Why Content Syndication Should be Part of Your Strategy
Content syndication goes by a few names. Whether you refer to it by that name, or promoted content, recommended content or republishing, the concept falls under the same process of pushing your content out into third-party sites. The type of content can be an article, blog post, infographic, press release, eBook, whitepaper, webinar, video etc. and the breadth of benefits is just as large.
The content slice of the marketing pie is a conversation we like to touch on here at CMS-Connected, in her November article Venus even listed the “7 Content Marketing Trends to Allocate your 2017 Budget For” but here, I would like to go over three of the reasons content syndication should be considered as part of your multi-faceted marketing strategy for 2017.
Presence, Traffic and the Opportunity to Educate
My first point may be the most obvious, but there are depths to this reason that may be overlooked. Yes, showcasing your content on other sites gives you access to the audience frequenting their site, but what if this avenue were used to access a niche your platform or product may be struggling to be recognized in? Let’s say you’re mainly just thought of as a Web CMS vendor, but you recently made additions that would give you a valuable presence in the eCommerce or digital marketing space. Take the opportunity to reach out to the websites with a heavy following in those arenas and have them showcase your newfound or previously undervalued offerings.
Having your content in front of a wider audience is likely to glean more traffic for your site, but those clicks only go so far. What you want from that traffic is to capture attention so that click turns into a first touchpoint of engagement. In this industry I have always found that informational content is going to go a much longer way with potential clients than if you link them to a highly sales driven page with very little supporting education. They clicked your link, something peaked their interest, you may have one shot with them before they close the window and move on. Now is the time to give them content they will gladly consume because it addresses their needs or offers to solve their problems.
Venus recently used that famous Steve Jobs quote: “customers don’t know what they want until we’ve shown them”. Getting eyes on your site is the first step in showing prospective clients why they should consider your platform over others and being able to grab third-party attention to show them an engaging video or infographic your organization created could be a powerful thing.
Repurposing Content to Republish
If that title sounds like a lot of repetition, it is. B2B content curation can be costly, so getting as many miles as you can out of the content you create is a fantastic way to ensure you’re going to get your ROI. This is also where Evergreen and multi-purpose content will show its value.
Evergreen content especially allows you at any given time, to diversify your content dispersion. Don’t repurpose the same content everywhere, have 5-6 different pieces of content you can pull from your own content stores that’s relevant in the long range. That will prevent link wear-out as well. Think of surfing similar websites and seeing the same content from the same vendor everywhere you look. If suddenly you’re seeing multiple images and links, you might give it a look you would’ve otherwise passed up because if they have this much to say it’s obviously worth reading. Having multiple lines in the water so to speak, will also show you the kind of content your audience wants to consume when you can track that one link is being used far more than the others.
Repurposing doesn’t always mean in the same format. Gary Vaynerchuk goes in depth on ways to repurpose in his article “Content on Content on Content” and even shows a video on what the process of that kind of content strategy can look like. The main takeaway from that article is you don't have to reuse the same exact content in a different way but allow some time that has passed to breathe new ideas into the topics discussed.
Establishing Authority
As a marketer, I always say, organizations want to identify with the persona of their customers, but customers want to identify and connect with the persona of their brand, this is why personal brands work so well. We hear a lot about thought leadership but what form should it take and further, in what way is it the most beneficial? Showcasing the knowledge and authority of company executives is also a great idea in theory but their time is often a commodity so you want to make sure their efforts result in great traction.
I reached out to one of our news contributors, Janine Olariu, because I knew she had a great example of how thought leadership can look:
"When it comes to content marketing, there are several 'ships' to focus on - the journalist relationship, the 
target group readership, and most importantly, thought leadership. As a marketing manager for a variety of software companies in the B2B marketspace, thought leadership has been vital to making complex and sometimes intangible products actually become real, relevant and relatable.
Where do stakeholders look when trying to wrap their heads around a product, its benefits and ROI? They look amongst their peers and likeminded industry leaders to gain insights and to benchmark themselves. As a result, I have always marketed useful content about the software I've represented via the thought leaders in my own organization.
Luckily, the CEOs of my previous companies have often still been in active roles as knowledge inputs regarding the software solutions and their continuous development. Quintiq, a successful supply chain software company, was one such example in which its CEO at the time, shared his visions and passion for puzzle solving in a variety of publications, including the New York Times. Currently, the same style of expertise and forward-looking insights are shared by CEO of my current company, the leading cloud platform for managing corporate payments, liquidity and bank relationships. In this case, the CEO of a corporate payments platform vendor has actually allowed his own knowledge of treasury and finance processes, as well as the pain he himself faced as a treasurer, to flow into the solution. This empowers those that have followed in his footsteps; customers feel aligned with the ideas and viewpoints shared by an industry heavy-weight who has tackled the challenges they face. Where do they go to find out his thoughts and upcoming strategies? In leading industry magazines, interviews and whitepaper excerpts - all woven from the knowledge he makes an effort to share with those that shouldn't have to reinvent the wheel.”
Where to Place Your Content
The great thing about content syndication, is you don’t have to blast it out in 12 directions all at once. Evaluate third-party prospects strategically by looking at who makes up their audience, does this website have a large social media following, are they even active on sharing their own content through those channels and ask if promotion of your content through their social media is part of the partnership. Thankfully, because content can have the lifespan of a dairy product (can begin to curdle in 7-10 days), content syndication agreements can often be in week increments which can be a great trial period to see if this third-party publication is the right place for your content.
Laura Myers
A digital business, marketing and social media enthusiast, Laura thrives on asking unique, insightful questions to ignite conversation. At an event or remotely, she enjoys any opportunity to connect with like-minded people in the industry.