I get a lot of questions about branded content.

At the core of it all, branded content is about all building trust between a brand and its loyal customers. It’s about building relationships. 

The 3 bases of branded content 

Starting at base 1, I am sure we can all agree that good content is a good thing from the point of view of being engaging, informational, and that it should make the reader come back for more. 

Then, base 2 would be that if we can optimise it correctly, we can tell who the reader is and how they located you. 

Consequently, if we can then produce high-quality (branded) content, done well (in terms of transparency and targeting), it can be a base 3, advertising game changer — where savvy digital marketers are happy to pay a premium for it and where the smarter advertisers understand the value of it.

In essence, if you aren’t including branded content as part of our advertising offerings, we are leaving revenue on the table. In this newsletter, I will talk about the reasons branded content is crucial to forcing your future revenue streams.

Why branded content is important to you and your advertisers 

Consumers today are more choosy about how they want to obtain either brand or product information, choosing to have more control over the entire process.

Traditional advertising like TV ads and direct mail campaigns may not automatically reach the audiences they once did, and those savvy digital marketers know this. They know how to use key words to attract and engage consumers, how to tell a brand story using visual storytelling tools, how to spotlight its USPs, and hopefully excite readers with useful information that leaves them wanting more.

Concentrating on well-produced (branded) content isn’t just a wise way to connect — it also will develop into brand growth.

It’s also highly cost-effective. According to various research from the Mobile Marketing Association, branded marketing costs up to 62% less than traditional marketing efforts and generates approximately three times as many leads.

Indeed, their research also shows: 

• A huge 70% of consumers feel they learn about a brand through branded content rather than traditional advertising.
• 78% of people feel they’ve developed a relationship with a brand after reading custom content.
• 90% of consumers find branded content a helpful way to learn more. 

In short, good content is a given. But branded content (when done well, when trusted) can allow for advertising budgets to go much further and deliver an ROI few other advertising efforts can replicate. 

If you’d like to subscribe to my bi-weekly newsletter, INMA members can do so here.

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