As content marketers, we know how much time and effort it sometimes takes to create the right content.
And of course, finding the right medium to publish it in order to get the desired results and help our business grow.
However, the only way to get these results is to promote your content after you hit the publish button.
Otherwise no one can find your content.
This is especially true if you’re just starting your business, so you have to actively find ways to drive traffic to this content.
Otherwise, all the time you spent creating them will be wasted.
So what would you think if we told you there was an incredible way to reach thousands of visitors that would contribute more than all other social media platforms combined, and best of all, it’s free?
Named one of the most important apps of all time by CNET, the app only requires five to ten minutes of management per day to get the results you want.
Did we get your attention?
If so, you might want to start checking out Flipboard.
Flipboard is a great way to drive a lot of traffic to your business website or blog content. If you are not already using this platform, now is the time to learn more about it and how it can help your business.
Using Flipboard as a marketing channel is one of the easiest ways to drive thousands of page views to your website. It can introduce your brand and content to an audience of over 100 million people . You can add your content to Flipboard in just two clicks, thereby generating attention and spreading your message.
So what exactly is this magical place?
Flipboard is a news aggregation platform that was launched back in 2010. At its core, it is a magazine-style subscription reader where users can discover new content based on their interests. In addition, they can "flip" their favorite content into a magazine for the rest of the world to see and consume.
In a way, it might be a bit similar to Pinterest, which was also first launched during the same period.
However, Pinterest allows you to pin content to themed boards, whereas on Flipboard, all “flipped” content is presented in a magazine-style format, presented to readers based on their interests, even if they don’t follow your specific magazine.
Looking at the statistics on our website, Flipboard is the largest referral source after search engine traffic or SEO.
When Flipboard was founded in 2010, the site was not yet optimized for mobile traffic, so it wanted to improve the reading experience for mobile users. However, over the years, it has grown into one of the most popular apps for reading feeds and discovering new content.
If you want to increase traffic to your website, Flipboard is by far the easiest and least-effortful way to get it.
If you’re not using it yet, now’s the time. This article shows you how to make the most of Flipboard so that you, too, can amplify your content marketing.
Why Use Flipboard?
Some of you might ask, why would I spend my time and energy growing a business on another platform? Flipboard is different for a few reasons.
Virtually no learning curve
Unlike other social media networks, getting started with Flipboard is super easy. From creating an account to starting to see results, it can happen overnight.
[](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/flipboard-your-social-news/id358801284)All you have to do is download the app for IOS or Android on your phone if you don’t already have it, or head to their website , sign up, and you’re off to compete!
Does not require a large number of followers
Compared to other social networks, one of the first things most people do is get as many followers as possible, but with Flipboard you don't need to have a ton of followers to start seeing results and website traffic.
how?
Well, when you start adding content to Flipboard, it automatically assigns it a category (e.g., Marketing, Business, Advertising, or even Recipes). So, no matter what content you "flip" to Flipboard, their algorithm automatically scans what's being added and can surface it as the best content in your category every day.
As you can see, Flipboard is not based on a "social graph" (a network of personal relationships like LinkedIn or Facebook), but on an "interest" graph (a network of shared interests like Pinterest).
This means that every piece of content you add can automatically be seen by your target audience, people who might be interested in the problem you’re solving (remember, content marketing is simply addressing the same problem your product solves through media you create and promote), your brand, or your product or service.
Consumer research psychologist Dr Paul Marsden expressed his opinion on this as early as 2011 ; the business opportunity lies in
“Create value (discovery, validation, referrals) for people with common interests rather than common contacts.”
In other words, when you provide your target audience with relevant, useful, compelling content, they’ll give you their attention (and hopefully their money).
So how great would it be if you could type in great content and it would automatically float to the top without you having to attract a ton of followers? (There’s help on how to get there later in this article)
Minimal investment of time and effort compared to any social media platform
So if you don’t need to spend a ton of time trying to build a social following on the platform, it means you can focus on the real work, which is curating content (which you’re probably already doing to share it on other social networks).
