Building and Promoting Your Brand Through Owned Channels

Content marketing is a powerful tool that can transform the way you interact with your audience. By focusing on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content, you're able to attract the attention of a clearly defined audience and, ultimately, drive profitable customer action. The beauty of content marketing lies in its versatility, allowing businesses to control their narrative, showcase expertise, and cultivate customer loyalty.

The essence of content marketing is creating custom content that meets your customers' needs and aligns with their journey. When you choose to publish professionally produced content on your owned channels–your website, blog, or email newsletter–you lay a foundation that can withstand the ever-changing landscape of social media algorithms or search engine logic. Here are some reasons to focus on owned channels as a smart strategy:

? Control Over Content: You decide what to publish, when to publish it, and how to present it. This ensures you always align the messaging with your brand's objectives.

? Consistent Customer Experience: Owned channels offer a stable environment where your audience can regularly find and engage with your content, leading to stronger long-term relationships.

? Data Ownership: You'll have access to first-party data, giving you valuable insights into your audience's behavior and preferences without relying on third parties.

? SEO Benefits: High-quality, relevant content can significantly enhance your search rankings, driving more organic traffic to your site.

What is Owned Media?

Owned media refers to the digital marketing channels over which you have complete control, such as your branded website, blog, or email newsletter. Unlike paid media, which includes PPC ads or sponsored posts, and earned media, which encompasses organic content sharing and PR efforts, owned media is all about the content you directly manage and distribute. This category serves as the cornerstone for your overall content marketing strategy because of its multiple advantages.

One primary benefit of owned media is control. When you publish content on your own channels, you decide what information gets shared, how often it gets updated, and how it’s presented. This control ensures a consistent brand message that aligns perfectly with your business goals and customer expectations.

Reach is another significant advantage. Owned media allows you to address your audience without intermediaries. By building a robust email list or developing a blog with compelling content, you can foster a loyal customer community who regularly engages with your brand.

Longevity is also a crucial factor. Paid ads have a short shelf life and social media posts appear only briefly in customer newsfeeds. But content on your website or blog can continue to drive traffic and generate leads long after it’s published. A well-crafted blog post or resource center article can stay relevant and useful for years, continuously attracting organic search traffic and potential customers. That is why we manage long-term promotional campaigns based on the custom content we create for our clients. Companies we serve profit from web traffic we drive to their content long after its first publication date.

Versatility also sets owned media apart. You can repurpose a single piece of content, such as a case study or in-depth article, across various formats and platforms. You could turn a blog post into an infographic, a video, social media posts, or a podcast episode, extending the reach and impact of your original content.

Finally, cost efficiency makes owned media an attractive choice for businesses of all sizes. While you will make an initial investment in quality content creation, the long-term benefits and minimal ongoing costs often result in a higher return on investment. Unlike paid media, which requires continuous funding to maintain visibility, owned media offers a sustainable way to keep your brand in the spotlight without further expense.

Investing in owned media is not just a fallback for when other strategies falter; it’s a proactive approach to building a resilient and engaging brand presence. We think of it as the base on which you can build the rest of your content marketing strategy. By focusing on your own channels, you insulate your business from the unpredictable nature of the internet, ensuring a steady connection with your audience.

Resource Centers: A Hub for Valuable Information

Resource centers act as a central hub where you offer your audience access to informative and valuable content. These hubs include various media, such as articles, whitepapers, case studies, videos, and webinars. By curating and organizing content strategically, you ensure your audience can easily find the information they need. This enhances their user experience and builds trust in your brand.

Consider your resource center as a library for your customers and prospects; some of our clients even label them as Resource Libraries or Content Libraries. When comprehensive and well-maintained, resource centers become a place where website visitors find solutions to their questions and insights into their industry. This not only positions your brand as a knowledgeable leader but also keeps visitors coming back, strengthening your relationship throughout the customer journey.

Resource centers support SEO efforts by encouraging visitors to spend more time on your site, reducing bounce rates, and offering internal linking opportunities. They also act as a repository of shareable content that you can promote across your owned and social channels, amplifying your reach and visibility.

To maximize your resource center’s potential, regularly update and optimize content for search engines. Include clear labels and categories, make navigation intuitive, and highlight new or popular resources to keep the experience fresh and engaging for return visitors. By doing this, you create a valuable asset that aligns with your audience's needs and business goals.

