Content is one of the most important things a business can have. Don’t believe me? Three of the most popular websites to date, Facebook, BuzzFeed and Youtube, all have one thing in common – they’re all full of content, whether it be good quality or not.
It’s what attracts people to spend time on a website. To put it plainly, would you rather stare at a blank wall for an hour or an interesting painting for the same amount of time? I’m going to guess that you would prefer to actually look at something than nothing.
There isn’t really any surprise why people choose to visit these websites on a regular basis. It’s human nature to keep our brains occupied when we aren’t working; why would we want to sit around bored?
People being attracted to content is no strange concept. Even before the birth of online content people have been attracted to live and work in various cities as they have more going on (read as: content) than smaller towns, although that doesn’t mean these towns are useless.
The big focus is on how businesses market themselves. Different ways a business can be perceived has a large impact on the customers they want to attract. A business that sells skateboards is going to attract a younger demographic than a business that focuses on interior design.
You’d see the difference in the way the content reads, whether it be more picture heavy or primarily text. Ideally, it’s best to have a good mix of both so the business can attract as many consumers as possible.
There are two main forms of content that businesses are focusing on at the moment, content marketing and brand publishing. Whilst a lot of people are under the belief that these two content types are completely different, you may be surprised to learn that they can both be used together to make some of the best content possible.
An overview of content marketing
In an age of TV adverts that can easily be flicked over, and obnoxious newspaper/magazine advertisements, advertising was once stuck in a boring cycle for both businesses and consumers. If you are a smart marketer, you’d have a clear understanding that traditional marketing is drastically becoming less effective, and sooner rather than later it’s going to be left dead in the water.
Content marketing was the answer that businesses all over the world had been waiting for with baited breath. Being able to market a company by creating content that’s relevant, valuable and interesting that’ll attract consumers is a great way of creating a customer database that is genuinely interested in the content you’re producing.
One of the reasons content marketing is so popular is how there’s very little chance of it going stale. It’s a way you can create traffic to your website without investing in an always controversial banner advertising, something that’s bemoaned by consumers all over the world.
As long as you ensure that the content you create will always be relevant then it can be shared for a very long time. When this happens it’s known as evergreen content. Whenever you start a piece of content, you should always put in your best effort so it reaches your target market.
Content marketing is more focused on the selling aspect of a business, but not in a way that would put off the consumer. The content still needs to be of the highest quality, and it’s essential that you spend the time that’s required.
An overview of brand publishing
Brand publishing is incredibly similar to content marketing. It still involves the creation of content, and like with any form of content the intention is to reach your target audience as efficiently as possible. It requires the content to be relevant and interesting, but there’s one major difference that separates it from brand publishing.
With content marketing, you’re trying to sell your company. You may review a product you have in stock, or showcase the service you provide in a blog. Brand publishing is a lot smoother than that.
You should instead focus on the area you’re working in, whether it’s an interesting relevant event, or something that’s a key aspect of your business; creating a piece of content that shows what goes on in your industry can impress both consumers and fellow business people alike.
Take this blog, and many others in our reading room as an example. At Neil Walker Digital Group, we provide a service of digital marketing that includes data analysis and network science, and we do an excellent job of it (although I may be biased).
On a regular basis you can find a blog that covers something that’s a large part of what we do. Content is one of the most important things we do every single day, with our content team creating and producing well over tens of thousands of words on a daily basis.
Because of this, we focus on what goes on in the industry, and we’ll be the first to know about any changes that have occurred. If you regularly read our blogs you’ll notice that we’ve had a large focus on native advertising as of late. That’s because we understand how much it’s having an effect on websites we go on everyday, and how it’ll be more relevant in the future.
Producing brand publishing means you need to be one step ahead of what’s going on. Content that isn’t relevant about what’s currently happening won’t be much use for anyone. It’s for this reason that a lot of people get put off from creating brand publishing, as it takes up a large portion of time and effort.
Content marketing and brand publishing, always meant to be together
Although people seem to either focus on content marketing or brand publishing, they can both be utilised to make your business more recognised, or even reach an audience you previously ignored.
The worries of brand publishing
One of the biggest worries that businesses have is brand publishing, which is why so many focus on content marketing instead. Because of the time required when making brand publishing, businesses don’t want to invest excess amounts of time into the necessary research.