[](https://about.flipboard.com/social-plugins/?tool=browser)Curating content is also easy with special bookmarklets and Chrome buttons .
Short duration, but high flow rate
While Flipboard can drive a lot of traffic to your website, with its 100 million+ users “flipping” so much content, the users who visit your site because of the content you add to the platform will only be transient.
On average, adding content to Flipboard will result in a significant traffic boost in about two days. After that, you'll need to provide new content to keep traffic coming back.
While that may not sound great, think of it this way: Flipboard traffic is guaranteed, so you don’t have to spend a ton of money on advertising on other social platforms to get your content in people’s news feeds. On Flipboard, the traffic spike may be short-lived, but it’s there.
How to Get Started Using Flipboard for Content Marketing
As mentioned before, getting started on Flipboard is easy.
Create your Flipboard profile
Go to your iOS or Android device, download the app and set up your account. Of course, you can also go directly to Flipboard.com to get started.
The first step in creating your profile is to select at least five themes from the thousands available. The themes you select in the first step will determine what you will see on your home screen after you complete the sign-up process. You can change these themes at any time, and you can add more themes later if you need more.
The next step is to fill in your name and email address and create a password to complete the account setup. After that, you will receive a confirmation email and at the same time, you will see the welcome screen showing the content of the theme you selected in the first step.
Create a Flipboard Magazine
Magazines in Flipboard are where the content marketing magic happens; they are at the heart of making Flipboard work for you.
Since the entire platform is based on the concept of curated magazines , these magazines can, of course, consist entirely of your content or articles in areas you think your readers might be interested in (we recommend the latter).
So, once you have created your profile, it's time to create your magazine. This can be done in the mobile app, or on the desktop.
If you go to your profile, you can see a " New+ " button. Clicking that button will allow you to add a title (required) and description (optional) for your new magazine. You can also make your magazine " Public " by clicking the toggle button, but it's best to keep your magazine private until you have some content in it.
Make sure the magazine title and description are interesting enough to arouse people's interest and understand its content. Include target keywords so that it is easier for your target audience to discover it, and finally, make sure the focus of the magazine is clear. If you want to cover more topics, create new magazines, each magazine has its purpose.
Once you click Create, you can invite colleagues to start contributing to the magazine, but this step is optional.
Although we said you don’t need a lot of followers to get initial success from Flipboard, the more readers that follow your magazine, the better your chances of standing out in your field or getting your content “re-flipped” to a more well-known, popular magazine.
Once you click Done , you can start curating your content.
Install the Flipboard bookmarklet or Chrome extension
The easiest way to get your content into your magazine, and the last step before you start curating your content, is to install the bookmarklet or Chrome extension (if you’re using Chrome, of course).
Installing an extension or bookmarklet can make it easier to add content to your magazine while you browse the web.
Curate content for your Flipboard magazine
To get the most out of your Flipboard magazine, curate the content carefully, collect the best quality content in your field, and combine it with your content to drive traffic to your website. This way, your magazine won’t be seen as spam, but instead become a beneficial document for your followers.
This means that as you publish content on your site and see content on the web ( Nuzzel is a great way to find excellent content being shared in your field), you can quickly add that content to your magazine.
You can do this using a previously installed bookmarklet or extension, or using the Flipboard app on your phone or tablet.
Every time you see an interesting piece, tap the expand or “+” sign in the app and it will ask you which magazine you want to add it to.
When you’re just starting out, we recommend three to seven posts a week (try one a day) instead of 10 a day right away. You need to find a consistent rhythm that keeps bringing value to your followers and keeps you top of mind.
Remember, your goal, as with everything in content marketing, is to help your readers. You can achieve this by providing the best articles that are relevant to them.
Since you can work with multiple people to edit a magazine, the entire department can help.
