Advertising has taken a turn for the better, in the last couple of years and it has become obvious that any brand that does not have the full understanding of its audience or target market will lose out. Native Ads and branded content have grown into being the biggest winner in Advertising especially now that people don’t want to be bothered with normal online Ads. In my recent stroll on Google’s Primer, I took a short lesson in Native Advertising and I want to share some of the things I learnt.
Branded content and native ads fall under the kind of marketing that draws people in without being intrusive. They help build a loyal and vocal fanbase.
Why Branded Content
For engagement: now you have more ways to reach your customers.
For Interaction: Branded content fosters longer and frequent interactions.
Build Brand Fanbase: People will readily share your content when they find it interesting, thus helping you build advocates.
How to Create Branded Content
First, understand your brand identity
Define your content’s theme, your target audience and the platforms the content will sit on.
Make sure the Content you create speaks/evokes the emotion of the audience. You want the content to resonate.
You can research what your target shares the most to determine the best form of content to create(video, written content, images, gifs, listicles etc).
Next, choose the platforms that most work well for your target audience. Learn where they share stuff and use the platforms for sharing yours.
Make small bets at the beginning, and measure your results. Scale up from there and keep going.
To reiterate the important points mentioned above, Content Marketing Institute has these tips for creating an emotional connection with branded content, you must do the following:
- Use real words that resonate with people at a level that goes beyond the functionality, features, and benefits of your products or services. Offer a perspective and share a philosophy through words on websites, social media, packaging, videos, and more.
- Create something that others want to be a part of. Make your content interesting, without industry jargon or boring lingo, and show that you really “get” who you’re speaking to and what they need.
- Stay true to your mission and be fearless about what your brand really represents.
Make sure you hold on to these points when creating your branded content.
