In other words, should we take the brand out of the branded content?Many of you have probably heard that ‘content is a king’. At Liki Mobile Solutions we agree with that expression. Its power to attract potential customers and keep them satisfied can help to build brand awareness. What do companies usually do? They make sure that what they publish is readable, adjusted to the target group, well-organized and containing necessary information. What if even these basic rules are followed, there isn’t a desired effect? For the potential clients it’s just impossible to digest all these details they are exposed to while scrolling down their smartphones. Can you count how many times you skip annoying ads popping out while daily browsing? Now, let’s imagine the reversed situation. What if it is the consumer who searches for the commercial on his own? Sounds like a perfect situation? Actually, that’s the main assumption of branded content.
What are the benefits of branded content?
- It creates strong association with the main ideas behind the brand
- It creates the strong bond between the brand and a viewer
- It increases the brand recognition
THE QUALITY CONTENT
Modern consumers navigate through the online world effortlessly. They search for the most valuable products and services which are adjusted to their individual needs. It doesn’t matter if they want to buy a new smartphone or just look for the best mobile application. Checking information beforehand has become our habit. The awareness of engines and tools which allow to select the product has also increased. There’s no need to say how important is the best quality content, which provides the necessary information and directs clients towards the desired product. But how to grab clients’ attention and make your ad noticeable? The key factor is getting rid the brand out of the content. Let’s take a step further and turn advertising into pleasant and entertaining experience. Because the purpose of the branded content is to engage the viewer and evoke emotions.
The features of a branded content:
- it’s authentic
- it engages the viewers and keeps their interest
- involves the viewer in the dialogue; increases interaction rate
- focuses on the viewer’s needs
- it uses different channels of distribution
- it’s distributed in a subtle way
- it adds artistic and entertaining value to advertising
- it’s based on the original idea
BRANDED CONTENT VS NON-BRANDED CONTENT
Branded content, as the name suggests, is closely related to a brand and is created mainly to represent the business. It puts the company or a product as the main subject of the content. Nowadays, there is a tendency that brands themselves become publishers. As a result, they more and more often deal with the digital marketing and the content is produced in-house. In this way they can provide their target group with the newest and most interesting pieces of information. Branded content doesn’t involve the traditional ways of advertising. At least, it is not what people usually associate with advertising, such as banners, billboards and ads in form of e-mails.The form is rather innovative and artistic, such as movies, podcasts, trailers or TV series.
Non-branded content still supports the industry and the area of interest relative to the brand. However, it is rather the casual stuff published on the daily basis, which doesn’t relate to the business in a straightforward way. Here, the brand is not the main focus of the content. It could be, for instance, talking about general topics, such as interesting trends that somehow affect the industry.
HOW TO CREATE THE GREAT BRANDED CONTENT?
1. Use storytelling
Use strory instead of a logo. Providing authentic story allows for maintaining contact with the client and helps them to identify with the brand’s set of beliefs and merge with the ideas the company represent. It considerably drives the level of engagement rate. Good marketers are able to prepare engaging storytelling.
2. Choose a creative form…
…instead of a cliche. Make a video and turn your content into a mini piece of art. The most important here is that it must be a pleasant experience. Something that makes the clients want to devote their free time. Use your imagination and go beyond the obvious connotations with the industry. If your idea is original it will defend itself. The only thing you need is some passion and courage to implement it.
3. Don’t be intrusive
Of course, the rule is to appear when and where your potential clients are present in the online world, too. Without choosing the peak hours of the target group, it would be hard to achieve a success. However, with growing popularity of adblocks, there are slim chances someone will pay attention to a boring or annoying ad. So, what should marketers do? Present the content in a subtle way that will be appreciated by the consumers. The perfect scenario is when the clients search for the ad, not the other way round. They shouldn’t have the feeling as though they are being forced to buy the product.
HOW OTHERS DO THAT?
As it’s always good to observe the best, here are the top examples of great branded content campaigns, which were the most successful.
The LEGO movie became such a hit that increased sales of the company by 25%. What’s interesting, many people didn’t even realize that it was the commercial.
The article which appeared in The New York Times focused on the concerns of the real female inmates. In this way, the readers got interest in the topic, which is the main plot of Netflix show – Orange is the New Black.
