How do you connect content marketing to the brand?

Do you need to create contextual content marketing that connects to your brand strategy?

The answer is yes. But first, focus on the initial strategy. Start with a clear vision for the business and your ideal client/customers in mind.

The brand is composed of the following components (below) that will be transformed into a core message.

That same core message will be informative and or emotional content that will help you build a strong brand identity.

The content will help represent the brand business units or departments as the voice to attract your target audience. That same content will be reworded and transformed with the meanings of answering user questions and engaging via email, blog posts, and/ or emotional or funny videos.

Here's how I see it:

Brand Vision

Your brand vision statement is nothing more than a long-term future goal for what a brand will become, and the behaviour and presence it will have in any of its shared communications. And what it is set to accomplish based on that goal.

Examples to illustrate how one can phrase their vision statement:

• X is set to provide all students online access to courses at half-price.
• X to become a leading platform for all types of gaming experiences.

Define Your Brand Identity:

Start by defining your brand identity. Starting with a sound name that identifies you from the rest of the world. What do you want to achieve (Vision) What values, mission, and personality does your brand represent? What makes your brand unique?

Note: This identity will serve as the foundation for your content marketing efforts.

Brand Purpose

Answers the question Why do you exist?

A well-thought-out brand purpose is an important strategic process that will help differentiate any brand, build customer loyalty and drive long-term success.

Three Examples:

a) Patagonia (Clothing) Brand Purpose: "We are in business to save our planet".

They mean it as they followed with some great initiatives:

• Patagonia is committed to environmental conservation.
• They donate a large percentage of their sales to environmental organisations.
• They also repair and reuse programs to extend the life of their products.
• They actively advocate for policies and projects that protect the world.

b) Ben & Jerry's Brand Purpose: "Making the best possible ice cream, in the nicest possible way."

They also followed embraced great initiatives:

• Ben & Jerry's is known for its commitment to social and environmental issues.
• They support various causes, use responsibly sourced ingredients, and have created flavours in collaboration with social justice organizations to raise awareness.

c) The French (footwear) Veja brand Purpose: "Specialises in sustainable and ethically made sneakers".

Here's what they are doing to help the planet:

• They research and use the most eco-friendly materials
• Are 100% transparent in terms of sourcing practices to reduce their environmental impact.

As a result, Veja sells over two million pairs of sneakers per year. And have quite a following. Would you guess who the most famous fans are?

Can I mention it? .... the likes of Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Garner and Meghan Markle.

After establishing your initial brand plan, work on the following:

Develop Personas:

• Create detailed personas to understand your target audience's preferences, needs, and pain points. This will help you tailor your copy to their interests.
• Ex: Fill up the columns for Who >Needs/Wants >Products/Services >What Message & Hook>Copywriting for each.

Align Content with Brand Values:

• Ensure that your content aligns with and reflects your brand's core values and messaging. Your content and campaigns should consistently communicate what your brand stands for, and what you can do for your target market.

Create a Content SEO Strategy:

• Refresh or develop a content strategy that aligns with your brand's goals and speaks to your audience's pain points. Also, determine the types of content (blogs, videos, infographics, email, etc.) that best suit your brand and audience.
• If you’re just getting started, start by gathering all the possible entities for a Topical Map. For those who don't know a Topical map is a map that shows the main topics and the subtopics related to them.
• This will help you support content creation that is relevant to your industry. What's fantastic about this is Topical map gives you a clear view of the extent and breadth of your expertise and knowledge. It also helps you structure your content in organized clusters and easy-to-understand ways.

Content with Purpose:

• Don't fuss around. Use topical mapping, and personas to write each piece of content with a clear, concise and to-the-point message, and have a meaningful purpose. Whether, it's educating your audience, solving their problems, or entertaining them, every piece should align with your brand's objectives.

Content writing guidelines:

• Get content guidelines in place, whenever possible. As a rule of thumb ?? if you use AI to help you write content, add a pinch of common sense where needed.
• It helps if you are thinking of hiring someone or maybe asking AI to write it for you.

Storytelling:

• Why not share engaging stories? It's powerful and super useful. Use storytelling techniques to convey your brand's narrative.
• Example: share stories about your brand's journey (how you started), your obstacles, the successes, and the impact you've had on customers' lives.

Educational & Informative Content:

• Position your brand as the expert in your industry by creating new and educational content that addresses your audience's questions but also provides solutions.

CRM/Email Marketing/Automation:

• Whatever you are selling get your CRM connected with email automation in place. If you are a DTC commerce this is gold.
• Use segmentation to speak to your customers. Once you’ve segmented your customers, you’ll be able to market to them more effectively through email.
• Here are a few advantages when segmenting: - Send them personalised messages at Christmas, and Black Friday for YXZ. Because they’ve already opened or clicked on your email, they might need a little more convincing to keep purchasing from you. - Offer a special discount code to your segment of subscribers, so you don’t have to advertise a 40% off site-wide sale to all your site visitors. You’ll be saving valuable margins by not having to promote a sale to an existing customer who may have bought from you in the past day or so.

Incorporate Brand Messaging:

• Seamlessly integrate your brand messaging into your content without being overly promotional.
• Don't overdo it though. Nevertheless, make sure your content adds substance and emotional contextual value to your audience's lives.

Continuous Engagement and Interaction:

• Encourage engagement with your audience by asking questions, conducting polls, quizzes and responding to comments. Engaging with your audience can deepen their connection with your brand.

Consistent Branding Elements:

• Maintain consistent branding elements in your content, such as logo usage, colour schemes, typography, and brand (one) voice. It will ensure that is your business and reveal that your content is immediately recognisable as belonging to your brand.

User-Generated Content (UGC):

• Encourage your customers and fans to create content related to your brand.
• Share their stories, testimonials, and reviews, reinforcing trust and authenticity.

Content Promotion:

• Promote your content to create awareness through the various channels. E.g. social media, email marketing, and paid advertising. These channels will help you spread new campaigns (several times) whether you are starting or not. Use your brand's social media presence to amplify your content.

Measure and Analyse:

• Track the performance of your content using analytics tools. Assess metrics such as engagement, website traffic, and conversion rates to understand how well your content aligns with your brand's goals.

Iterate and Optimise:

• Based on data-driven insights, continuously refine your content strategy. Experiment with different types of content and messaging to see what resonates best with your audience.

Stay Authentic:

• Authenticity is key in both brand and content marketing. Be true to your brand's values and consistently deliver content that aligns with those values.
• By blending your brand identity with your content marketing efforts, you can create a cohesive and compelling brand experience that resonates with your audience and builds brand loyalty over time.

Thanks for reading it. If you enjoyed reading this article, I'd graciously accept your comments.

“Time is a created thing. To say 'I don't have time is like saying, 'I don't want to.”

― Lao Tzu