Content marketing has transformed from supplementary to a broader marketing strategy to an essential element of online brand awareness.
Content marketing is used to entice, engage, and maintain customers or potential customers by developing a range of different media, including blogs, videos, social media posts, articles, and podcasts.
However indirect the material might seem, the aim is always to promote and maintain awareness of the brand. There are some powerful reasons why content is king when looking to grow an online brand and some excellent examples that have proved effective.
Generate trust
Create excellent content and your brand is supplanted in the minds of consumers as an expert and a voice that can be trusted. Consumers consume your content, become more informed on an issue of relevance to them and associate your brand with dependable guidance. For example, PlayOJO build tons of online casino resources for casino players such as online slots guide, online blackjack guide and many more that will aid players in being more successful at their chosen game.
As part of a long-term strategy to establish and retain trust, this makes perfect sense. Trust is particularly relevant to the online casino industry as players are unable to view the mechanisms that generate their cards, spin the reels or select bingo balls. When an online casino states the payout percentage of selected games, the player is simply asked to trust them.
Establishing trust is integral, but retaining that trust also requires content. The arsenal of games available at online casinos is constantly changing with technological advancements to produce games such as Blackjack Turbo or Speed Baccarat Live. The content needs to keep up or customers will seek out a new source of information that will guide them in making informed decisions. Additionally, when consumers see consistent and instructive content, the brand becomes recognised as an industry leader which further builds trust and influence.
Set yourself apart to compete with the giants
Content marketing, particularly for smaller operations, is about consumers being able to distinguish you from your rivals. Byrdie, launched in 2013, is an online platform that focuses on beauty, health, and style. The company exists in an industry with prominent brands such as L’Oréal and Sephora, yet Byrdie is flourishing.
Byrdie’s content marketing has been so successful that its content will often be presented to you first if you search Google for skincare, acne or anti-ageing advice. While these search categories are incredibly broad, the content they actually provide is very specific. Recent articles include The Bear Crawl: What It Is and How to Do It and The 4 Best Color Correctors Made With South Asian Skin in Mind. Byrdie’s use of content marketing has been very astute in setting them apart from the competition and to an extent outmanoeuvring more considerable competitors.
Show your brand values
An important consideration here is to have the culture and values of your brand emerge from the content. Byrdie’s site contains a Diversity Pledge, and simply scrolling through the content they’ve created shows that diversity, inclusivity and representation form the cornerstones of the brand. Businesses differ vastly in their values and culture, and the content simply needs to embody the uniqueness of the business.
The massively successful Dove Real Beauty campaign provides an outstanding example of seeing the industry through the eyes of customers and communicating how your brand has different values and culture from the rest. While the initial campaign launched with billboard advertisements of realistic female body types as a result of a survey conducted that found only 2% of women considered themselves beautiful, it was the additional content that drew the eye.
The Dove real beauty sketches videos asked women to relate to a forensic sketch artist what they looked like and a drawing was produced based on their self-description. Next, the same women performed the same process but were asked to describe the other women participating. The result was that the sketches produced of women describing others were far more flattering than those of women describing themselves. It was a potent message and indicated to customers that Dove is all about the empowerment of women.
While there are other methods to build customer relationships, content marketing provides businesses with the agency to build trust, differentiate and communicate values and culture.