Get followers on Flipboard
When your first pieces are published in a magazine, it’s time to take your magazine out to the world and attract followers.
Flipboard doesn’t require getting more followers, but the more people who follow you and your magazine, the greater the chance that your content will be “re-flipped” (or shared across the web).
To find people to follow, use the app on your smartphone or tablet (there is no feature on the website to find magazine followers), find other profiles that share interesting content in your niche, and follow those magazine followers. They will get a notification, see that you are also sharing interesting content with them, and may follow you back.
Another way is to follow people who comment and engage in your field (although this requires more effort). Of course, be sure to promote your magazine among your other social media and email list followers.
How to Use Flipboard to Promote Your Business
You can use Flipboard to promote your business in many ways. Let’s take a look at some of them.
Use Flipboard to report on what's happening in your industry
The first is fairly simple; content marketing is about demonstrating your expertise and that you know what’s going on in your industry.
The best way to showcase this is to publish a magazine dedicated to this purpose. Others may already be doing this, but this certainly shouldn't stop you from starting a magazine with your own voice.
Using Flipboard as a Press Kit
If your company is frequently mentioned, what better way to present it than to combine all the content into a dedicated magazine? This way, people interested in your company will always have the latest news about your company at their fingertips in an easy-to-understand format.
Create lasting memories of everything people write about you and also help create a timeline of your company. Don’t you think it’s great to have a visual memory like this?
Alternatively, why not use professional news media and the articles they write about you, and just use any articles or blog posts that mention your customers using your product or service? A magazine like this can almost act as an external customer testimonials page, and it will not only help you showcase the great product or service you are making, but it will also put the spotlight on your customers and help them out by generating traffic.
Use Flipboard for brainstorming and internal market research
For example, when brainstorming around new topics to produce content, or when conducting market research, having an in-house magazine (as well as a private magazine) can be a great way to bring together all your ideas and all the latest news about your competitors.
Use Flipboard as a product catalog or photo album
Another way to use Flipboard is almost like using Pinterest.
You can create a separate magazine that outlines all the products you sell so that your salespeople can present them to potential customers in an aesthetically pleasing way.
Or maybe you're hosting an event and you can use Flipboard to create a photo album afterwards. The best part is, Flipboard isn't limited to just your average news stories or articles. You can also flip through photos.
Having some way to show an event you just went through or show what office life is like can bring another twist to the use of the magazine.
Using Flipboard as a Newsletter Alternative
We won’t replace your entire newsletter with Flipboard Magazine, remember the importance of email marketing , but it can be an additional way to attract subscribers’ attention to the content you send.
A Flipboard Magazine is a collection of links that your (potential) customers may find useful.
How to Market Your Content on Flipboard
Now that you have some understanding of Flipboard and know the different things you can do for your company on Flipboard, it’s time to get into the nitty-gritty of how to market your content on Flipboard.
As you might have guessed, it all starts with your magazines, so let’s see how to make the most of them and turn Flipboard into a traffic-generating machine.
Regularly curate content for your Flipboard magazine
If you want to get the most value from Flipboard, you need to be active on the platform and curate content regularly.
But don't worry, this task doesn't have to take hours every day. Just set aside 10 to 15 minutes in your morning routine.
Use Flipboard, Refind , and the newsletters you subscribe to to get inspiration about your niche. Basically, any source of content you consume on a daily basis can help you.
Instead of just reading and moving on with your day, using a browser extension, or revisiting content from another magazine, start adding content to your magazine that you think will be relevant to your audience.
Flip your content
Of course, you won't gain anything personally by just adding other people's content, so start incorporating your own content into the magazine, too.
Since Flipboard is designed as a news aggregator, whenever you click the publish button for new content, you can add it to your to-do list. After all, new articles get more attention.
Don’t worry about adding old articles that you published before you started using Flipboard. However, as you can imagine, an article titled “Best Content Marketing Tips for 2016” won’t have much appeal in 2018.
