What is content syndication? Content syndication is a strategy in which you republish (or repurpose) your owned content on third-party sites.
Done right, it can become a key component of a successful content strategy, as WordStream’s Larry Kim points out. The key to its success lies in the fact that – hello – no matter how amazing your content, audiences just don’t care unless you reach out to them.
Even if you build the world’s most intuitive, content-rich website, they probably still won’t come. Sorry, Field of Dreams.
Unless you go where they hang out, that is. Hence, content syndication. It’s a game-changer when it comes to driving traffic to your content. And in doing so, it builds brand awareness.
If all your content matches the promise of the teasers you publish on third-party sites, it can go beyond brand awareness. It can position your brand as a thought leader in your customers’ minds.
And that’s the key to the digital marketing treasure chest. Remember those vintage E.F. Hutton ads? The ones where the guy says, “Well, my broker’s E.F. Hutton, and they say…” And the whole room stops, every head turned to the speaker.
That’s the power of thought leadership. What’s even more powerful is that you can put it to work for your business.
When you do content syndication right, that is. We’ll show you how.
Start with Content Analytics
To get your content in front of the right kinds of eyes, look at the performance data for your existing content. The correlations between audience data (demographics, technology and from where they are coming) and social media signals (likes, shares, comments, etc.) should help you to narrow down the types of content your audiences like to consume.
Content analytics can also help you discover which social media sites, blogs, and other online publications your target audience prefers. If you haven’t created buyer personas yet, do so. It helps to put a human face on the kinds of people you want to reach.
Throw Your Old-School Google Worries Out the Window
There are a lot of ghosts of Google Past roaming about the internet and break rooms across the globe. Here’s the real deal: Google doesn’t penalize sites for syndicating their content.
If it did, then all the major news organizations and corporate poobahs would have nixed the practice years ago. But they didn’t.
That’s because they didn’t get penalized. All content syndication did for them was to promote their brand among a wider audience of likely consumers. As Kim points out, the worst that could happen is that Google might filter some duplicates, including yours, out of search results.
If you’re still worried about it, just repurpose the content you want to syndicate. Turn your blog posts into videos or vice-versa. Turn it over to the junior staff on your content team for a rewrite. Make infographics out of social media posts.
Using a duplicate content checker can make sure that your repurposed written content reads as original. It’s easy – and takes little time.
Another simple way to syndicate your content is to write a short teaser. Post the teaser on your chosen social media networks and link to the original content on your website.
Use Email Newsletters to Further the Reach of Older Evergreen Content
Regular content inventories can turn up some buried treasure that still can bring value to your target customers. Republish them in your email newsletter to give them extra mileage. Be sure to include easy-share buttons so your email subscribers can help you spread the word.
Feature Others’ Content in Your Blog and Social Posts
All too many content marketers never think about going outside their internal box for content. Believe it or not, it’s not going to make you lose subscribers if you feature other blogs’ content on your own.
It might even open your customer base even wider. Think about it.
Companies that allow you to publish their content on your site know that you’re doing them a huge favor. They have the opportunity to attract some of your subscribers to their blog posts.
And, when their subscribers see that content on your blog, they’ll be more likely to find your blog a source of trusted information. It’s a win-win situation.
For best results, use articles by companies whose products and services dovetail with your own. Be choosy. Only republish articles that will bring value to your target audience. Make sure you ask for permission before you republish.
Look for Opportunities to Syndicate Your Content on Other Companies’ Websites
Find companies whose customers could put your expertise to good use to solve their problems. Make sure that the products and services these companies offer don’t compete with your own.
Even better, if those products and services can enhance your own, you can double down on the value proposition. Forging a partnership with a related business can expand both partners’ reach into their target markets.
Here at DivvyHQ, we offer a comprehensive content marketing platform. But we don’t offer content marketing services for our customers. So, we partner with Marketing Insider Group – who does – for mutual blogging opportunities to give both companies’ customers a one-stop-shop for both advice and content marketing services.
Become a Contributor for Major Online Publications
Many business-related and industry-specific publications accept subject matter experts that can write well (or hire a writing service who can) to furnish informative content to their subscribers. Simply go to an online publication you’re interested in writing for and fill out all the required paperwork.
It’s well worth the time you spend. Most of these publications, in turn, syndicate their content (including yours, should they accept you) on other sites. If you become one of their contributors, you can grow your reach – and your reputation as a thought leader – at light speed without investing a lot of extra time.
Use Self-Publishing Sites to Reach a Wider Audience
One of the most promising phenomena on the online publishing scene is the self-publishing scene. Medium is probably the one you’re most familiar with since its curated stories appear on the story suggestions every time you open up a new tab or webpage. Its stories run the gamut from esoteric philosophy to practical business advice.
Other platforms concentrate on certain industries or groups of industries. Google your niche to see if there are any self-publishing platforms in your corner of the business world.
Paid Content Promotion, Too, Can Help You Spread the Word
Paid content syndication companies, such as Outbrain and Taboola, employ native advertising to amplify the reach of your content. If you’ve ever been browsing through the web searching for something and see links to stories at the bottom of the page, you’ve likely seen their work.
You can use these ads to link to high-performing, useful pieces of content to get them a wider audience. Just like with social media boosted posts, you can tailor the audience that sees the links to your content to include only people in your target customer segment.
To simplify your content syndication strategy, you need a comprehensive system on which you can plan, collaborate, create, publish, and syndicate your content. That’s where we come in.
Why not give our DivvyHQ content platform a test drive? Get your free 14-day trial today.