16 Marketing Tactics For Creating Branded Content

You’ve probably heard the term “branded content” before, but what exactly is it? Well, it’s basically any type of content that’s tied to a brand. That could be an ebook, an image gallery, or even a blog post. (Or literally anything else that you can imagine.)

The important thing to remember with branded content is that it’s not an advertisement. It’s more about engaging people for their own sake rather than selling them something by giving them something entertaining, informative or entertaining and informative at once!

Let’s say you work in marketing for a software company called MailChimp (which happens to be my current employer).

You might write a blog post where you list some of your favorite email templates from around the web so that people have examples to get inspired by when using our software.

That would be considered branded content because even though it doesn’t mention MailChimp at all, people still know who wrote it just based on who published the article itself plus there are subtle mentions within each template linking back here on this very website 🙂

So what makes good branded content vs bad? Well…

6 HIGHLY EFFECTIVE Marketing Tactics To Promote A Product

Takeaways
1. Utilize storytelling techniques to create engaging branded content.
2. Leverage user-generated content for authentic brand representation.
3. Incorporate visual elements like infographics and videos to enhance content.
4. Personalize content to resonate with your target audience.
5. Collaborate with influencers to extend your brand’s reach.
6. Focus on providing value and solving problems for your audience.
7. Use social media platforms strategically to distribute your content.
8. Implement SEO strategies to ensure your content is discoverable.
9. Experiment with different content formats to keep your audience engaged.
10. Monitor and analyze metrics to measure the effectiveness of your content.

Table of Contents

1. Grasp The Basics

Before you start creating branded content, it’s important to understand the basics of how content marketing works. The process can be broken down into five main stages:

Understanding your audience and identifying their needs – You have to know who you’re talking to if you want them to listen.

Creating compelling content that solves a problem or addresses an opportunity for them – It’s not enough just to say “I’m going to create a bunch of awesome stuff.” You need something specific in mind that speaks directly to your customers’ needs or interests.

Distributing that content across multiple platforms using various methods – It’s no longer enough for people just find out about your product through word-of-mouth; now they’ve got their phone, tablet and laptop at their disposal 24 hours a day, 7 days per week (and often all three at once).

Make sure your brand gets in front of them across all these channels so they don’t miss any opportunities!

Measuring the effectiveness of each piece by monitoring its performance over time – If something isn’t working as well as expected, then either adjust its placement or remove it altogether!

There’s no point wasting time/money on strategies which don’t bring returns on investment–so always keep track with metrics like clickthrough rates & conversions

Looking to create branded content that leaves a lasting impact? Explore our guide on 12 Marketing Campaigns That Will Blow You Away to gain inspiration and insights from successful marketing campaigns that captured audiences’ attention.

2. Know Your Target Audience

Before you can create content, you need to know who your audience is. The more specific the better. You wouldn’t build a house without knowing what it’s going to look like inside and out, right? Same deal with branded content.

The best way to figure out who your target audience is is by doing some research: read articles online and take notes on what they say about their readership; use Google Keyword Planner or another tool that shows search volume for keywords related to your business;

Go on social media and look at what people are saying about themselves; call up current customers and ask them questions about themselves and why they buy from you (you don’t want to get too personal.

Just enough so that when creating content later on, it will resonate with them).

3. Establish Your Brand Voice

Establishing your brand voice is about creating a consistent tone of voice for your content. Your brand voice is the way you speak to your audience and how they can recognize you as an authority.

Brand voices are often created based on research into the target audience, but they can also be shaped according to feelings or experiences associated with a product or service.

For instance, consider JetBlue’s “Customer-Focused” mission statement: “Our goal is to provide our customers with friendly, reliable service at fair fares.” This statement sums up the airline’s commitment to its customers while also establishing who they are and what they represent.

The key to developing a strong brand voice is consistency across all of your marketing materials this includes not just copywriting but also images and video so that everything feels cohesive when viewed together by someone unfamiliar with it (a “first time user”).

Crafting compelling content involves following expert principles. Learn from the best in the industry by diving into our article on 17 Expert-Approved Principles to Follow When Creating Content and discover valuable tips to enhance your content creation strategy.

4. Create A Buyer Persona

Before you can create content that resonates with your audience, you need to know who they are. This is where buyer personas come in.

A buyer persona is a detailed description of your target customer including their interests, passions, and pain points that help guide the creation of marketing materials.

It’s important to note that every single person who makes up your audience isn’t going to be exactly alike; there will always be some subtle differences between them.

That’s why it’s important not only to define each persona (so they’re all unique) but also to use multiple personas based on their different psychographics or demographics.

So that all aspects of the description are covered and there’s no room for error when creating content or designing a new product line.

