Improve your branded content with these 5 tips

Years ago, branded content was an article in a magazine, often written in the form of an advertorial. Today that no longer helps to have your product or service converted. It is important to retain customers and that is only possible with compelling content that stands out or helps the reader, viewer or listener. There is no guaranteed formula, but Bloeise has five tips that can take your burning content to the next level.

1. Determine your identity as a brand

What does your brand stand for? Which values belong to your brand? Does humor suit your business, for example? Only when you know that, can you start writing a text or setting up a campaign. It doesn't have to be perfect and it can be written a bit from the wrist. The trick is that your text, video or podcast stays close to yourself. The customer doesn't care much for perfect content, but for real content.

Be human. As a content maker, try to place yourself in the client's world. This also immediately determines where you will offer your content. For example, Facebook and Instagram are often chosen because they are very personal networks. A human post impresses.

Testimonials can reinforce your branded content.

2. Ask for support from previous customers

Who knows better what your product is about than previous customers? They use your product or service day in day out. Sometimes content creators look a little too much from their own perspective and too little from the customer.

A commonly used way to market a product through branded content is to use a testimonial. This is a piece of text or video in which the customer explains why he or she has chosen your product or customer.

A recent example: Barbie launched a campaign in which the doll brand showed fathers playing with Barbie with their son or daughter. The company asked fathers to send in photos and videos of themselves and their children while they were playing. That is how the hashtag became #DadsWhoPlayBarbie born. A moving, human campaign. This remained close to the brand and also showed the customer's personal stories.

3. Write listicles

This tip is slightly more focused on the shape. Listicles are still popular. By a listicle we mean a 'list article': an article with a list (indeed, like this article!). You can think of: "Five devices from the past, of which the youth of today does not know what it is." They are often fun to read and they do not require much attention.

Sometimes you can also make a listicle with tips. This is all about ease of reading. The average reader can simply scan through the article and still take in all the information.

4. Limit the number of links

Links are good for the SEO, but an excess of links is disastrous for the readability of your article. By placing too many links in an article, the reader loses the overview. Try to remove distractions as much as possible before you put the text online. Your reader clicks away the text if it looks up to it in a matter of seconds to read it.

Extra tip: add an internal link and an authority link, for example to a research or Wikipedia page. This way you get more out of your branded content article.

5. Try to solve a problem

What problems do customers encounter in daily life? Marketers who know this can come up with content that responds to these problems. If a customer does a search to find a solution to the problem, he will come across your content. There is a good chance that the customer will linger. So make sure you continue to the next article, a download or a conversion.