In the next article, we’ll talk about how to measure the success of your content marketing strategy—because if you’re putting in the work, you want to be sure it’s paying off. Stay tuned!
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