The Content Distribution D.R.E.A.M.

Where would the book series Harry Potter be without the publishing contract to distribute the books far and wide?

Stuck in Scotland.

Why does Netflix hold so much power in the TV and film industry?

Distribution.

Who could keep up with the Kardashians without the reach of Bravo?

Only those living in Calabasas.

By understanding the symbiotic power of content and media/distribution, marketers, writers, and creators can better amplify their ideas (and offerings).

Content and Media Distribution are Codependent

Content and media go hand in hand. For those of us who didn’t take comm 101 in college, the term media is a vague thing that means “the news”.

But the real definition is much more relevant to anyone trying to distribute written ideas online.

Media are the communication outlets or tools used to store and deliver information or data.

So the term media means the tools used for distribution. This is a powerful concept and weapon.

Canadian communications theorist Marshall McLuhan, first stated in Counterblast (1954): “The media are not toys; they should not be in the hands of Mother Goose and Peter Pan executives. They can be entrusted only to new artists because they are art forms.”

Powerful Syndication Networks Scale Your Content Exponentially

Land a story on Travel + Leisure and watch it get syndicated to MSN and Yahoo.

Build content with this powerful idea in mind and suddenly every piece you create is now worth 10-100x more.

There are also “hat tip networks” – a name I’ve given to the concept of some established blogs and niche publishers ending their article with an “h/t” for hat tip. Plug into these and watch your distribution scale as well.

Social Media is an Exponential Upside Distribution Network

I’m very much not a social media expert.

My eyes gloss over any time I read another marketing article about the medium with zero depth.

But no one can argue with the massive reach of social media that now exists. The challenge is in matching the right brand with the right content in the right style to the right distribution platform at the right time.

Those who crack this puzzle for their specific situation will be richly rewarded.

There’s a lot of content that might see crickets, but there’s potential for exponential upside for those ideas that hit.

This is the D.R.E.A.M. – Distribution Rules Everything Around Me