The more enduring the content, the more relevant it is and the longer it will live on the web.
Pro Tip: If you want your content to have a better chance of ranking in featured categories or even appearing on the homepage of a related category, be sure to add a short review when you flip through your content in the app.
Why?
Just like any other social network, commenting is a form of engagement. According to Flipboard :
Add a short comment as you turn the page. Not only does this add value to your curation, it also draws attention to your post as comments are highlighted in our mobile layout.
So when you’re flipping through a piece of content in your magazine, be sure to use the space that says “Add a comment (optional)” Leave a brief comment about why you think others need to read this content, and be sure to include your target keyword in it.
When something is put into the magazine, Flipboard scans all of it to see if it’s worthy of being featured in any of the categories on the home page.
While this is an automatic process and you don’t have any control over it, adding the right reviews can have a huge impact on it.
Make it easy for others to flip your content
The more people who repost your content, the better your chances of going viral in the app. Therefore, you should make it as easy as possible for others to repost your content in their magazines.
Add a Flipboard button to your website
Start by adding the Flipboard share button to your website, next to the Facebook, Twitter, and all the other buttons you already have.
Although there are already social media sharing buttons in WordPress with native Flipboard sharing options (such as Shareaholic , AddThis , AddToAny , etc.), you can also use the “native” sharing options provided in Jetpack .
Go to Jetpack > Settings > Sharing and enable “Add share buttons to your posts”.
Next, go to Settings > Sharing from the left menu and select Add a new service.
An overlay will open:
The following content needs to be filled in:
- Service Name: Flipboard
- Share URL: https://share.flipboard.com/bookmarklet/popout?v=%post_title%&url=%post_full_url%&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=widgets&utm_source=jetpack
- Icon URL: For an icon, you can create something yourself, upload it to your media library and use that URL
The only thing left to do is click “Create Share Button” on your website.
Share your Flipboard magazine elsewhere
Of course, your website isn't the only property you control, so share your magazine on other social networks, add it to your email list, or even embed the magazine on your website .
View your statistics
Just like every other marketing effort you’re taking, it’s crucial to look at statistics to see how your magazine is performing.
If you go to your profile page in the upper right corner of your browser, you will see a "Logged in" message. When you click the V icon next to it, several options will appear. Just click "Analytics" to see the number of articles you flip through each day, your daily viewers, and page flips.
Interact with other users.
The final step to help promote your content is to engage with other Flipboard users. Try setting aside some time in the morning after you flip through new content to engage with other users on the platform.
On any social network, engagement always produces the best results, leading to the best relationships, which in turn will drive real traffic back to your profile and of course your flipping content, aka your website.
While Flipboard doesn't require a huge daily time investment like other social networks, you'll get more results if you follow other magazines, like and comment on other related articles, and so on.
This also enables you to see what other accounts are turning over, what content is working for them, and which articles are most appealing to them. Learn from this and apply it to your magazine.
Content shouldn’t exist in a vacuum. Flipboard is a great way to get your content in front of a wide audience, and isn’t that what we all want when we create content?
At User Growth, we’ve been using it since we started publishing content, and it remains one of our biggest traffic drivers to this day.
There is no reason not to add Flipboard to your list of social networks and start seeing results immediately. It will help you get your content in front of the right target groups who are interested in the topics you write about.
It will bring you active traffic and hopefully new leads.
Are you already using Flipboard in your marketing mix? What results have you seen? If not, what’s stopping you from adding it? Leave a comment below and let us know!
Conclusion: Is Flipboard Useful for Bloggers and Brands?
Flipboard is an evolving platform for consumers and publishers like you and I. They have grown from a mobile-only platform to one that also includes a desktop version, and in my opinion, they will only continue to grow.
It’s best to start using Flipboard right away, and while it may take some time to schedule it for optimal benefit (depending on your popularity and the quality of your curation), it will ultimately help you get traffic and exposure for your blog, business, or brand.
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