Congratulations, you have started a new business! Pull up a chair and sit down. Pour a glass of your favorite beverage, and settle in with the next must-watch Netflix binge (I hear the new series of The Crown is rather good). The hard work is over. You are a success.
But wait one second, what was that? It sounded like a gentle whisper from some kind of all-knowing spirit of a content creation wizard. The words ‘social media content’ whirs around your head. “Oh no!” you exclaim, flinging your perfectly poured pint across the room “I have forgotten to consider a content promotion plan!”
It is with great relief that I can tell you there is no need to hire an expensive marketing team to deliver truly great content for your target audience and make sure they see it. So, put away that checkbook as we take an in-depth look into 5 incredible content promotion plan examples guaranteed to make your digital marketing a success.
What exactly is a content promotion plan?
Great question! It would be somewhat remiss to dive into these content promotion plan examples without an answer to this burning query. For a more step-by-step look at what content promotion is, head to this incredible blog written by one of our writers at Quuu: What is Content Distribution? A Guide to Kickstart Your Strategy.
A content promotion plan is how a business distributes relevant content to its target audience. Simple, isn’t it? We wish it were. The issue is there is most likely a host of other pesky, greedy influencers clawing for your spotlight and page views from your given demographic. This simply will not do. You deserve to be seen as the glistening and loud entrepreneur that you are.
The solution is a well-tailored, SEO-rich social media marketing campaign fueled by a fantastic content promotion plan. Picture for a moment the finest burger topped with a mouth-watering sauce and all the garnishings you could ask for served in a fresh brioche bun. That is your delicious content for your target audience. Yum.
Then imagine that same burger being catapulted across the room, sliding down the wall and onto the dirty floor. That was a poor distribution technique. You as the desired target audience would not consume it. At least, I hope you wouldn’t.
You see, a terrible means of distribution is detrimental to both food service and content promotion. Consumers don’t want their content served from the floor but instead on the finest, gold-encrusted china. Yeah, consumers can indeed be that high-maintenance.
The three types of distribution
So, we know that part of our promotional plan is how our content marketing campaign is delivered to our chosen demographic But more importantly it is also making sure that this content is seen by your intended target audience in the first place. But what options are there for distribution? Luckily for us, we live in a world that has undergone a digital revolution, and carrier pigeons are no longer the sole delivery system available.
These distribution techniques can be broken down into three, relatively self-explanatory and distinct categories:
| Type | Definition | Examples |
| Owned | Owned by your business | Website, social media, email list, and blogs |
| Paid | Paid for by the business | Sponsorships, adverts, paid searches, and promotional platforms (e.g. Quuu Promote and HubSpot) |
| Earned | Created by the target audience | Word of mouth, free influencers, reviews, social media shares |
To find out more about one of the best distribution channels, head to the Quuu Promote landing page to promote your best content now.
Now once you have picked your poison, you will want to start implementing this content promotion plan at once. It sounds simple, doesn’t it? All you have to do is spin the imaginary Wheel of Promotion to pick a distribution technique and you have hit the jackpot. Unfortunately, that is not true. Choosing the wrong distribution channel could land you in the ‘bankrupt zone’.
Which content promotion plan is right for me?
To be perfectly honest; I do not know. That was probably different from the answer you were looking for. But this is not a one-shoe-fits-all situation. This is not a Cinderella story, far from it. There are a multitude of marketing plans available to you and each can serve a different need.
So, what is your ideal fit? Well, this depends on numerous factors but asking the below questions should give you a good idea.
- Who are your competitors?
- Who is your target audience?
- What types of content are you promoting?
- What are your KPIs and marketing goals?
Included within the next sections are a few fantastic examples of content promotion plans. Now it is important to note, the big dogs of business don’t tend to leave their content promotion plan templates laying around for just anyone to see. (I know, how selfish.)
They are most likely kept in a high tower guarded by a fire-breathing dragon named Steve. But even though these plans are not often open to the public you can see a successful plan in motion, working seamlessly behind a success story.
Who are your competitors?
Take a look around and do some research. Type your brand keywords into your favorite search engine and find out the market leaders in your industry. Look at their successful content marketing examples and see how they promote great content. Ask yourself; is their social media marketing reaching their buyer personas? Or, is there potentially an overlooked channel that is being underused for your demographic?
Who is your target audience?
