Branded Content - The Rise of a New Marketing Strategy

by Sharon Sharpe

Branded Content: She’s SINGLE Magazine, USA…She’s SINGLE Magazine, UK…

“Brands need editors” – Nathan Lump, Brand Content Editor for Vogue Magazine.

Are you interested in learning more about marketing for black businesses on social media and other options?

The rise of branded content and its significance in publishing is quite easily a comprehensible concept, yet still so many are not allowing themselves to get hip to the idea. Readers are looking forward to branded content as publishers now have taken on the responsibility of featuring top quality brands offering them editorial space that far exceed that of a typical advertisement.

“As businesses, you want to build a loyal and lasting audience, so it’s essential to achieve balanced marketing,” says Bryan Adams, Founder and CEO, Ph Creative. With a large number or press releases and marketing messages reaching publishers daily, sometimes quality content can go unnoticed or missed, so how do we combat this?

Author of the book, The Content Code, Mark Shaefer says, “I think we’re in the most difficult time to be in marketing. It’s harder because the channels are so fragmented, audiences are fragmented,” he also goes on to say, “…we’re not only competing with other companies, we’re competing with anybody who posts online content, whether it’s on their Snapchat account or YouTube.

So, forget about focusing on long content or short content, focus on the right content.” This is what editors assist brands in getting a handle on: their content, integration and the art of repetition.

Extended articles along with units is the perfect way to outspread your brand to a broader audience that will find the time to devote when engrossed in their favorite print publication versus social media. Branded content offers long and detailed interviews accompanied by eye-catching print photos and shareable micro-content via our digital platform.

It is important to view branded content as less like a feature and more like a chance to earn the trust of new audiences. Branded content can be costly as a marketing technique used by brands such as Gucci, Versace and Dove to name a few. With this you are creating content linked to a brand allowing consumers to make the connection with the brand. Here at She’s SINGLE Magazine we’re all about content branding because as our mission dictates, “Today, we’re taking the powerful combination of intimacy and education to the next level with clear, modern point of view and bold visuals.”

Branded content focuses on the values of a particular individual in contrast to their products or service. It also seeks to generate conversation essentially adding value to its user—advertising is just a price to pay to consume the content and branded content seeks to turn this reality around and create content that users really want to consume. A few other points to consider: (1) appeals to the emotions far better than a regular advertisement. (2) it makes use of storytelling and (3) it can be presented through multiple formats and diffusion channels.

So what are you waiting for? Let’s start creating your spread!!