How to Syndicate Training Content for Extended Reach

Your learning management system (LMS) is a powerful tool for delivering self-serve online courses, but your content could work even harder for your brand.

First, the valuable knowledge resources you've created might not be reaching its full audience. Second, restricting access to your content limits your ability to showcase your training programs, create awareness for your brand, and potentially attract new clients. 

This article discusses tackling these limitations by employing a content syndication strategy for your LMS training materials.

What is content syndication?

Content syndication is the authorized republishing of your original digital content on third-party websites. This practice extends the reach and visibility of your best content to a wider audience beyond those visiting your own domain or platform.

The types of content suitable for syndication include blog posts, articles, infographics, videos, and other creative formats. The core objective is to leverage the credibility of content syndication partners and platforms to amplify your message and drive traffic back to your original source material.

How does content syndication work?

Content syndication involves sharing your educational courses with your customers' learning management systems. This allows you to maintain a single version of your course on Skilljar, which automatically updates any LMS where it is shared. 

What are the benefits of content syndication for Customer Education?

Here are some advantages of content syndication for your training content:

• Extended reach: By placing your educational content on related platforms frequented by your target audience, you can expand your reach. This allows you to educate a larger audience and attract new customers who may not have known about your product or Customer Education program (if it’s open to all users), thus enhancing brand awareness.
• Leverage partnerships: Strategic partnerships for content syndication have several benefits. They can help you break into new markets by offering a pathway to untapped customer segments. Syndicating courses can also strengthen your brand presence and demonstrate thought leadership.
• Repurpose content: Content syndication is a great way to extract maximum value from your existing educational content. By repurposing it for different platforms, you can breathe new life into great content and reach new audiences without needing to duplicate content creation. 

Four steps to syndicate content

Below is a detailed breakdown of the key steps to ensure the successful execution of content syndication for Customer Education.

Step 1: Assess your course portfolio

The first step is to take stock of the existing educational content in your customer academy. Look for high-performing courses or modules that address relevant and in-demand topics. Make sure to choose valuable content that aligns well with the target audience and format of potential syndication platforms.

Step 2: Identify potential syndication partners

Think broadly about who could benefit from your educational content. Take LMS administrators, for example. For those managing an LMS, incorporating Skilljar's syndicated content can enrich their existing educational programs with minimal overhead.

Step 3: Negotiate syndication agreements

Once you've identified a suitable partner, it's time to work on your content syndication agreement. This agreement will serve as the foundation for your partnership and should address the following:

• Licensing arrangements: Define how the partner can use your content. Will they have exclusive rights or non-exclusive rights?
• Intellectual property rights: Ensure clear ownership of your content and any branding elements.
• Content updates: How will updates to the original content be handled on the partner platform?
• Branding guidelines: Specify how your brand will be presented alongside the syndicated content.
• Performance tracking: Define how you will track the performance of the syndicated content to measure its effectiveness.
• Revenue sharing models: If applicable, outline any revenue sharing agreements related to lead generation from the syndicated content.

Step 4: Launch and monitor syndicated offerings

The launch of your syndicated content is the culmination of your efforts, but the journey doesn't end there. Successful post-launch management includes collaborating closely with your partner to ensure a synchronized launch of the syndicated content. Make sure you align the launch with any promotional activities planned by your partner to maximize your content’s reach.

Lastly, remember to implement tracking mechanisms to monitor the performance of your syndicated content across different platforms. This includes tracking metrics like user engagement, content completion rates, and even revenue generation (if applicable) to gauge the effectiveness of your content on each platform.

How to use an LMS for content syndication

Skilljar's content syndication feature empowers you to share your training materials with other LMS without the hassle of manual file management. First, you develop your training content. Skilljar's user-friendly dashboard provides a platform for uploading various content formats, including videos, documents, presentations, and SCORM packages.

Once your content is uploaded, Skilljar's content syndication functionality allows you to publish it directly to another LMS. Even though your content resides on a different LMS, Skilljar grants you continued control over it. You can manage access permissions directly from your Skilljar dashboard, ensuring your training materials are only accessible to authorized users within the external LMS.

Extend your educational reach with Skilljar

Skilljar is an LMS that supports effective content syndication, enabling you to expand your educational outreach. With Skilljar, you can create training content, manage it centrally, and publish it across various external LMS platforms. This capability allows for consistent updates and centralized control, while accessing detailed analytics from your Skilljar dashboard to monitor engagement.

‍Get a demo to see how Skilljar enhances your content syndication efforts.