What Is Branded Content Marketing and How Can You Get It Right?

Branded content as a key to audience connection.

Branded content is content designed to deliver the company’s vision and values. It aims to build brand loyalty with the audience at an emotional, interactive level. Often, the content uses videos or other methods to tell a story, resonate with the audience, and create an emotional bond with the brand rather than products. Read on for branded content marketing tips that can take your audience engagement and brand loyalty to new heights.

Why is branded content marketing so effective?

Branded content inspires audiences to connect with an organization’s values. In comparison, content marketing builds relationships between the audience and a company’s products and services. So, both marketing methods work toward specific objectives.

The digital world has grown rapidly as more brick-and-mortar companies move to an online model. This rapid growth of online businesses has created many new challenges for branded content. Such challenges include finding ways to create an adequate supply of fresh content for the growing needs of media sources.

The result is more opportunities for digital branded content and content marketing. Trust in traditional marketing is falling, while the demand for digital content continues to grow. To meet the demand, companies are turning to branded content to engage customers.

Branded content is a primary player in content marketing for 2021 and beyond. A USC Annenberg survey found 75% of marketing professionals would use some branded content.

Branded content is about values, not products

Branded content marketing, when done right, establishes relationships with an audience on personal and emotional levels rather than on a logical level. Its storytelling method is unique in marketing. When a compelling story conveys a brand’s values and vision, readers will remember the company’s values, consciously or subconsciously, long after they finish reading it. It adds meaning to visitors’ experience and creates an emotional connection to instill brand loyalty.

Branded content best practices and resources

Now that you understand what branded content is all about, let’s move on to how you can use it most effectively. For example, it is crucial to ensure branded content ads are clearly labeled. A presentation of clear, engaging content draws the reader into the story and creates stronger brand loyalty.

In addition, you can make sure a visitor has some control over the content, such as by giving them the ability to block it. This sense of control over content can be a big plus for a visitor. They will respond more positively and feel that they have had a better experience.

Best practices

These are some other branded content marketing best practices:

1. Engage the visitor with compelling videos.
2. Use videos on social media sites that are focused on the target content.
3. Create stories to engage the audience and evoke an emotional response.
4. Strengthen brand loyalty by focusing on the brand rather than the product.
5. Select the correct social media channel for brand content messaging.
6. Use storytelling to engage visitors and grow brand loyalty.
7. Create value with branded content and encourage visitor loyalty.
8. Develop a buzz about the content for various social media sites.

Expert resources

When you get brand content right, 94% of customers are more likely to show loyalty. Branded content campaigns require planning with a strategic approach. A smart move is to enlist the expertise of an external business partner that can help to:

1. Create outlines for blogs, videos, social media, and other processes to be used as a blueprint for future brand content campaigns.
2. Develop an editorial calendar to keep brand content production on schedule.
3. Create brand content by writing, editing, and preparing content for publication.
4. Scale content as needed to free up internal staff for other vital tasks.

Three steps to successful branded content marketing

Here, we offer you a step-by-step blueprint for implementing a branded content marketing campaign.

1. Select the correct channel. Choose your channel before you create the content. Conduct research to determine the best channel with the highest coverage that maximizes visibility and engagement with your content. Some of the many channels are:
   1. Email
   2. Company website
   3. Paid media
   4. Brand advocates
   5. Social media (organic or paid)
2. Create compelling content.
   1. Content channels grow in step with social media. As a result, the audience for content is much greater than in past years. Strategic planning and development are vital to make content marketing target-specific.
   2. Conduct competitor research to find out what formats will best engage with your visitor and choose a format that makes sense. Some formats to use are:
      1. Videos
      2. Case studies
      3. White papers
      4. Blogs
      5. Infographics
   3. Create the content and revise it. Ask yourself if the content represents your brand. The audience should gain real value from your content so they can understand who you are and have a reason to show loyalty.
   4. How much your brand content is shared may rely on your message, voice, and format. One way to keep your voice synced with your brand is to create a message map that guides you through the content creation process and keeps you on point.
3. Maximize content visibility.
   1. Develop a promotion plan for the best content exposure. Promote often to build influence both inside and outside the company. Always represent your brand clearly and concisely.
   2. Your company’s employees are an asset. Create engagement with your content among your internal team by:
      1. Make sure all are aware of the new content during company meetings.
      2. Promoting the content on company or employee Facebook pages.
      3. Encouraging team members to follow employee Facebook pages.
      4. Appointing employee brand advocates to create buy-in for your content.

Is branded content right for your organization?

Branded content delivers a message directly to your target audience. The ultimate goal is to connect with the audience and create a strong emotional response. Due to the explosive growth of the digital market, it may be advisable to employ a managed services company to maximize your branded content message.

Digital marketing is a proven way to build a brand that makes website visits more personal and brings the visitor closer. And that is always a winning proposition.

Executive summary

Branded content has become a more significant part of marketing. However, maintaining a relevant brand and establishing what that brand stands for becomes more difficult each year due to increased online competition. Because branded content is so effective, it is expected to grow by nearly $418 billion during 2021-2025 at close to 16% CAGR.

The projected growth of digital marketing shows the strong influence of brand and content marketing. All indicators point to now as the time to invest in branded content.

An excellent resource for branded content marketing is “100 Mistakes Businesses Make When Starting, Optimizing and Scaling Content Marketing Programs.” This free e-book from Tempesta Media can serve as a valuable reference guide for your journey.

We invite you to contact Tempesta Media and discover the full potential of branded content marketing. Let us show you how branded content can stand out in a crowded market.