What is a Cross-Platform Content Strategy?
Long gone are the days when advertisers put an ad in a newspaper and called it a day. Since there are so many different methods of consuming media today, consumers can interact with brands in a number of ways at multiple touchpoints.
Audience engagement in a world full of digital noise requires building trust and a multilayered content marketing strategy. A brand needs to go the extra mile to put its marketing material in front of a consumer, and the only way to ensure success is to promote content far and wide.
A cross-platform content strategy (often referred to as a multiplatform content strategy) uses a variety of touchpoints and media types to engage your audience and drive leads. The goal is to optimize engagement along the way and allow brands to meet their target audience right where they are online, whether that’s through social media channels, digital news outlets or even company websites. A brand should utilize as many platforms as necessary to facilitate a conversation with a customer.
There is a misconception that multiple channels mean multiple pieces of unique content. This isn’t always the case. If your channel platform strategy is set up properly from the beginning, eventually each channel will feed into the others. This makes life easier for you, saves you money and materials, and automates and streamlines your marketing strategy.
What could be better?
4 Benefits of Using Multiple Content Platforms
Let’s dive in deep with the benefits that come with using multiple content platforms within your overall marketing strategy.
Each Platform Serves a Different Purpose
Each channel platform serves a different purpose for the end-user. Whether that is a way to communicate with far-flung friends and family, to catch up on the news, to research the best deal or simply to pass the time, a channel platform offers a clear method of communication to your users. But each platform was created differently and promotes different types of content topics and formats, making it important to develop different goals or KPIs for each platform you choose.
Take social media, for example. Facebook is a great place to promote long-form content and written stories. Instagram was made for videos and graphics. LinkedIn is more of a professional and technical space, and TikTok is an environment where creators can share content in three seconds, one minute or three-minute video slots.
A content channel can also include how you choose to create and share your content. Different formats of content can bring different benefits; blogs can be used to educate, videos and graphics can be used to better illustrate and tell a story, while articles build brand credibility and authority.
More Platforms Mean More Touchpoints and Engagment
Again, there’s a ton of digital noise online. Every time consumers go on their smartphones, tablets or computers, they are inundated with content of all kinds. And since no two people consume content the same way, promoting your content on different channels is key, because the more places a user can reach you, the better chances you have of increasing engagement.
Content Expands Your Credibility
The more your content is seen, and the more places you have to publish your content, the more credible you become in your industry. This is because of brand recognition, as consumers will become more and more familiar with your content, your messaging and everything your brand stands for.
Engagement Drives Revenue
Simply put, more engagement means more eyes on your brand, which ultimately drives more leads, subscriptions, conversions and revenue. And what more could you want?
Types of Content Formats to Use in Marketing
It’s always a good idea to switch things up, so feel free to get creative in how you present your marketing materials. From quick snippets in colloquial language to more formally published pieces, all content is good content and can work to boost your brand.
Some content formats to consider include:
- Blogs: shorter pieces written with a conversational tone
- News Articles: more journalistic, timely pieces, curated content
- Educational Content: webinars, editorial content, thought leadership
- Videos, Graphics and Photos: an easy way to illustrate a story creatively
- Newsletters: curated emails and news, company updates
We suggest you experiment with multiple content types, as your biggest challenge will be figuring out which content format resonates most with your target audience. Again, there’s no such thing as too much content when it comes to getting your marketing message out there, so create as much as you’d like. Give your team the freedom to test various formats, whether curated news stories, webinars or white papers.
Getting Started With Your Cross-Platform Content Strategy
The following steps will set you up for success with your cross-platform content strategy.
Determine Who Your Target Audience Is
Knowing your audience inside and out is the foundation of your content strategy. After all, if you don’t know exactly who you’re trying to make your message appeal to, then how will you address their pain points with your content?
Determine Which Platform Is Suitable for Which Audience
To figure out which platform to use, you’ll want to take a look at the most common demographics for each. For example, a younger audience tends to be more drawn to social media, while an older audience may be more inclined to read online news articles or blogs. Taking time to research will help you decide which audience to target and what kind of content to create, which in turn will help you reach a larger audience and generate the largest return on investment.
Develop KPIs for Each Platform
An effective and successful marketing strategy starts with defining goals and business objectives. If you don’t have key performance indicators (KPIs) to track, then it will be almost impossible to see how your marketing efforts are performing, and whether they need to be tweaked in any way.
Not sure where to start? Some common goals and KPIs for each platform can include:
-
Building awareness of your brand
-
Boosting the credibility of your brand
-
Driving leads no matter where the customer is in the marketing funnel
-
Increasing clicks and impressions, which gets more eyes on your content and, in turn, your brand
-
Driving conversions with both returning customers and new customers
-
Growing brand loyalty, as well as enhancing customer loyalty and retention
-
Providing customer service and acting as a communication channel with your consumer base
Once you have a clear image of success, then you’ll have a better idea of how to create a holistic cross-platform content strategy.
Choose Your Content for Each Platform
Presenting your message the right way is just as important as choosing the proper platform to publish it on. So you’ll want to choose your content for each platform wisely. For example, long-form content is better suited for blogs rather than tweets, and graphics and videos serve as an excellent supplement to your news articles or thought leadership pieces.
Analyze and Improve Your Strategy
Once you start your content marketing execution, you’ll want to regularly analyze your strategy to make sure things are working and going in the right direction. At least once a week, look at analytics and see which platforms are resonating with your audience. Then look at the different types of content you’re creating. Are you getting higher engagement for shorter or longer pieces? Are you driving clicks to your website but having challenges converting? If so, why?
These are all insights you can gain in Google Analytics, and they can help inform and improve your cross-platform content strategy.
Consider Licensing Your Content
Time is money, and you may simply not have the resources to develop a robust cross-platform content strategy on your own. That’s where licensed content can come in to help. With a content licensing agreement you can leverage content from renowned publications without having to create the content yourself. Best of all, you’ll use this content to meet your consumers’ needs, while establishing your brand as a thought leader in the space.
Final Thoughts
There is no downside to promoting your content in as many relevant places as you can. After all, the more eyes on your content, the better! In our digital age, content is meant to be shared.
Licensing your content with the New York Times Licensing Group is a fantastic way to harness the power of world-class journalism while meeting your content marketing goals. Learn more about the licensed content offerings we have here.
