5 Essential Publishing Platforms for Businesses

Unless you’re actually in the publishing business, an increasingly challenging proposition these days, you likely don’t give much thought to “publishing” per se. Content creation for the sake of content creation — that’s for others, right?

Not exactly. No matter what business you’re in, a steady stream of high-quality content is your ticket to greater credibility with the audiences most likely to buy from you — and, it follows, a more robust prospect pipeline.

But your resources aren’t unlimited. Where should you train your finite publishing firepower? Consider these five platforms, some of which you’re almost certainly using already.

1. Medium

Medium is rapidly supplanting Reddit as the veritable front page of the Internet. A flexible, interactive blogging platform that’s astoundingly easy for novices to use, Medium earns millions of unique views every month. Established publishers get thousands of views and shares per post, and the Medium Partner Program pays real money when posts go viral. If you’re trying to get longform content seen by a wide audience, you’ve got to post it on Medium.

2. LinkedIn

LinkedIn is North America’s most popular social media platform for professionals. It’s also an underrated blogging and content sharing platform. LinkedIn really shines for on-brand, uplifting content; this arts and technology centre’s relentlessly on-message company page is a fantastic example of what’s possible here.

3. Twitter

Twitter is the original micro-blogging site, and it’s still indispensable for commercial publishers looking to reach prospective customers in near real time. Use it for timely announcements, quick content shares, and anything else that can’t wait.

4. Instagram

Photographers publish too, you know. As the world’s leading visual-first social site, Instagram is the place to publish high-quality multimedia content that supports your brand and appeals to your audience. Plus, it’s really fun to use.

5. Ebooks (Ungated)

Last, but not least: the humble ebook. An increasingly influential school of thought holds that ebooks aren’t worth much without a price tag — that is, that publishers should charge prospective readers for the privilege of reading what they have to say.

With respect, this is wrongheaded. As enticing as the thought of a reliable stream of side revenue might be, you’re not in the publishing business. The content your organization creates is a means to an end, not an end in and of itself. At most, you’ll want to collect ebook readers’ contact details: their names, roles, organizations’ names, and email addresses, if and where relevant. Don’t insult potential customers by asking them to pay upfront — that’ll come later.

Share Your Thoughts, Expand Your Funnel

Your voice is your own. No other organization has your unique perspective, value set, expertise. It’s high time you embraced your irreplaceable value proposition by publishing high-quality content that you know your audience craves.

Whether you choose to publish on all six of these platforms, stick to a handful that you know well, or pursue other opportunities that better fit your target audience, remember always to make it worth your audience’s while. The moment you start telling your readers or viewers something they already know is the moment they begin looking for a more reliable source of information.