What to Know About Canned Content

‘Canned’ content is a little like a builder’s grade of construction material. It’s nowhere near top-of-the-line, but used wisely, it can help homeowners achieve their goals without paying an arm and a leg for each item.

Canned content is premade by a third party and is for sale to the public. Typically, it’s used for blog posts, newsletters, or social media. Many industries make good use of canned content because it helps the business cover a broad range of topics without having to custom create every piece of content.

The right blend of canned, curated and custom content can keep audiences engaged – wherever they are in the buying process. There are, however, advantages and disadvantages to using canned content, so businesses need to weigh their options.

Here are some things we consider when helping our clients decide the best use of canned content.

Pros:

• Easy to Get. Delivering dependable and accurate content on a regular basis helps businesses stay top of mind with clients and prospects. It provides useful information that is relevant to the reader. Canned content is a valuable alternative because it’s already made.
• Works Well with Compliance. Highly-regulated services with strict compliance requirements like financial advisors, accountants and banking professionals find canned content useful. Because it is written with industry restrictions in mind, canned content gets through compliance approvals with greater ease.
• Cost-Effective. Pre-made content generally costs less than creating it yourself. Some of these canned content services also provide design templates for newsletter and email formatting.

Cons:

• Generic. It’s called ‘canned’ for a reason. This generic content has a tendency to be bland and not always relevant to your business, as it’s written for a broad audience.
• Google Says No. Contrary to popular belief, there is no SEO (search engine optimization) benefit to publishing canned content. Google only rewards websites with original content. Because the piece will appear on multiple sites, your website could be penalized for use of canned content.
• Not ‘You.’ Since it is written by someone who has no idea who you are, canned content will not capture the unique voice or specific values of your company.
• Strike One. Because this content is sold on the open market, your clients or prospects may have already read the article or post somewhere else. For those trying to showcase their expertise in the industry, this could be seen as a ‘strike’ against your company’s credibility.

Actively and consistently communicating with clients and prospects is a good thing. The right marketing strategy will deliver the right mix of tactics including original, curated and canned content. Finding the right blend that will work for your business depends on your target market, competition, your goals and budget. These are all factors we help clients consider when developing a marketing plan that will work for them. If you are interested in learning more about how to balance your marketing efforts for better results, contact us today to review your opportunities. 

Nancy Sipera is the president of First Impressions Marketing, a full-service, award-winning marketing firm in Cherry Hill, N.J. that works with business owners and leaders who understand the impact that marketing can have on their bottom line.