What Is Brand Content?

Brand content, or branded content, refers to all the strategic content produced by a brand. Its purpose is to tell a story or share expertise with consumers, going beyond standard commercial messaging.

As Thomas Jamet, CEO of IPG Mediabrands France, explains, brand content is the art of communicating about your values rather than your products. It's creating content that consumers choose to watch rather than endure.

Today, consumers are overwhelmed by advertising messages. Brand content helps you stand out, and allows you to:

• break free from traditional advertising and bypass the phenomenon of ad blindness;
• gain visibility;
• build a trust relationship with consumers.

Brand content enables the construction of a strong and memorable brand image.

How to Build Your Brand Content Strategy

Identify Your Brand's Objectives

Before diving into content creation, you need to define the objectives of your brand content strategy. These objectives might include:

• strengthening your brand's awareness;
• improving your brand's image;
• retaining your existing customer base;
• attracting new customers;
• positioning the brand as an expert in its field;

Your objectives must be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound).

Understand Your Audience

An effective brand content strategy is built on a deep understanding of your audience. Define your marketing personas by considering criteria such as:

1. Age and gender.
2. Geographic distribution.
3. Socio-professional category.
4. Hobbies and interests.
5. Consumption habits.
6. Values and concerns.

Choose Your Distribution Channels

Select the most relevant channels based on your objectives and your audience's consumption habits. The main channels for brand content include:

• social media (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.);
• your brand's website;
• video platforms (YouTube, TikTok);
• podcasts;
• mobile apps.

Each channel has its own strengths and attracts different segments of your audience, so choosing the right mix can increase the effectiveness of your content strategy.

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Creating Your Brand Content

Content Types (Articles, Videos, Infographics)

Brand content can take many forms. The most popular are:

• Blog articles to share ideas, stories, and useful information.
• Videos, whether tutorials, interviews, or product demonstrations.
• Infographics to present information concisely.
• Podcasts for conversations on topics related to your field.
• Webinars and e-books for educational and informational content.

Storytelling Techniques

Storytelling is at the heart of effective brand content. It's about telling a story that embodies your brand's values. 

Think about creating characters your audience can identify with. Use a clear narrative structure and appeal to emotions to create a strong connection. You can use visual elements to support the storytelling. 

A great example of storytelling is the Intermarché "L'amour, l'amour" campaign. It tells a romance story and reaffirms the brand's closeness with its customers. The result? Increased brand awareness and emotional engagement from consumers.

Examples of Successful Strategies

Red Bull has partnered with extreme sports and adventures, creating captivating videos that embody the spirit of the brand without directly showing the product. The brand currently has more than 15 million subscribers on YouTube and achieved a 7% increase in its global market share between 2019 and 2020.

Dove's "Show Us" campaign invited women to share their vision of beauty, reinforcing the brand's values of inclusivity and diversity. The campaign generated more than 5 billion media impressions and led to a 2% increase in Dove's global sales in 2019.

Nike excels in the art of storytelling. The brand creates content that showcases a world athletes identify with, while only revealing its products at the very end of its ads. This approach allows Nike to create an emotional connection with its audience.

The "Dream Crazy" campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick generated more than $43 million in media value and led to a 31% increase in online sales.

Lessons to Draw from These Examples

These examples highlight key points to keep in mind when building your strategy: 

• Stay authentic. Your content must genuinely reflect the brand's values.
• Evoke emotions to create a connection with your audience.
• Provide value to your audience, beyond simple promotion.
• Stay consistent across all channels, and align with your brand's overall identity.
• Involve your audience in content creation to strengthen the community around your brand.

How to Optimize Your Brand Content?

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Think about defining relevant KPIs. Monitor indicators such as:

• engagement rate (likes, comments, shares);
• conversion rate;
• customer retention rate;
• brand awareness growth;
• website traffic;
• time spent on content. 

Results Analysis

Regular analysis of your results will help you understand what is working and what can be improved. Examine:

• the types of content that generate the most engagement;
• the channels on which your content performs best;
• the impact of your content on your brand's perception;
• whether your initial objectives are being met.

Use web analytics and social media tools (such as LinkedIn) to gain insights into your content performance. 

Continuous Adjustments and Improvements

Based on your analyses, make continuous adjustments to your brand content strategy. 

Adapt your content types to better resonate with your audience and refine your tone and style to reflect your brand. Don't hesitate to experiment with new formats or distribution channels, and optimize the frequency and timing of your publications to maximize their impact. 

Listen to your audience's feedback and integrate this input into your strategy to stay responsive to market changes and your audience's needs.

An effective brand content strategy can not only strengthen your brand image, but also engage your audience and clearly set you apart from the competition. Are you ready to transform your brand communication and stand out? 

Start building your brand content strategy today and watch your brand take on a new dimension in the eyes of your consumers. If you'd like to further optimize your strategy and maximize the impact of your content, our team is here to support you. Contact us to discover how we can help you strengthen your market positioning!

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