For far too long, conventional wisdom has taught us that the full extent of putting your brand out there typically entailed investing in some ostentatious advertisements for television, radio, magazines, newspapers, etc. However, with the advent of the digital era, more dimensions to the brand game have emerged and it continues to evolve. To stay ahead of the pack, creating content for your brand, especially around the persona of the brand, is key to creating brand success.

What do we mean when we speak of creating content? Content is a rather broad term that can appear in the form of blog articles, white papers, online competitions, social media campaigns, an online (hopefully viral) video, infographics, etc. It is important to note that content created should be useful, engaging, entertaining, readily available and highly shareable. An influx of content that is entertaining and useful has a great possibility of creating brand loyalty from a veiled to a more tangible level.

You could imagine that a super brand like Coca-Cola would not need to invest in creating content to grow its brand loyalists, as it’s a product that is so well established that it basically sells itself. That is far from the truth. Even though they are a super brand, they still recognise the importance of creating valuable content. So much so, in fact, that they launched the Coca-Cola Content 2020 campaign, all hinged on content marketing (see the two-part videos below). Another short film, produced by Ridley Scott called Bears Film: 2013 (see below), only has a Coca-Cola logo at the beginning, yet it features the Coca-Cola Polar Bears that most people associated with the brand (an extension of the brand’s persona). The film does not try to sell the viewer anything, but merely offers some light-hearted entertainment. Even though they are not directly selling something, the brand is being planted into the viewer’s minds. As logic would dictate, if your interaction with the brand through content (be it through blog content, viral videos, etc.) has been pleasant, it would leave one to believe that an encounter with the product would also be of the same nature.

Content is not about trying to scoff a brand down your throat, but rather offering some sort of reward in the form of entertainment or enlightenment. If that hits the spot with the consumer, indirectly the brand is being reinforced and brand loyalty is being developed. Promotional material catalyses an affinity for a brand. That material is predominantly pumped out online via brand-owned channels (main websites, microsites, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc.) or via earned features on popular websites, and then more than often shared exponentially through social media. If your content is good, consumers will come back for more.

Red Bull is an exceptional brand when it comes to creating content. Just look at their content website the Red Bull Content Pool or their Red Bull YouTube Channel. Their on-going campaigns are simply amazing and some of the biggest and best. Red Bull is constantly hosting world-renowned events. They are not even an energy drink, if you look at it differently, they are an unofficial media and events company; conjurer of the cool and so much more. Many will therefore willingly associate themselves with the brand. The video below is an example of content created to create value for consumers.

The power of ample useful content cannot be underestimated. Marketing and branding strategists worth their salt have identified this and are adapting to this route. It has already been proven that content marketing is superior to traditional marketing efforts. It if it’s not part of a brand’s strategy then it will lose ground to other brands capitalising on this marketing trend.

Always remember that content should be unique and easy to understand. Users should want to engage with it, share it and even learn from it where applicable. To improve on content, learn how to tell better stories and find way ways to bring together like-minded people who share similar interests. A brand’s persona should always align with its intended target market.

The bottom line is that content marketing will boost your brand. Be smart and transform your brand into a content churner and you will help your brand ascend to new heights. Chat to us today about content marketing.