Branded content can be loosely defined as content produced by an organization with two discrete (and overlapping) goals: to engage the ultimate content consumer, and to drive an organizational goal – often brand-building, competitive differentiation, or sales.
Done well, branded content is an important engagement tool. Done poorly, it looks clumsy and self-serving.
Here are 24 branded content thought-starters. Some are well beyond the “typical,” and illustrate how persuasive – and flexible – this tool can be.
- Guest blog posts
- A sponsored blogger
- A sponsored speaker
- Advertorials in traditional media
- Columnist in a newspaper
- Radio show host
- Product reviews
- Product comparisons (white papers, “independent” websites, etc)
- “Flanker” websites for shopping or reviews
- Paid content on content sites
- Trade magazine articles
- “How to” articles in article directories
- “How to” video/ YouTube channels
- Editorship of sections of “how to” websites
- Monthly magazine article (real and web)
- Sponsored survey
- Sponsored market research
- Creation of a research institute to fund both academic and corporate research
- Product giveaways to ambassadors/influencers
- Sponsored contests with corporate judges
- Student ambassadors
- Multiple Twitter accounts
- Training on industry knowledge (Online/Real World)
- Certification for industry knowledge
- Corporately self-published books
This Week’s Action Plan: Finding the balance between meeting the target audience’s needs and your own is difficult. This week, review the balance for any branded content you produce, and readjust, if necessary.
Note: The Make It Happen Tipsheet is also available by email. Go to www.RandallCraig.com to register.
Randall Craig
@RandallCraig (follow me)
www.RandallCraig.com: Professional credentials site
www.108ideaspace.com: Web strategy, technology, and development
www.ProfessionallySpeakingTV.com: Interviews with the nation’s thought-leaders
About Randall Craig
Randall has been advising on Web and Social Strategy since 1994 when he put the Toronto Star online, the Globe and Mail's GlobeInvestor/Globefund, several financial institutions, and about 100+ other major organizations. He is the author of seven books, including the recently released "Everything Guide to Starting an Online Business", and speaks across North America on Social Media and Web Strategy. More at randallcraig.com and 108ideaspace.com.