Importantly, think about the people you’re targeting. Who is your demographic? Who will get the best user experience from the type of content you are promoting? What are the consumer’s pain points and needs? And, which are the most relevant content types and distribution channels to pique their interest?
In the quest for these answers, both Google Analytics (or the social media alternatives) are your best weapon. These tools and the boundless information they provide can help you build a buyer persona, a digital representation of your ideal customer.
What types of content are you promoting?
Content promotion is rather similar to baking a cake, you need ingredients. “Ingredients!” I hear you exclaim; “we are not on MasterChef”. This is true, I am no Gordon Ramsay. However, the timeless proverb ‘variety is the spice of life’ applies to any business’s social media.
Using a multitude of content can give your promotion plan variety, heighten brand awareness and conjure endless page views guaranteed to meet your KPIs.
One of the more recently popular types is video content which comes in three distinct categories:
| Type of Video Content | Examples |
| Long Form | Webinars, YouTube videos, and vlogs |
| Short Form | Trailers and adverts |
| Snackable | Instagram reels, TikTok videos, and Facebook Stories |
Some of the other types of content available are as follows:
- Infographics
- Email marketing
- Podcasts
- User-generated content
- Blog posts
- Social media posts
- Case studies
- How-to guides
Your choice of content will influence your promotional plan as certain types perform better on different platforms.
For some further reading on the best types of content that can help you promote your content, look no further than this fantastic article.
What are your KPIs and marketing goals?
Take some time to figure out what your marketing goals actually are. It is recommended to create KPIs that are SMART:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Attainable
- Realistic
- Time-Bound
The below infographic also provides some of the most common marketing KPI subject matters.
Your KPIs will influence the structure of your content promotion plan. For example, if your KPI is “grow sales by 15% in the next three years” then social media platforms may not quite cut it.
The best content promotion plan examples
The following examples of content promotion plans are genuinely exceptional. These are businesses operating at their absolute finest. In each example, there is a clear understanding of who their competitors and target audience are whilst making the most out of different content types to achieve their marketing goals.
We’ve even thrown in a disastrous example, just to show you what not to do as part of a content promotion plan.
1. Blue Apron
Blue Apron is a five Michelin-star example of a content plan done well. Really well done in fact, like the perfect steak. As a provider of meal kits to hundreds of thousands of households across the globe Blue Apron decided to break the tradition of content marketing campaigns.
It looked around at its competitors and found a niche by reaching out to its target audience by launching a podcast named: Why We Eat What We Eat. The answer is not simply “because we are hungry”, go figure. Blue Apron describes the show as a podcast for ‘anyone who has ever eaten’. Sounds like a niche demographic, I can’t imagine it catching on to be perfectly honest.
It caught on. The show was a huge success and was yet another unique means for Blue Apron to spread brand awareness whilst engaging with a subject matter their audience was interested in. But how do you gauge the success of a podcast? Well, the following are a few metrics to keep an eye on
- Revenue
- Downloads
- Subscribers
- Reviews
- Traffic
However, it is important to remember that the success of your content should be measured by your own personal KPIs and marketing goals.
2. IGN
IGN is the industry leader in entertainment news—from video games to blockbusters to the latest streaming craze. If you want to know about the upcoming Winnie the Pooh horror movie (I am not kidding this exists), then IGN is the website you need. With its finger resoundingly on the pulse, the site provides a constant stream of up-to-date content for its target audience.
Inarguably part of IGN’s rise to stardom can be seen in its content marketing plan and subsequent understanding of who its key demographic is. If we use a traffic analytic tool such as Similarweb we can see that IGN’s buyer persona is an American male between the ages of 18-34 who is interested in video games, movies, and news.
IGN has catered its content and distribution to this audience. Their social media channels overflow with the latest trailers, commentary, funny takes, and behind-the-scenes features. Spreading across a multitude of platforms including Twitch, Tiktok, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, IGN has truly become the one-stop shop for their buyer personas. This understanding of their user base is essential, they are sharing their relevant content in an easily consumable way for their demographic.
The below video is an exceptional example of using content to engage with a chosen target audience with a humorous take on the most up-to-date entertainment news:
New to Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+, and More – December 2022 – YouTube
3. The Unmumsy Mum
Have you ever heard of TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn? Of course, you have. That is unless you have been living under a rock for the last twenty years. Then we may need to have a conversation about a few things.
