B2B buyers are likely to do a lot of research before reaching out to your sales team. That’s why it’s important to have quality content to grab their attention and educate them on why your product is their best choice.
This is where original research, white papers, and ebooks come in. These types of content help you demonstrate thought leadership, improve SEO, collect emails, and convert leads. But these types of content can be complicated and time-consuming to complete.
The Challenges of Quality Content
Original research projects can take months to plan, execute and evaluate. Then your team or consultant will need time to develop a compelling story complete with graphs, charts, and other graphics.
White papers and ebooks may also take months to produce and can involve accessing a lot of resources. Whether completed in-house or outsourced, these types of projects are typically not only lengthy but also expensive. So, it makes sense to get them in front of as many potential leads as possible, and content syndication is a great way to do just that.
What is Content Syndication?
Content syndication is simply republishing your hard-earned content on third-party websites so that it reaches a larger audience. You’re tapping into an established following that is specifically looking for the type of information you’ve created.
Putting your existing content on other websites not only expands your reach, but also helps drive traffic back to your website and build your brand.
There are two types of content syndication: free and paid. Syndicating for free involves researching the best outlets for your content, creating a pitch, and building relationships. Paid syndication is more straightforward, but the specific costs, options, and results differ greatly among outlets.
How does content syndication work?
When you contract with a third-party site (either free or paid) to promote your content via their website, email list, newsletter, or network of sites, you are reaching a very loyal audience. These third-party companies have already invested a lot of time and resources to build trust and encourage engagement in their brand.
By promoting your content, they are recommending you and your brand to their audience. With paid syndication, you may also be guaranteed a certain number of qualified leads as part of the contract.
Where Should You Syndicate?
When exploring publishers to partner with, make sure they are nurturing your specific audience. They should have a large and diverse following of your potential leads.
Whether free or paid, content syndication will take some time, so make sure you’re spending your time wisely and getting your content in front of the right people.
Here are some questions to ask that will help you ensure a positive ROI on your content syndication efforts:
How large is their audience?
You want to reach the right audience, but you also want to reach a large audience. Find out how many users are following and engaging with their brand to determine if the publication is a good fit for you.
How/where do they publish your content?
You need to meet your leads where they are. Does this publication do that? Find out exactly where and how often your content will be shared to make sure you’re reaching your best leads.
Do they promise a certain number of leads? If so, how many?
Some publications will promise a certain number of leads when you work with them. If so, determine not only how many in what time frame but also if they are referring to qualified leads.
The Benefits of Content Syndication
Quality content is vital to successful B2B marketing but doesn’t come cheap or easy. Make the most of your efforts by publishing your content on third-party sites.
Content syndication helps you increase engagement, expand your reach, and improve your lead generation efforts by branching out to new audiences that have already been nurtured and are looking specifically for your services.
