Most people have heard the expression, “You get what you pay for.” The deeper meaning to this adage is, when you invest in something for the long-haul – whether shoes, clothing, or household appliances, for example – you focus on things that are built to last. The result is you’ll end up spending less money on repairs and replacements and retain things of value for a longer time. In a sense, the same is true for content.
Content created to resonate with audiences over a long period of time is a better investment than content with a shorter life span. And, while we’re not suggesting that you don’t create content that is new and fresh, good content that is evergreen can be refreshed and repurposed to have an even broader reach and impact in terms of generating traffic and leads.
Mark Traphagen, senior director of Online Marketing at Stone Temple Consulting recommends that content be saved and shared frequently, and offers his experience with sharing content multiple times over several weeks. “Each of the latter shares that ‘hit’ generated more than half the amount of traffic than the original share did. That’s traffic we never would have had if we’d only shared once.”
According to the Content Marketing Institute, there is a method to sharing content efficiently that includes the following:
Sharing content multiple times requires time to execute, so consider automating the process. Plan several weeks of promotion at once, space each post appropriately, and monitor their impact.
Studies show when content is amplified in addition to being promoted, a post will produce results long after it’s been published. This can help in generating as much as two to three times more traffic and leads over a three-month period as a result of distribution, search, and referrals traffic.
Content amplification can be done efficiently by:
There are other ways to further maximize the value of your content, but just remember: content that is evergreen and relevant can continue to create value in the long term by amplifying it and broadening its reach.