More importantly, your clients have most definitely heard of these platforms. It is estimated that 4.70 million people around the world use social media. In total, they spend an average of 2 hours and 29 minutes a day looking at a multitude of different types of content from pictures of their grandma’s cat; Munchkin, to the latest TikTok trend. Apparently, it is currently the Wednesday Addams’ dance.
Enjoy that video for a moment. Done? Good. To put this into perspective, the average American spends less than half that time (1 hour and 7 minutes) eating. You know, that thing we need to do to live?
If you want to find out more about how to stand out in the age of content overload then read this brilliant blog we made earlier.
Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are truly incredible platforms to promote your brand. There are countless examples of made-from-scratch businesses that have blossomed on social media. All it can take is one tweet or post to go viral and you will be drowning in page views.
The Unmumsy Mum is a British comedian named Sarah Turner who has found fame on social media with her hilarious and relatable posts. Behind her is a brilliant example of a content promotion plan. She constantly posts about events, happenings, and stories that she knows will tract well with her demographic.
Her posts are religiously shared, commented on, and liked by her followers who clamor for more of her misadventures. Picking the right type of content was crucial to her success. Without the aid of social media platforms, her content would most likely not have reached these incredible heights.
4. Hobbycraft
Hobbycraft is a behemoth in the arts and craft supplier industry. In the UK, it simply has no rival. From baking to crocheting, it is the number one destination for crafting supplies. Inarguably, Hobbycraft’s content marketing efforts have aided them in their success and subsequent cornering of this particular market.
Their industry is undeniably creative and, therefore, so are their customers. It only seems logical to capitalize on this in their content promotion plan. This is where Hobbycraft’s use of user-generated content truly shines. They run competitions. A lot of competitions. Their social media is full to the brim with them. At the end of each post, there is a call-to-action (CTA) for the audience to share their creations for a chance to win a prize.
Now, the naysayers may say “surely that is an incredible waste of money”. Well, not necessarily. They simply understand their own KPIs. In fact, their competition posts seem to get the most traction online. After all, the best way to highlight the fun of crafting and Hobbycraft’s high-quality supplies is to showcase Gwen’s crocheted dog Christmas jumper.
Gwen’s amateur poochie fashion and countless other user submissions are the best means to show the customer what can be achieved with Hobbycraft products and meet their marketing goals.
5. Whittle Shop of Horrors
There are countless businesses out there that do not know how to effectively distribute their pieces of content. This renders all their hard-earned content marketing efforts almost redundant.
Take Derek for example. Derek is a wonderful man who loves to make delectable little wooden trinkets. He has decided to launch his own small business called Whittle Shop of Horrors to sell his wares to the masses. The issue is, he has not one clue about social media marketing or content marketing plans.
He knows a bit about social media, so this seems like the most obvious choice to create some brand awareness. He starts a Facebook page. Not the best start, as his target audience is the over 50s and seniors are the smallest demographic on Facebook. Also, there seems to be a very large competitor gobbling up their potential customers, called WhittleStop.
Oh well, upwards and onwards. His first post is:
No Derek, that simply won’t do. This isn’t promoting any content. That will not boost your SEO rankings. As nice as this simplistic greeting is, you need to promote relevant content for your buyer persona.
Derek receives no shares or likes. He seems deflated and does not post any new content for a whole month. Oh no, that won’t work. There needs to be a constant stream of high-quality content on your social media channels.
“Fair enough,” Derek thinks ”time to deploy the ultimate weapon, my dance moves”. He posts a ten-second video of him twerking to the latest chart hit onto his news feed. Oh dear, that was probably not the best place for that content. Have you heard of a little-known app called TikTok? At this rate, we really cannot see him achieving his KPI of becoming the number one wood-whittling store on the planet. Good luck to him though.
Conclusion
Here we are, the end. We have reached the climax of our in-depth examination of four successful content promotion plan examples and one really bad one. But what have we learned?
Well, for starters we know what a promotion plan actually is, a strategy to tackle your distribution of content. We also found that there are three types of distribution:
- Owned
- Earned
- Paid
We have studied a multitude of content plan promotion examples that demonstrate how and how not to successfully create a content marketing campaign. As well as providing you with the questions that need to be asked to aid you in the optimization of your strategy.
Now that you have all the ingredients in your hands, it is time to take them to the content promotion kitchen and cook up a success.
What questions do you ask when considering your content promotion plan? What is your go-to type of distribution? Do you have any incredible examples of content promotion plans of your own?