It may seem like a massive obstacle to get over, but it isn’t anywhere near as hard as it may seem, especially with the amount of resources you have access to on the internet. A simple google can bring up millions of topics that you could easily fit onto your website.
Creating the content isn’t as hard as you may initially believe as well. When creating a piece of content that has the intention of selling a product, you’ll find that you’re more likely to repeat yourself, or the writing may seem it’s too focused on ‘BUY BUY BUY’. We’ve all seen it before, and there’s very few things worse.
As brand publishing covers a general topic, you shouldn’t be going over the top with the selling aspect. Sure, you may want a call to action at the bottom of the page that explains what you do and how to get in contact, but that should be it. Think of brand publishing as disguised advertisement, as it shouldn’t be obtrusive.
Content marketing, the website filler
Whereas brand publishing is best intended for blog sections on a website, such as our reading room, content marketing is what you would normally see as onsite content. If a person is browsing your website then more often than not they’re interesting in the service you provide. Sure, brand publishing will explain what you do, but it doesn’t get into the meat of what you do.
Creating quality content marketing pieces for a website is the best thing to do. If you choose suitable images and you ensure that the content you have created is of the highest quality, a consumer can become your customer.
It’s always a good idea to update your content from time to time, ensuring that a customer won’t become bored with what you have on offer. Remember, it’s showcasing what you do and who you are as a business, so it always needs to be relevant to the topic.
Brand publishing: There’s just so much to write about
Of course, with content marketing you’re restricted to what you sell as a business. Brand publishing isn’t like that, with you being able to pick a number of choices as long as it’s associated with what sector your business covers.
Depending what you do and who you target, the options can be almost infinite. Whether it be something more unconventional, or a topic that’s more traditional, both can go down a treat and receive a large amount of shares.
Try and cover subjects that may not be as recognised as these can produce a lot of shares. Taboo subjects are also something that attracts a lot of readers to certain websites, although you may want to be careful not to offend any of your target and potential audience.
Content marketing: Establish the important facts in a clear a concise way
It can be incredibly easy to simply state the facts to explain what it is your business does. This will result in an empty website with plenty of space for content that isn’t there, and you’re also missing the opportunity to take advantage of Google’s algorithm updates that are pro-content.
If you don’t know about Google’s algorithm, you’re missing out on a golden opportunity. Google recognises content as being top quality when it’s longform, which is widely agreed to be a piece of writing that’s 1,000 words or more.
This may seem like a daunting amount of words, but it really isn’t. Once you get a couple of 1,000 word articles written you’ll be left wondering how you could ever write less.
Although you’ll be writing 1,000 words, don’t feel that you can write pointless content that doesn’t make sense. Work this length will still be read, and if someone prattles on and on a person will simply give up reading.
The sweet spot for content marketing and brand publishing
Writing a suitable amount of words can often be a frustrating and confusing thing to figure out. Although you want to aim for a long form piece, you may find that 1,000 words isn’t enough to convey your point. As written in this blog, you’ll find that 1,500 is the ‘sweet spot’ for the amount of words you write.
It’s enough to get your point across without overloading the reader with information which may not be of particular use. Although you may be able to write page after page of content on a single subject, who in their right mind would want to sit and read all of that in one sitting?
Like we have done with our content for native advertising, each individual blog covers a different aspect of native advertising so a person can choose to read the section they find interesting.
One of the best things about longform is that it can be used for both content marketing and brand publishing, optimising them both so they are more sharable. As a writer, nothing’s better than watching a piece of content get shared by numerous people. It shows that the hard work I’ve committed has payed off, and that people can actually read it!
Content marketing and brand publishing: Take advantage of both
When it comes to choosing which is better, content marketing or brand publishing, there’s no definitive answer. As similar as they are, they can both be utilised for different uses whilst still achieving similar results. You may find that you can write one easier, whereas the other requires blood, sweat and tears.
No matter what sort of content you write, make sure it’s of the highest quality, is relevant to your audience, and is most definitely longform. If you can manage all this, writing both content marketing and brand publishing will come naturally.
What did you think of this blog? Which do you prefer, content marketing or brand publishing? Join the converstation on Twitter: OV_Group.