What is content syndication? Why is it so powerful, and why should you consider adding it to your marketing strategy this year?

In Part 1 of this article series, we dive into the basics of content syndication and review tips for setting up a successful strategy.

PART 1: THE BASICS

Content syndication is a great tactic to help bring more visibility to your content and ultimately to your brand. Most companies produce a lot of content over the course of one year, whether it’s written content like articles and case studies or visual content like videos and animations. In most cases, a lot of that content is published simultaneously on blogs, social media, etc. But in one single push for publication, much of that content is neglected thereafter. Marketers find they don’t get the number of views or subscriptions they expected, which is a common problem we witness with prospective clients. If you find it difficult to link your content strategy to ROI, you’re not alone.

Let’s explore content syndication best practices and see how you can give more power to your existing content.

At Selling Simplified, we witnessed a significant increase in digital content engagement by the end of the first COVID-19 lockdown. Digital content engagement increased significantly, with asset views up 40%. On social media, incoming daily engagement increased by 44% across all networks and industries. And according to a report by Sprout Social, there were 7.3 more engagements per post per day on average. This indicates that now, more than ever, there is a real opportunity for brands to leverage digital content to engage with their audience, generate leads, and stay competitive.

From a branding perspective, content syndication helps boost SEO results and increase online visibility. From a revenue perspective, content syndication leverages customer data to increase the number of qualified leads in your funnel and consequently up your chances of converting them into long-term clients.

Though it seems daunting and may require that you re-evaluate your digital marketing strategy, it’s easy to get started. The first step is to leverage existing content. Gather your most compelling and best-performing articles, whitepapers, e-books, case studies, etc., and choose how you want to proceed: either embark on a glorified DIY project or hire a content syndication partner, like Selling Simplified.

DO IT YOURSELF

If you decide to implement content syndication without the help from an experienced demand gen professional, be sure to establish a list of partners you can team up with. Identify partners that have authority in the online landscape and look for ones that have more web traffic than yours. This is the best course of action to propel your reach. The obvious downside is that you may get overshadowed by these third-party websites, and readers might not be interested to find out about the original source. They may never land on your website. Additionally, it can take time to develop partnerships with those websites, and there is no guarantee that they will choose to republish your content.

The other option is to identify sites that have a similar authority and web traffic to yours. This is relevant if you want to focus on more niche audiences and increase the chances to link back to your website.

If you have a smaller budget or a smaller brand, the DIY method is tried and true.

DO IT WITH A CONTENT SYNDICATION EXPERT

Marketers often turn to publishers and pay them to publish their content on high-traffic websites like The Guardian, BBC, Huffington Post, etc. This works exactly like a PPC campaign, in which your content will appear in the ‘Sponsored Content’ section on these websites. As soon as someone clicks on the content, you will be charged at a pre-determined CPC rate. This is a good option if you have a large budget and want to focus on getting one article republished at a time.

A more cost-effective solution is to syndicate multiple pieces of content at once within the same ecosystem or hub. The best way to understand this concept is to look at Selling Simplified’s proprietary content syndication platform, Visionayr. The advantage of this tool is that you can create what we call an “experience,” a program in which you gather several pieces of your content together under the same URL and give it the look and feel of your brand by adding graphic elements, like your logo, to the forefront. This allows you to syndicate your content to our sophisticated first-party network via email and other digital channels while enhancing brand awareness and facilitating lead nurture. Using this type of technology is the most efficient way to gather insights about your content and to understand which ones have a direct impact on customer acquisition and ROI.

This is also a great way to optimize the promotion of your content, increase engagement with your audience, and generate more net-new leads. Because Selling Simplified is not a publisher, we don’t directly benefit from syndicating content. When you partner with us, prospective customers engage with your content and your brand—not ours. The Visionayr approach focuses solely on the client, with an emphasis on their content and their brand.

BOTTOM LINE

Though often overlooked and poorly executed, content syndication is a critical component to any successful marketing strategy. It’s a great way to leverage existing dormant content and turn it into a powerful medium for lead generation and revenue growth. You can either syndicate content on third-party websites or choose an experienced partner with the resources to get your content out there. Consider your budget and long-term content goals and lean on industry experts to bring your syndication strategy to life. In the next part in our series, discover some common targeting techniques that will help your content get in front of the right people at the right time.