Content marketing has become one of the most prominent techniques used by brands to attract, educate, and convert an audience.
While content marketing is a powerful and proven technique alone, you can combine content marketing and digital branding to achieve greater results.
How are Content Marketing and Digital Branding Complementary?
Your digital brand is composed of your digital identity, visibility, and credibility as defined by the Digital Branding Institute.
Content marketing and digital branding are complementary because each technique enhances the aims of the other. Let’s examine a few ways the two make an effective pair.
- Value Proposition: Content marketing re-enforces your value proposition, while digital branding is your value proposition
- User Journey: Content marketing integrates content into the stages of a user’s journey, while digital branding integrates different channels into those stages
- Strategy: A content strategy outlines your audience, the problem(s) you are solving for them, and your plan to consistently deliver content they will want to read and share; a digital branding strategy focuses on your identity, visibility, and credibility online
How to Improve Your Content Marketing with Digital Branding Develop Your Identity
With each encounter your audience has with your brand, at various digital touch points, they are subconsciously building a memory structure around your brand.
You want to develop consistent content so your audience can build a solid memory structure around who you are and what value you have to offer. In other words, consistent content allows you to leave a firm impression of your brand identity.
Tips to establish a consistent identity:
- Use consistent colors, imagery, and language
- Provide a consistent experience
- Be consistent in your interactions including social messages, comments, and emails
Content and Your Brand Identity
A successful content strategy requires a thorough understanding of your audience, your offering, and your organization. Your audience, offering, and organization each play a role in defining your brand identity.
Before you can create quality content to meet your audience’s needs, you must first identify their desires, challenges, and behaviors.
Second, you want to identify the value your offering brings to your audience. How does it address and alleviate any challenges and concerns?
Third, consider how you can convey your organizational mission, values, and vision through your content.
The greater your understanding of your audience, the value of your offering, your organizational values, the more you can inform your content strategy and communication efforts.
Improve Your Visibility
Your brand’s visibility online has a direct impact on the success of your content marketing efforts.
The more visibility you have, the greater your potential reach for the content you distribute.
Gain more visibility in search engine results by leveraging keywords or phrases that are relevant to your brand, industry, location, and competitors.
Cut through the clutter on social feeds by using your brand voice to convey personality. Use your unique voice and add a human feel to digital engagements so your brand’s content can stand out from promotional messages.
Establish Your Credibility
Quality content can improve brand credibility and foster a relationship where your audience knows, likes, and trusts your brand.
By consistently delivering valuable content that meets your audience’s expectations, you can establish a positive reputation and foster a stronger connection with your audience.
Remember, honesty is the best policy. Create content that is transparent and authentic to enhance your brand credibility.
By combining digital branding and content marketing, you can improve the effectiveness of your content marketing efforts.
About the Author: Juntae DeLane is the founder of Digital Branding Institute, Sr. Digital Brand Manager for the University of Southern California, and principal consultant for DIGITAL DELANE. He frequently delivers talks around the country advancing the practice of digital branding. Juntae not only writes the premier digital branding blog, but also shares his expertise through his podcast “The Digital Branding Lab.” If you can’t catch him on stage or online (@JuntaeDeLane), you can probably find him at the gym, doing his 1,000th push-up. #notreally
Juntae will be joining us for a live webinar on Thursday, December 15, 2016 . Save your seat for: Master Class: Advanced Content Marketing Strategy for 2017