5. Know What You Want To Accomplish

Before you begin creating your branded content, know what you want to accomplish. If you’re unsure of what goals you should have for your project, ask yourself these questions:

What do I want my audience to learn?
What will they be able to do or experience by the end of this piece?
How will it make them feel when they’re done with it?

Knowing the answers to these questions before starting a campaign can help you stay focused on the result and make sure that no time is wasted going off track.

It’s important because once a project is underway, it can be easy for things like creativity or spontaneity (which are both good things) to get in the way of making sure everything falls into place at just the right moment.

Having an idea beforehand will help prevent any unnecessary detours from happening along the way and keep everyone energized about where they’re going instead of getting stuck wondering how long it’ll take before reaching their destination

6. Keep It Simple

Your content should be easy for your audience to understand. The more complicated it is, the less likely it will get read.

It’s important to stick with a simple message that can be understood in one or two sentences. Keep your copy short, sweet, and simple.

This makes it easier for readers to get their point across quickly without going off on a tangent or rambling on about something no one cares about (like “What is an SEO strategy?”). You can always expand on these ideas later if you want more information from them in the future!

Boosting sales and generating leads requires creative marketing strategies. Explore our tips in 15 Creative Marketing Tips to Boost Sales and Generate Leads to discover innovative approaches that can help you achieve your marketing goals.

7. Make Sure Your Value Proposition Is Front And Center

You may be wondering, “What the heck is a value proposition?” A value proposition is the core benefit of your product or service in simple terms and should be easy to understand.

It should also be directly related to what you want to offer the reader. If they can’t understand what it does for them, they won’t buy from you. Here are some examples:

“Are you tired of being alone? Find love with our online dating site! We have millions of members waiting for someone like you!” (eHarmony)
“Buy now and get 10% off! Get great deals at unbeatable prices with this special offer from XYZ store. This sale will only last until midnight tonight so hurry up!” (Your favorite local pizza place)

8. Make Your Content Engaging, Relevant, And Helpful

Engaging: Your content should be engaging and interesting to read. It should also be updated frequently to keep your audience interested in what you have to say.

Relevant: Your content should be relevant to your brand, target audience, and industry. For example, if you’re a bakery and sell donuts.

Then the most relevant piece of branded content might be an article about how to make a delicious donut recipe at home (or maybe even some step-by-step instructions on how they are made).

Helpful: Helping people is always a good thing! It’s not just something we say here either; studies show that 93% of consumers prefer brands who help them solve problems over those who just try to sell them something or only offer discounts or promotions.

Not only does this strategy help build trust with customers over time but it will also make them feel more inclined towards purchasing from you again since they know that when they have questions about their purchases.

Or any issues with those products/services there is someone out there who cares enough about solving those problems rather than just making money off them without providing any real value back in return.

9. Make It Easy To Consume

It’s not enough to create content you think will resonate with your audience. You also need to make it as easy as possible for them to consume and share your message.

This can be achieved by ensuring that the content is easy to access, read and understand. Don’t just rely on the headline or visual element of your articles; make sure that the entire piece is accessible to readers.

After all, if they don’t get what they came for within five seconds of clicking through from an ad or social media post then they’re unlikely to stick around long enough for any kind of conversion (and certainly won’t share).

When creating branded content always ask yourself: Can people easily find this? And once they do find it: Will they understand what I’m trying to communicate in 10 seconds or less? Will this make someone want/need more information about my brand/product/service right now?

10. Be Careful With Humor And Irony

Humor can be used to make a point more memorable and relatable. But it must be done carefully since humor can easily turn into irony or sarcasm, which may make the audience feel like you’re mocking them.

If you do use humor, consider these tips:

Keep it light-hearted don’t go for jokes that are too forced or too farcical. Having a sense of humor is one thing; being awkward isn’t going to help anyone remember your brand’s message.

Don’t rely on jokes that rely on stereotypes or cultural references (e.g., “Why did the chicken cross the road?”).

These types of jokes won’t resonate with everyone, and they may come across as offensive or exclusionary if they aren’t handled well by you and your team members who work on creating branded content.*

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11. Be Authentic, Unique, And Bold

Think of your brand as the face of your company. When you’re marketing content, there are a few key characteristics that make your brand unique:

Authenticity – Be yourself and don’t try to be like everyone else. Your unique qualities will help set you apart from the competition.
Originality – Find a way to differentiate yourself from other brands in our industry, whether it’s through style, design, or something else entirely.
Transparency – Be honest about what you’re selling and why you’re selling it, and let consumers know what makes your product or service different from others on the market (for instance: “our product is made with natural ingredients”).

