8 Super Effective Content Syndication Tools and Strategies For MarTech Experts

Syndicated content travels faster than a bullet train. And, we are not lying. Our clients have benefited from content syndication tools in a great deal. It spread awareness about their brand (rather quickly, I must add!), drew crazy amounts of traffic and attracted quality leads.

But, What is Content Syndication?

Content syndication is a strategy of republishing content on third party sites in order to reach a broader audience. Syndicated content not only increases your reach and brand awareness, it builds backlinks that help drive more traffic to your original article (and improves the SEO).

Ok, so, What’s Great About Content Syndication?

Everything! Literally! If you are not syndicating content, you better have a crazy reason! According to Marketing Profs, 2 million blog posts are written every single day. It seriously isn’t reasonable to think that your audience WILL somehow land on your blog post just because you have published it and it’s useful. Syndicating content will help your content reach in front a larger base of audience who otherwise might not know about your blog.

The other best part about content syndication tools? It is low cost (rather, NO COST) strategy.

Content Distribution Strategies #1: Syndicating Content on LinkedIn

LinkedIn has over 500 million professionals in the network which makes it the perfect platform for syndicating content.

And, guess what?

Anyone can use LinkedIn publisher but only a few are featured on Pulse! Pulse blog gets  hundreds of thousands of hits regularly

Content Distribution Strategies #2 Slideshare

I am sure you have stumbled on Slideshare hundreds of times when looking for relevant content. It is an incredibly popular syndication platform. Again, anybody can use Slideshare to upload slideshows that visitors can access or download. All you need to do for this platform is rework on your content and make it into a slideshow. Everybody who lands on your slideshow will see your branding on it, and will associate your company with well-researched, authoritative content. Also, this is your chance to be ranked higher on Google.

Content Distribution Strategies #3 Bookmarking Sites

Don’t underestimate the power of bookmarking sites, like, Reddit, Digg and StumbleUpon. These platforms focus on aggregating and collating quality content. When syndicating, these platforms can be helpful to draw in audience. According to Aaron,

These communities exist to discuss content rather than just consume it, so to become a respected part of the community you need to take the time to get involved, comment on other content, and share content from a variety of websites.

Content Distribution Strategies #4 RSS

RSS is all about syndication, after all, it stands for Really Simple Syndication. One of the fastest growing methods for enhancing a web site’s traffic and syndicating content for martech experts is to submit your RSS feed to the top ranked RSS feed directories and search engines. You can find a list here. Remember, your content will appear alongside the work of others, which means,

• You might not get loads of traffic because your content is mixed with other content, BUT,
• If you are submitting to multiple RSS sites, your efforts will quickly add up and you will see a solid increase in traffic.

Content Distribution Strategies #5: Blog or Websites

Do not overlook platforms which allow you to re-publish content. Places to syndicate content include websites like Medium, Scribd and Hubpages which allow anyone to start their own blog on the site. Create one and repost quality content from your blog. This GIF summarizes what we are trying to say Other than this, you can also reach out to editors of websites that syndicate content.

For example, sites like Mashable, The Examiner, Huffington Post and Business 2 Community all welcome content submissions. Considering the popularity of these sites, it is obvious, that they choose best content to syndicate. Ensure that you have read through guidelines, your content resonates with their audience and it is high quality. However, you WILL face a lot of rejections. But, don’t let it put you down. This type of content syndication requires building credibility as an author before you can pitch.

Content Distribution Strategies #6: Co-Marketing

This is not a traditional form of content syndication but it is absolutely effective. Co-marketing is when two companies collaborate on promotional front for a co-branded offer. You can promote any piece of content which works with your audience (for example, ebook, white paper, research, reports or any other gated content). The visitors are directed to a landing page and the resulting leads are shared by both the companies. This strategy will help you gain access to the audience of the other company.

Content Distribution Strategies #7: Press release

Did you go whaat?

Hear us out! Press release, a news-style written content, is generally distributed to multiple media outlets. This works best if you have launched a product or have the latest update (or news piece) which your audience is interested in. You can optimize press releases by including link backs or links to a relevant landing page where you collect visitor information.

Content Distribution Strategies #8: Syndicate Content on Various Networks and Channels

Last but not least, you can always partner with a content syndication network to advertise or push branded content on specific sites.

This is a paid service and some of the popular syndication networks include Outbrain, Zemanta, and Taboola

What other tools or strategies have you used for content syndication? Comment below and share your experience.

Vikas Bhatt is a demand generation, content syndication and a data cleansing ninja. He is the co-founder of OnlyB2B, a global organization that helps brands and businesses gain maximum leads and skyrocket revenue.