Branded content and integrated marketing are perfect partners in the quest to reach, impact and engage consumers. Let’s take a deeper look at both branded content and integrated marketing, and delve into why they’re a marketing power couple.
Branded content is a form of marketing that involves sharing content, like articles, infographics, videos, social media posts and more, that tells a story about your brand. Unlike other forms of marketing or advertising, branded content does not directly promote your products or services. Instead, it creates connections with your audience by sharing what’s at the heart of your business.
The key to branded content is expertly crafted storytelling that shines a light on who you are and what you stand for, communicating your brand in ways that will connect deeply with your audience.
Integrated marketing is a content deployment strategy, if you will. It’s about getting your brand message out there via multiple channels (or an easier way to think of it: formats) like social media, TV, billboards, content placement and distribution in nationwide publications, blogs on your own website, influencer partnerships, and any other medium you can think of.
The key to integrated marketing is a consistent brand message across all of these formats. A unified brand experience, no matter if people are seeing it on social media, on a blog, in a video, or wherever they get their content.
Branded content benefits
Branded content isn’t just advertising. It’s not catchy slogans with a fun image. It’s a targeted way to connect with consumers, aligning your brand with their values. Why should you use it? Because branded content…
Increases brand awareness. Quick, who do you think is the typical Subaru driver? An outdoorsy, athletic dog lover who cares about the environment? That’s the power of branded content at work. It cements a brand into the awareness of the buying public. We all know Subaru’s brand now, whether we’ve ever purchased one of their vehicles or not.
Improves brand perception. Branded content can improve the public’s perception of your brand, building trust and enhancing credibility. This can be extremely helpful to brands that have had a stumble. It creates a positive brand image over time, solidifying that image to create deep brand equity.
Increases audience engagement. Storytelling engages people in ways that advertising simply can’t. It can create deep connections and increase loyalty.
Creates authority. If you publish a series of insightful thought-leadership articles, over time you will be viewed as a thought leader within your industry and with the buying public. It creates a sense of gravitas and knowledge, positioning you as a source that can be trusted.
Supports multichannel marketing efforts. Branded content can integrate with your other marketing and advertising efforts on various channels like social media to email to your website. It’s part of creating a consistent message.
Increases leads and sales. Everyone wants to increase leads, sales, engaged customers, the whole nine yards. Ultimately, branded content makes your company more successful.
Integrated marketing benefits
Why use integrated marketing? Because integrated marketing gives you…
Multiple channels. We’re talking about blogs, paid media placements in top national publications, email, newsletters, advertisements, videos, influencer partnerships and even in-store displays. It’s using any and all mediums to get your message across.
Strong brand identity. The key to integrated marketing is a consistent message across all channels. When consumers see you in a TV ad or read an article you’ve created for any number of online sites, or get an email from your company, it must all sound like it’s coming from the same source. The idea is to reinforce who you are and what your brand represents and stands for.
Reinforced customer journey. Think about a consumer who has never heard of your brand. Maybe they’ll see you for the first time on an ad or billboard. You’ve caught their eye. Next, they might spot a video on social media showcasing your product. Now they’re interested. Then, they might read an article online or on your website. Now they’re engaged enough to give your product or service a try. The crucial thing is, they’ve received the same message throughout that journey.
Increased visibility. Your potential consumers are everywhere, and with integrated marketing, so is your brand message. You’ll reach a wide audience by casting a wide net. And you won’t have to worry potential customers missed a TV ad or a blog post. They’ll see your message someplace else.
Cost-effective campaigns. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel with integrated marketing. Because you’re delivering a consistent message, you can repurpose content.
High rates of success. According to research by Gartner, integrated marketing campaigns across four or more channels outperform single- or dual-channel campaigns by 300%. That’s an incredible number!
How branded content and integrated marketing work together
Branded content and integrated marketing are a power couple, the perfect partners in getting your brand message out to a wide audience. Here’s why:
Branded content works across all channels and formats in an integrated marketing strategy. It’s not sales-y. It’s an informative, entertaining story that gets to the heart of who you are as a company and as a brand. It allows you to engage with your audience on a more meaningful level than just an ad. Therefore, it can bridge all of the channels integrated marketing touches. That’s why it’s a powerful tool in an integrated marketing strategy.
Reinforcing the message. With integrated marketing, your story is not one and done. It is reinforced across multiple channels. Branded content creates a connection that resonates as it is reinforced, with consumers hearing it again and again.
Increasing engagement. The type of entertaining, informative stories that work best with branded content also work best with integrated marketing. These messages can touch, elate, amuse and inform, just the kind of content people share. It builds on itself to organically widen the net of your visibility. That’s how to go viral, folks.
Building the story and the customer journey. The multichannel approach is very conducive to building a brand story. Give highlights on social media and native advertising that direct consumers to a video, and finally to the blog on your website where they get the full story. Distribute your content in top publications nationwide, supported by social media ads, video and a blog on your own website.
How it works
Just one recent example of how integrated marketing and branded content can be a powerful matchup is the Dollar Shave Club (DSC) campaign. The goal was to increase brand awareness, and it did that and then some.
The campaign strategy included:
- YouTube video. The video’s funny, hip message decrying the high cost of razors was not an ad, but a masterful work of branded content that caught people’s attention and engaged them.
- Social media. DSC reinforced the video’s success with social media that engaged directly with viewers.
- Targeted email. DSC captured addresses from the video and social media campaign and reached out via email.
- Content placement. DSC also placed articles in major publications nationwide, reinforcing the brand message.
The campaign’s measurable results included millions of views of their content, a surge in social media followers, a dramatic rise in website traffic and, the end goal, increased sales.
Get started today
The combination of branded content and integrated marketing will power up your message, supercharge your reach and engage more people than you thought possible. Let’s talk about how Brandpoint can help make that happen!
