As content creators, we‘d all love for our brilliant blog posts, videos, and infographics to go viral organically and reach millions. But the harsh reality is that organic reach is declining rapidly across most major content platforms. Paying to boost the visibility and distribution of content is no longer a nice-to-have – for many brands, it‘s becoming a necessity.
In fact, recent research from Hootsuite shows that the average organic reach for a Facebook post is now just 5.2%. That means only 1 in 20 of your followers may see your content if you don‘t put some paid muscle behind it. Twitter and Instagram organic reach rates aren‘t much better, at around 9% and 13% respectively.
But before you start throwing money at the problem, it‘s important to be strategic about your approach. Not all paid content distribution channels are created equal. And if your content isn‘t high-quality and authentic to begin with, no amount of paid promotion will save it.
To help you navigate this tricky landscape, let‘s dive into what smart paid content distribution looks like in 2024 and how it can benefit your brand. We‘ll explore the most effective channels and tactics, common pitfalls to avoid, and how to maximize ROI while staying true to your values.
Why Organic Reach is Declining
The decline of organic reach has been happening for years, but several factors have accelerated it recently:
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Content overload: The volume of content being published every day has exploded. There are now over 2.5 quintillion bytes of data created each day, and over 70% of marketers are actively investing in content marketing. Standing out organically is harder than ever.
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Platform algorithms: As more content floods social media and search engines, platforms are having to prioritize what they show users. Increasingly, their algorithms favor paid content as a way to generate ad revenue while still delivering a good user experience.
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Changing consumer behavior: People are more distracted and less likely to actively seek out brand content than ever. The average attention span is now just 8 seconds. Brands have to work harder to reach people where they already are and quickly capture their interest.
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Privacy regulations: Laws like GDPR and CCPA are making it harder for brands to collect data and target users organically. Paid content leverages the data and consent that platforms have already collected compliantly.
But this doesn‘t mean organic is dead. Building real relationships, credibility, and SEO authority with your audience is still critical for long-term success. Paid should accelerate and complement your organic strategy, not replace it.
Benefits of Paid Content Distribution
So what can paying to promote your content help you achieve? There are several key benefits:
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Reach new audiences: Organic content mostly reaches people who already know and follow your brand. Paid allows you to connect with new people who are likely to be interested based on their demographics, interests, or behaviors, but don‘t yet know you exist. You can cast a wider net.
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Boost key content: No matter how great your content is, most of your audience likely won‘t see it organically. Putting paid behind your most important or best-performing assets ensures more of the right people find it.
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Control timing & spend: With organic, you never know exactly how many people will see a post or exactly when they‘ll see it. Paid gives you more control to deliver the right message to the right audience at the optimal time, with predictable reach based on your budget.
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Speed up results: Building an engaged organic audience takes time. Paid can act like a shortcut to get your content in front of more people faster. This is especially useful for time-sensitive content like a new product launch or event.
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Improve targeting & testing: Paid content distribution platforms offer increasingly sophisticated ways to target very specific segments of your audience. You can also run A/B tests to optimize your messaging, creative, and calls-to-action more efficiently than with organic.
But to reap these benefits, you need a smart strategy. Let‘s look at some of the most effective paid content channels and tactics.
Effective Paid Content Channels
The right mix of paid channels will depend on your audience, industry, and goals. But here are some of the most popular and effective options:
1. Social Media Advertising
Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn all offer robust ways to pay to promote your organic posts and create dedicated ads that link back to your content.
Some key options and use cases:
- Facebook: Boosting posts, video ads, carousel ads, instant experience ads. Best for B2C brands, especially lifestyle, ecommerce, and entertainment.
- Instagram: Boosting posts, Stories ads, Explore ads, Collection ads. Best for B2C, particularly visually-oriented verticals like fashion, beauty, food, and travel.
- Twitter: Promoted tweets, video ads, moment ads, takeover ads. Good for both B2B and B2C, especially for newsworthy, real-time, and trend-based content.
- LinkedIn: Sponsored content, Conversation ads, Message ads, lead gen forms. Most effective for B2B content aimed at professionals.
Paid social works best when your content fits seamlessly into the user‘s feed and adds value. Focus on short, engaging, visual assets rather than hard sells.
2. Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
While SEO focuses on optimizing content to rank organically in search results, SEM involves paying for ads on search engines to get your content seen.
The most popular platform is Google Ads, which shows sponsored results above and below organic search results. You bid on specific keywords and pay each time someone clicks your ad. Other search engines like Bing and Yahoo have similar offerings.
SEM is most effective for content that solves problems or answers questions your audience is actively searching for. To succeed, you‘ll need:
- Relevant, high-quality content that matches search intent
- Enticing ad headlines and copy
- Smart keyword targeting and bidding strategies
- Optimized landing pages that deliver on the ad‘s promise
3. Native Advertising
Native ads match the form and function of the platform on which they appear. Unlike banner or display ads, they look and feel like organic content, making them less interruptive and more engaging.