Why Custom Content Is Your Best Defense Against Algorithm Changes

Your carefully created custom content gives you stability because you control it entirely. Unlike social media platforms, which constantly tweak their algorithms, your website, blog, or email newsletter won't suddenly change the rules on you. Instead, you can consistently deliver the content your audience craves. As long as you stay attuned to their needs and preferences, you stay relevant.

The changing landscapes of social media and search engines often create a reactive strategy in marketers, making them jump from one trend to another. Custom content enables you to craft a proactive strategy that aligns with your long-term business goals. This approach builds a firm foundation of trust and authority, elements critical for sustained success.

Another significant advantage of focusing on your owned media includes improved search engine rankings. Well-optimized SEO content consistently signals Google and other search engines that you deliver value. And while search engines often update their algorithms, they never penalize high-quality, relevant content. So, by continuously producing valuable custom content, you naturally improve your search engine visibility.

Relying on your own channels allows you to nurture a more personal connection with your audience. This personal touch often results in higher customer retention and loyalty, two metrics that significantly impact your bottom line.

Investing in professionally produced custom content shields your business from the unpredictable nature of social media and search engine changes. By owning your content and focusing on delivering value, you create a buffer against algorithm shifts. More importantly, you build a trustworthy brand that keeps your audience coming back for more.

Don't Count on Follower Loyalty

Maintaining a steady flow of traffic to your owned media requires constant effort. One successful article doesn't guarantee future visits. Hence, a proactive approach becomes essential in nurturing an ongoing relationship with your audience. Implement strategies, such as engaging email blasts that highlight new articles, blog posts, or case studies.

Social media campaigns can also serve as a dynamic way to redirect your audience back to your website. Regularly posting teasers or snippets of your latest content, coupled with direct links, entices your followers to click through and explore more. We accomplish this for our clients through Social Drip Campaigns.

Best Practices for Maintaining Consistency in Your Content

Consistency in content creation requires a strategic approach to both planning and execution. Start with developing a content calendar that outlines what you plan to publish and when. This supports a steady flow of content, ensuring your audience is always engaging with fresh material.

Use tools and platforms that help schedule and manage your content. Platforms like Hootsuite or Buffer can be invaluable in automating your posting schedule, keeping you on track even during busy periods. With these tools, you can also analyze performance metrics to adjust your strategy effectively.

Next, enlisting internal experts enhances the depth and value of your content. Find individuals within your organization who can offer insights and knowledge that your audience will find beneficial. Encourage these experts to contribute regularly, through blog posts, video content, or guest appearances on webinars and podcasts.

NOTE: In our experience, assigning ongoing content generation to internal resources often leads to eventual failure. We've seen countless examples where staffers, account managers, salespeople, and founders began their content-creation task with enthusiasm that is short-lived. Subsequent urgent and high-priority projects will force content creation onto the back burner. Content publication becomes sporadic or stops entirely.

Optimize your content for search engines to ensure it reaches the widest audience possible. This involves not just including relevant keywords, but also writing quality copy that resonates with your readers and aligns with search intent. Content that provides value naturally attracts backlinks and social shares, enhancing its visibility.

Measurement and optimization play crucial roles in maintaining consistency. Keep track of key metrics such as reader engagement, and conversions. Use these insights to refine your content strategy, focusing on what works and improving areas that do not meet expectations.

Promote your content across various channels to maximize its reach. Encourage employees to share content within their networks (see this recent article in the PMC Content Corner on spreading the word through your employees) and consider using paid media to amplify key messages. The combined effect of organic and paid promotion boosts your content visibility, helping to establish your brand as a thought leader within your industry.

A Tall Order

Consistent high-quality content generation is a challenge–especially for small and medium size organizations. Time is always a factor. The people within the company most qualified to create the impactful content you need for your owned media have other important duties to perform. Eventually, they find they never have time to get around to composing those blog posts or writing the case studies you need. Talent can also be a hindering factor. Not everyone is a natural writer. Publishing wandering, error-ridden content on your site can totally offset the image you're trying to portray.

Those limitations are the reason PMC Content Services exists. We saw how smaller companies struggled with consistent content generation and publication and developed a service offering to overcome those obstacles. If you think your organization would benefit from planning, creating, and promoting custom content, get some help from professional, industry-knowledgeable people. Please get in touch at [email protected].