Content syndication isn’t about putting as much content on channel partner websites as you can. It is about providing the end customer with quality, relevant content that is specifically tuned for each partner. Ideally, content should be created specifically for your channel partners syndication program, not scraped from your corporate website (unless the content there is already channel-centric). Creating content that stresses the importance of the partner makes you look better because the partner has more incentive to showcase your products and their solutions.

On average, a channel partner’s website has 15-30 pages of content, give or take a few pages. If you decide to syndicate 200 pages of product content, you really warp the partner’s site. All of a sudden, the partner has a huge website with content only about your products and solutions. The partner’s message and content get lost, eliminating the appeal of the joint-value proposition for the partner. When this happens, partners will often stop syndicating content or stop pushing customers to your pages. Thus, the content becomes moot.

Likewise, you don’t want to syndicate content that may not be relevant to the end customer. If your messaging isn’t driving the idea that your partner is the most knowledgeable resource on the subject, customers will go somewhere else — possibly a competitor!

That’s why it is really important to develop your content syndication strategy. Below are a few quick tips to help create a cohesive, strategic content syndication program for your channel partners:

1. Develop a strong content plan. Ask yourself, “What is the purpose of our syndicated content? Do we want to generate leads for partners? Increase our product page views on partner websites?” Write down a few goals your content should accomplish. If you’re using SharedVue’s Syndic8 tool, ask us to help. If you have a content update that doesn’t help achieve those core goals, perhaps it shouldn’t be pushed to syndication. Moreover, syndicating only strategically planned, well-thought out content created specifically for your channel will increase adoption rates of your syndication program and increase sales through your channel in the long run. Content is key!
2. Refresh your content often. Partners love having fresh, up-to-date content on their websites. With content syndication, you have the ability to do that for them. This doesn’t mean creating new pages every quarter. Instead, think about rewriting your existing product content to better fit the needs of your partners. If you’re using SharedVue to syndicate channel partner content, use the metrics and analytics consoles to see how your content is performing. Really make the syndicated content you already have better.
3. Create “content sets” for your channel partners. Not all of your partners specialize in the same areas. Moreover, not all of your partners sell all of your products. Spending time to create different sets of content for your syndication program can help your partners retain and focus on their specific target market. When you start pushing all of your content through to all of your partners without regard to their certification levels or specialties, the value of the content is lost because it isn’t helping the partner sell anything. Also, the end customer is on your partner’s site for a reason, looking for a specific solution. If you give them only the information that is relevant to them, they are more like to become a sale.

End users are already bombarded with hoards of product content. Creating a concise, strong message for your syndicated content with good product/solution descriptions will benefit you more than pushing out tons of product information. Think about what the partners need, then analyze, refine, and syndicate.

Talk to your your Facilit8 Account Manager for more information »