Common examples include:
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Sponsored content: Paying to have your blog post or video show up in a publication or influencer‘s feed, like a Buzzfeed listicle sponsored by a brand.
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Recommended content widgets: Using platforms like Outbrain or Taboola to show your content as suggested reading below articles on news and blog sites.
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Promoted listings: Paying shopping sites and marketplaces like Amazon or Etsy to feature your product listings higher in search results or category pages.
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In-feed social ads: Sponsored posts on social media designed to blend into the user‘s feed, like an Instagram post ad or LinkedIn promoted post.
The key to effective native is making sure your content genuinely fits the form and function of the platform, adding value for users. If it looks too much like an ad, you‘ll risk annoying people and wasting money.
4. Influencer Marketing
Partnering with relevant influencers and thought leaders to co-create or distribute content can be a powerful way to reach new audiences and build credibility. You‘re essentially paying to piggyback on their reach and reputation.
This can take many forms, like:
- Sponsoring an influencer to create a dedicated post or video about your brand
- Collaborating with an influencer on a piece of content like an ebook or webinar
- Paying an influencer to share your content with their audience
- Getting an influencer or industry expert to contribute a quote or insight to your content
The key is finding influencers who are truly relevant to your niche and have an engaged, trusting audience. Authenticity and credibility are essential.
According to a recent survey, 49% of consumers depend on influencer recommendations when making purchasing decisions. And influencer marketing delivers an average ROI of $5.20 for every $1 spent.
Measuring the ROI of Paid Content
To measure your ROI, you‘ll need to track:
- Spend: How much you‘ve invested in each paid channel
- Reach: How many people saw your content
- Engagement: Clicks, likes, shares, comments, and time spent with your content
- Conversion: How many people took a desired action like subscribing, downloading, or buying something
- Revenue: How much pipeline and sales your content ultimately generated
Luckily, most paid platforms provide detailed performance dashboards with these metrics. Tools like Google Analytics, Heap, and Mixpanel can also help you measure user behavior and tie your paid efforts back to bottom-line business results.
The key metrics to watch will depend on your specific goals, but some common ones include:
- Cost-per-click (CPC)
- Click-through rate (CTR)
- Conversion rate
- Cost-per-acquisition (CPA)
- Return on ad spend (ROAS)
Aim for a CPC, CTR, and conversion rate that are higher than your organic benchmarks. For CPA and ROAS, consider how much a new lead or customer from paid content is worth to determine if your spend is sustainable.
Balancing Organic and Paid
So how much should you invest in paid content distribution vs. organic? A good rule of thumb is the 80/20 rule: Spend 80% of your time creating amazing content, and 20% promoting it, with paid as one component of that mix.
The exact ratio will depend on your audience, industry, and goals, but here‘s a sample breakdown for a B2B SaaS company:
| Channel | % of Promotion Time/Budget |
|---|---|
| Organic social media | 20% |
| Email marketing | 20% |
| SEO & content optimization | 20% |
| Paid social ads | 15% |
| SEM | 10% |
| Influencer/partner marketing | 10% |
| Native advertising | 5% |
The key is to focus on quality over quantity with your paid content. Don‘t just boost every blog post – be selective and data-driven. Double down on keywords, platforms, and content assets that are working, and cut what‘s not.
Staying Authentic & Ethical
A common fear with paid content is that it will make your brand look inauthentic or spammy. But if you stay true to your values and prioritize quality, paid can actually build more trust and credibility.
Some dos and don‘ts:
- DO create genuine, helpful, non-salesy content that you‘d be proud to share organically
- DO promote content that already performed well organically, so you know it resonates
- DO boost thought leadership and educational content, not just product pitches
- DON‘T pay for fake likes, followers, or engagement – it‘s not fooling anyone
- DON‘T make paid posts look too much like ads and risk banner blindness
- DON‘T be misleading with your headlines or preview text to bait clicks
When in doubt, put yourself in your audience‘s shoes. If you would genuinely appreciate seeing a piece of content in your feed or search results, it‘s probably a good candidate for paid promotion.
Key Takeaways
Organic reach is declining across most major content platforms, making paid distribution an increasingly important part of a well-rounded content strategy. When done right, paying to promote content can help you:
- Reach new relevant audiences
- Give your best content a visibility boost
- Target and test your messaging more efficiently
- Drive faster and more measurable results
But you need a thoughtful approach to be successful. Focus on:
- Choosing the most relevant mix of paid channels for your audience and goals
- Maintaining a healthy balance of organic and paid in your content mix
- Promoting only your best, most valuable content to avoid looking spammy
- Tracking and optimizing your ROI across channels
- Staying true to your brand voice and values
By incorporating paid content distribution strategically and authentically, you can amplify your content‘s impact and reach your marketing goals faster in 2024 and beyond.