{"id":4488,"date":"2012-11-01T01:08:29","date_gmt":"2012-11-01T01:08:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/?p=4488"},"modified":"2012-11-01T01:08:29","modified_gmt":"2012-11-01T01:08:29","slug":"why-syndicated-content-is-bad-for-your-business-blog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/2012\/11\/why-syndicated-content-is-bad-for-your-business-blog\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Syndicated Content is Bad for Your Business Blog"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1><\/h1>\n<div>\n<div><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/flybluekite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/Mill-e1351599457797.jpg\" alt=\"Why you shouldn't use a content mill\" width=\"250\" height=\"166\" \/><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>While working on a competitive analysis for a law firm client, I came across an alarming trend \u2013 many of the competitor\u2019s blogs had strikingly similar content that riffed on local news stories.<\/p>\n<p>When exploring this a little bit further, it seemed that many of the firm\u2019s competitors used syndicated content from the same industry marketing company to fuel their blogging efforts. In other words, these firms are receiving content from the marketing company to publish on their blogs.<\/p>\n<p>The marketing company is smart enough not to duplicate the content for each firm in the same location. However, the formula is nearly identical for each post:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Paraphrase a recent study or news article;<\/li>\n<li>Overtly link to keywords throughout your site;<\/li>\n<li>Cite the source of the information (that way, you\u2019re not plagiarizing); and<!--more--><\/li>\n<li>Make a sales pitch at the end citing how your firm handles these issues.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>So, what\u2019s the problem with this approach?<\/p>\n<h3><strong>It\u2019s not unique.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Part of the magic of\u00a0<a title=\"6 Irrefutable Reasons Your Business Needs a Blog\" href=\"http:\/\/flybluekite.com\/2011\/07\/14\/6-irrefutable-reasons-your-business-needs-a-blog\/\">blogging is that it can help position you as an expert<\/a>\u00a0in your field, which can help you gain the attention of customers and even the media.<\/p>\n<p>But, to do that, you need to showcase your knowledge and expertise by offering advice, taking a stand or providing a thoughtful analysis on an issue.<\/p>\n<p>Syndicating content from a third party does not help you do that. Instead, you become a content mill that churns out blas\u00e9 posts day after day. How does this help you differentiate yourself in the marketplace?<\/p>\n<h3><strong>You lose your personality.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Blogging can really help companies peel off the veneer and showcase the people and personality behind the brand. This is an important way to develop relationships with readers and prospects. After all, people like to do business with those they know, like and trust.<\/p>\n<p>When you hand your content off to a third party, you lose the opportunity for you and your team to write in a way that captures the style of your team members. Although some expert writers can help you maintain your brand voice, most syndication services do not offer the customization to help you make your blog your own.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>It\u2019s boring.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Much of the content I read on these syndicated sites was downright dull. It lacked any life, spark or imagination.<\/p>\n<p>Yes, I realize I\u2019m talking about law firm blogs and the subject matter isn\u2019t all that fun. However, there are ways to\u00a0<a title=\"How to Spice Up a Boring Blog\" href=\"http:\/\/flybluekite.com\/2011\/08\/17\/how-to-spice-up-a-boring-blog\/\" target=\"_blank\">make the content interesting and engaging<\/a>. Including relevant images, weaving in video blogs or even writing in plain language would make these blogs far more attractive to readers.<\/p>\n<p>With syndicated content, it\u2019s more about creating link juice for search engine optimization (SEO) purposes than creating thoughtful content worth reading.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>So why are companies doing this?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>It\u2019s easy. And, in some cases, it works.<\/p>\n<p>Companies are realizing that blogging and content marketing is extremely effective\u00a0 \u2013 especially when it comes to SEO.<\/p>\n<p>But, many companies don\u2019t want to invest the time and energy it takes to do the work themselves. Handing off blog content to a third party is an easy way to\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.businessesgrow.com\/2012\/10\/14\/6-factors-that-turn-social-media-strategy-into-results\/\" target=\"_blank\">check the blogging box<\/a>and keep your company competitive.<\/p>\n<p>Hiring help to create your blog content isn\u2019t always bad. It can work well if you have a marketing partner who works with you to help you create content that helps differentiate yourself and stays true to your company\u2019s vision and voice.<\/p>\n<p>The problem is when companies hand over the keys and wipe their hands of the blogging effort. It\u2019s rare that this is a recipe for success.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>What do you think about syndication services? Have you used one? Would you ever consider it?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Image credit:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/fwp\/144881204\/\" target=\"_blank\">Frank Peters<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Originally posted October 30th, 2012 by\u00a0<a title=\"Posts by Laura Click\" href=\"http:\/\/flybluekite.com\/author\/admin\/\" rel=\"author\">Laura Click<\/a>\u00a0on\u00a0<a title=\"http:\/\/flybluekite.com\" href=\"http:\/\/flybluekite.com\/2012\/10\/30\/syndicated-content-bad-for-business-blog\/\">http:\/\/flybluekite.com<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While working on a competitive analysis for a law firm client, I came across an alarming trend \u2013 many of the competitor\u2019s blogs had strikingly similar content that riffed on local news stories. When exploring this a little bit further, it seemed that many of the firm\u2019s competitors used syndicated content from the same industry &#8230; <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/2012\/11\/why-syndicated-content-is-bad-for-your-business-blog\/\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[859],"tags":[526,32,1771,1770],"class_list":["post-4488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lauraclick","tag-blogging","tag-marketing","tag-original-content","tag-syndication"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4488"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4488\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4492,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4488\/revisions\/4492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}