There is a sea of content online, especially now that brands understand the importance of content for their marketing, sales and other business ventures. But not all content is equal; it can be hard to find and produce well-optimized, informative content to resonate with your target audience. Generating high-quality content is often time-consuming and expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. So how can you consistently include new, impactful and informative content that speaks to your audience within your content strategy?
The answer is content syndication.
What is Content Syndication?
Content syndication is when another site republishes third-party content. Content syndication can benefit both parties. It helps the original content creator with brand visibility and thought leadership while enabling the republisher to add variety to its content strategy and engage its audiences with valuable content.
Content syndication can work across various industries, but your company must have a robust content marketing strategy as a guide. This is especially true in the finance industry, which requires a consistent flow of content to appeal, educate and inform readers. Since content marketing has become a vital element of the financial sector, many finance brands are starting to produce high-quality content to diversify their marketing mix. A content strategy for a financial business includes promoting content regularly on the company website, consistently posting on social media, plus sharing blogs, articles, videos, e-books and infographics online. However, content syndication is another valuable method to add to the marketing strategy to reach new audiences.
Syndicated content can help financial organizations bring in outside perspectives or showcase thought leadership to establish credibility and trust with prospects and customers. By republishing content from well-known publications like Havard Business Review, SUCCESS, The Economist, The Times and others, banks, investment firms, insurance companies and other financial services firms can engage their audience with high-quality content related to personal finance, health and wellbeing, investments and more.
Here is a guide to understanding the importance of financial content syndication and how, when used correctly, it can boost your brand.
What Content Syndication is Not
Content syndication is more than simply republishing content on a third-party website, like guest blogging. Instead, it is something that takes intent and a strategy. There is a clear reason why you selected to republish its content on your website.
While taking in guest posts sounds like content syndication, these concepts are not the same. Guest posting is when you have a thought leader in your industry write something specifically for your blog, or you write something specifically for another website. Inherently, this practice is not scalable, making it difficult to sustain.
Content syndication is more scalable than guest blogging because you can use the same piece of content in multiple places across the web. This is known as a syndication network. You can republish articles, videos, graphics, and e-books from various sites within a syndication network while giving the original creator credit.
Alternatively, you can use syndicated content to add more editorial pieces to your current content calendar. You can bring in outside experts to speak on topical issues or trends by curating news or other thought leadership pieces.
The Different Types of Financial Content Syndication
Financial content syndication can be incredibly versatile, taking on many forms. If you are looking to syndicate or curate content on your own website, here are some content formats you can invest in to help tell your story.
Blogs
Blog posts are the tried-and-true format for content syndication. They are easy to create, and they also provide an informational platform for consumers that’s easy to digest. Consumers want to learn about your brand when they visit your site. It’s best to post blogs of varying lengths, from long-form articles to pithy posts.
News Articles and Journalistic Pieces
Your website can benefit from featuring news articles and journalistic pieces by thought leaders from an established media company and newspaper like The New York Times. Not only will you be able to harness the power of world-renown journalism, but your audience will also appreciate the credibility of the articles and news storytelling.
Video Content
Video is a great way to tell a story to your readers in a different format. Videos can help enhance a story, plus make it easier for readers of all abilities to consume the content.
Infographics
Infographics are a helpful way to provide a visual outline of important information. Typically, a user can take one look at the infographic to gain all the necessary information. Plus, visual content tends to share well online.
Photos
Like videos, photojournalism is a fantastic method to amplify your content storytelling. It provides consumers with a new perspective.
Benefits of Syndicating Financial Content
Now that you understand what content syndication is, here are some benefits of investing in this financial content marketing strategy.
Increase Engagement
Engagement is the bread and butter of content syndication, no matter your industry. Syndicated content from a reputable organization will pique the interest of both potential and returning customers, which can improve brand awareness, thus increasing overall website engagement. Additionally, you’ll be providing your audience with new insights and perspectives that can help to boost customer loyalty and trust.
Expand Your Target Audience
There is no such thing as an audience too large in our digital world. Syndication networks, especially in the finance industry, will allow your brand to engage with viewers you otherwise wouldn’t have been able to reach.
Save Time
It’s no secret that producing good-quality content takes time. Content syndication is an easy way to take advantage of already published content, from a known publication, without needing to invest time and employee resources.
Build Brand Awareness
When you invest in content syndication, you don’t have to reestablish your brand. Instead, it is more about producing content that can help reaffirm the brand you already have. You may already be doing everything else exceptionally well, but with the aid of content syndication, you can achieve your goal of reaching a larger audience.
Provided Added Value
In the same vein, the fact that you publish content from reputable websites can provide value for readers. And in a crowded landscape, you’ll need to do what you can to stand out.
Getting Started With Financial Content Syndication
Not sure where to start with content syndication for your financial business? Here are some tips that will help.
Research Reputable Websites and Publishers in the Finance Industry
Keep in mind that there must be a strategy behind your content syndication efforts, including what websites you decide to post. It helps to take some time to investigate which industry websites are worth your investment and appealing to your readers. Remember to put yourself in your consumer’s place and consider what publications they would use to source information.
Know Your Target Audience
Who exactly is your customer? You should thoroughly know your customer demographics, and your goal should be to target this audience with the potential to expand it.
Determine Valuable Associations for Your Brand
Try to network with other companies that could help your brand. A partnership can put you on track toward beneficial websites and content syndication networks to contact.
Examine Your Budget
If the website requires a fee for republishing, can you afford it? Once you have these steps figured out, you’ll be on your way to creating a content syndication marketing strategy that will enhance and amplify your brand.
Final Thoughts
Financial content syndication is a powerful tool to help any brand grow its presence online. The New York Times Licensing Group offers content syndication packages, with financial news from The New York Times and other well-respected industry publications, that you can use as part of your company’s content strategy.
