How to Use the Distribution Approach to Improve Your Content Marketing

Many brands enhance their content marketing by carefully blending different content strategies and promotion efforts. However, while these tactics may work, there’s still a missing piece of the puzzle that becomes apparent throughout their marketing process.

Many of these brands struggle when it comes to seeing the bigger picture of their efforts and creating value for their customers. Without the right approach, these brands risk losing out on making the most of their content marketing efforts.

Fortunately, there is an effective integrated approach that serves as a solution: the distribution approach to marketing exchange. It helps marketers produce content that is customer-centric and smooths the flow of information. According to marketing expert Anthony Miyazaki, this approach considers “the flow of information, innovation, and compensation between the buyer and the seller in the exchange process.”

Here’s how you can utilize the distribution approach for your content marketing efforts.

1. Produce content that customers value.

Information is one of the factors at play in the distribution approach to marketing exchange. It’s not just about information about your brand’s products or services…it’s also the smooth flow of communication that gets the information out there to customers.

To create high-performing content that engages your customers, you need to review their needs and preferences. This includes their pain points and relevant information they look for when it comes to products in your respective industry.

Keeping these factors in mind allows you to sharpen your content’s copy, format, structure, design, and channel so that it’s easily accessible to your target customers.

2. Deliver content that drives competition.

Innovation is another factor in the distribution approach to marketing exchange. This refers to the product offering and all the benefits it may provide the customer.

Understanding your product/service and your customer’s pain points can help boost your content strategy so that you deliver content that includes the added benefits your product offerings can have.

Remember: customers do not buy products, they buy benefits. Therefore, along with the product or service itself, you need to include its innovative aspects within your content. Doing this consistently helps your brand gain a competitive advantage by standing out from the crowd of competitors.

3. Develop an effective content strategy with long-term benefits.

It may take a while, but effective content marketing can facilitate an increased ROI. As you continue to strategize and create content that resonates with your customers, your brand may become an established go-to source of information and products/services within your respective industry.

This is where compensation, another factor in the distribution approach, comes into mind. While the word “compensation” often refers to money, it can also be non-monetary, such as social prestige and power.

Compensation has a valuable place in your content marketing efforts. It can be implemented as an objective or KPI for a content marketing campaign. Establishing non-monetary benefits like prestige or a positive relationship with customers determines whether a customer chooses your brand over a competitor so it’s important to focus on these factors in the long run.

The distribution approach to marketing exchange is vital to content marketing. Along with creating a better flow of communication between your brand and its target customers, you’re also focusing on building strong relationships with your customers.

Of course, each factor in the distribution approach may vary depending on your brand and your customer in mind but if you’re consistent, you will reap its long-term benefits.