12. Embrace Your Curiosity, Passion, And Enthusiasm

One of the most important things you can do to create branded content that resonates with your audience is to make sure it’s authentic. If you’re not passionate about your product or service, how can you expect anyone else to be?

For example, when we create branded content for our clients at The Content Studio, we always start by asking ourselves if the topic we want to cover is something we’d want someone else talking about. If not, then why should anyone else care?

It’s also important for brands and businesses to be curious about what they do and how they can improve upon their offerings for them to stay fresh in their customers’ minds.

The worst thing a company can do becomes complacent simply because it has been around for years (or even decades).

13. Showcase Your Expertise

Expertise is an important part of your brand. The more you can share your knowledge with others, the more people will see that you’re an expert in your field and trust you as a result.

You can showcase expertise by sharing your knowledge through blog posts and social media content, or by speaking at events or teaching others directly.

14. Strike A Balance Between Being Too Formal And Overly Casual

Strike a balance between being too formal and overly casual. The tone you choose for your content will greatly determine how it’s received by your audience, so it’s important to be careful not to overdo it.

If you have a more formal audience (e.g., government agencies or corporate teams), then you should probably use language that is more formal and official.

On the flip side, if you’re creating content for millennials who tend to be more casual with their language and style.

Then consider using some slang or idioms in your writing as well as abbreviations and acronyms that are commonly used by them such as LOL (laughing out loud) or BRB (be right back).

But don’t go overboard! Stay away from using too many numbers or statistics unless they’re absolutely necessary for conveying information;

Any more than one statistic per paragraph can make readers feel like they’re reading an encyclopedia entry instead of something fun like fiction or poetry.”

15. Don’t Try Too Hard To Be Trendy Or Cool, But Don’t Underestimate The Importance Of Being Current/Timely/Urgent Either (I.E., You Want Your Content To Seem Fresh)

You don’t want your content to seem stale or out of touch. It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that you need to be trendy or cool for your brand’s content to stand out from the rest, but this isn’t necessarily true.

If you try hard enough, you can make even the most mundane topics seem fresh and exciting by presenting them in a new light.

When it comes down to it, this all comes down to balance: don’t try too hard (it’ll come across as forced), but also don’t underestimate the importance of being current/timely/urgent (it will help keep your audience engaged).

Closing a sale often involves recognizing unique client traits. Check out our guide on 14 Weird Traits I Look for in a Client That Can Help Me Close the Sale to gain insights into identifying qualities that can positively impact your sales efforts.

16. The Tips Above Can Help Make Sure That Whatever You Create Is High-Quality Content

When it comes to content, the best way to ensure that your brand’s message will be heard is to make it unique.

Even if you’re just starting with creating content for your business and have never tried this before, there are a few things you can do that can help make sure that whatever you create is high-quality content:

The first step in creating engaging branded content is making sure that the topic of the piece is relevant to your audience. This means understanding their needs and wants so that when they see your branded piece of content, it seems like something they’d want or need right now.

Next up on our list of tips for creating great branded content: Make sure that your audience understands why this article was written just for them! In other words, don’t write an entire post about how “content” works;

Instead, focus on how this specific piece fits into what readers might be interested in learning about at the moment (and why).

Conclusion

We hope this list has helped give you ideas for ways to create and market branded content that people will love.

We’ve tried to give a few examples of each tactic so that you can think about how they might apply to your own business. If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to reach out via the contact form on our website!

FAQs

What are some essential marketing tactics for improving brand visibility?

Effective marketing tactics include content creation, SEO optimization, social media engagement, and influencer partnerships. Each of these strategies contributes to enhancing brand visibility and reaching a wider audience.

How can I stay informed about current marketing trends?

To stay informed about marketing trends, regularly follow reputable marketing blogs, attend industry webinars, and join relevant online communities where professionals share the latest insights and strategies.

What are some proven marketing strategies for increasing website traffic?

Proven strategies for increasing website traffic include creating high-quality content, optimizing for SEO, leveraging social media platforms, running targeted paid advertising campaigns, and collaborating with industry influencers.

How can I measure the success of my marketing efforts?

Key performance indicators (KPIs) such as website traffic, conversion rates, engagement metrics, and return on investment (ROI) can help measure the success of your marketing efforts and provide insights for further improvement.

What role does data analysis play in successful marketing?

Data analysis is crucial for successful marketing as it helps identify trends, customer behaviors, and areas for improvement. By analyzing data, marketers can make informed decisions and tailor their strategies for better results.

Costantine Edward

Costantine Edward is a digital marketing expert, freelance writer, and entrepreneur who helps people attain financial freedom. I’ve been working in marketing since I was 18 years old and have managed to build a successful career doing what I love.