Branded Content

Understand what the best long-term marketing strategy means: Create content that represents the brand

The internet has brought the user experience into the media, where anyone can produce and share content.

The user is now totally controlling their online experience, selecting the content and rejecting pure advertisements for the purpose of sale only, without any personal benefit.

With the user at the top of the food chain, that is, ahead of their experiences, it is no longer possible simply to interrupt him with messages that he is not willing to listen to.

The purchase decision and Branded Content

With the power to select content, read and access what you want, whenever you want, which consumer would agree to be deliberately forced to watch/listen/read an advertisement disrupting your content experience?

This is where the production of content comes from the companies.

"Branded content is when the content itself is promoted in some way by the brand.The brand produces useful or entertaining content and links it to your identity proposal."

The most complete expression for the concept in Portuguese is Content Marketing, which comes to talk about providing useful information to the user - which does not necessarily have to do with the brand - and to be sought by him, becoming a reference in the subject. The subtle difference between the two terms is the association with the brand. Branded Content presupposes the production of content by the brand itself, that is, it holds the creative process, content only exists because the brand produces it. It is not sponsorship. It is a relationship with the consumer, with content associated with the brand.

With Branded Content, companies become content owners, rather than having to rent space on traditional media.

"Advertising is what you do when you can not talk to someone." 

Fairfax Cone

Nevertheless, content cannot be manipulated to favor the company or the product because the consumer will quickly realize that he is being cheated.

The Role of Content

With blogs, social media, search engines and the diversity of ways of accessing the Internet, the possibility of infinite choices brings prominence to those who know how to make content, offering the information that the user is looking for.

Getting your audience to identify your content within this scenario of too much information available and so many distractions is the key to being a reference always remembered.

In the old days, before making a purchase, the consumer consults with trusted people. Nowadays, the first reaction of people is to search the Internet for what other people talk about this product.

This means that a company needs to be prepared to be found and deliver relevant content to that user, passing a good image and establishing a relationship of trust.

It is not pure propaganda. The focus is to associate product/brand with a concept, according to the positioning of the company. For example, a company that sells furniture for office and has a brand positioning the focus on ergonomics. In its contents, it is possible to associate the values of health, comfort, practicality, etc.

Anyway, Branded Content is a strategy of building an image consolidation based on content production, to solve problems of potential customers and become an authority on the topic.

This production can be done through videos, photos, infographics, texts, tweets, e-books, emails, applications, surveys, slides, etc. The key is figuring out what kind of content works for the target audience of the company.

Branded Content enhances the consumer experience with the brand, increasing its presence in your mind. It is not a punctual action that causes an abrupt increase in sales, which falls immediately when the stock ends, but a long-term strategy for brand growth.