Building content brands

Building
Content
Brands

Making the switch to ‘always on’
multichannel publishing

Content – the future
of marketing
90%

of brands in 2013 say
content is now becoming
a key component of the
marketing mix

68%

of marketers are planning
to increase spend in this
area in next 12 months

‘Content marketing’ may be one of the
biggest buzzwords of recent years, but
the concept of using brand-generated
content as a marketing tool is far from new
– the free travel guides created by the tyre
company Michelin, for instance, have been
around since 1900.
Where content used to be seen as an optional extra,
it now takes centre-stage in the marketing mix,
fuelled by the rise of mobile, the availability of free

400%

more effective than an
advertising campaign with the
same budget

or low-cost distribution channels and the ‘always
on’ consumer’s seemingly insatiable hunger for
information and entertainment. (And of course
the post-Penguin world of search that has seen
many SEO firms rush to reposition themselves
as content experts).
Now, as brands realise the power of content to
attract and hold the attention of their customers,
and ultimately to build large-scale, connected
communities, the quantity and quality of brandgenerated content is rapidly escalating.

Brand content is everywhere, competing with every
other content source – from traditional publishers
to bloggers to aggregators – for a slice of the
consumer’s attention. And only those brands willing
to commit to becoming true ‘Content Brands’ – by
thinking and acting like publishers – are likely to
win this battle for hearts and minds. And, ultimately,
wallets. Welcome to the future of marketing.
[Sources: eConsultancy 2013; wCMI 2013; Forrester P&G beinggirl.
com study 2010]

What’s
changed?
There are two major factors
behind the shift from traditional
advertising to content
marketing – the rise of the
‘always on’ consumer, and the
democratisation of publishing.
‘ALWAYS ON’
THE CONNECTED CONSUMER
According to Google, 80 per cent of
millennials are made up of ‘Generation
C’, a powerful new force in consumer
culture who care deeply about creation,
curation, connection, and community.

3339

texts per month

88%

of Gen C have
social profiles – 65%
update daily

14.7 billion
Typical
American
mentions
60 brands
per day

15 hours online
every week
(up to 4 hours
a day) outside
of work

These consumers are always on,
always connected, via multiple devices.
They also have more control than
ever over which media they consume
(and how, and where), and they’re
proving increasingly resistant to
‘interruption’ of traditional advertising.
They do, however, trust and seek out
quality content from brands when it
comes to their purchasing decisions.

[Sources: eConsultancy 2013; CMI 2013;
Forrester; Neilson; Edelman; Google Engaging Gen C; Marketo 2012]

91%

of Gen C
sleep with a
smartphone

‘Clara’ – a typical
Generation C consumer

‘Always on’ the connected
consumer

80%

want brand experience
beyond the core product
eg: co-creation,
online content, social
interaction

In control

– weekly volume of
word of mouth
impressions

40%

use 4 or more sources
to make brand
purchase decision
(94% at least one)

70%

feel responsibility
to share feedback
with brands
(after good and
bad experience)

Connected
to brands

Always shopping
(and influencing/
being influenced)

85%

of Gen C rely on
peer approvals for
buying decisions –
63% typically shop
with friends family
or significant
other

20%

of Smartphone users
have changed their mind
about a product in-store
based on information
from phone

93%

of purchase cycles
begin with Search

Your brand, like it or not, is a media company
– you have an audience that has given you
permission to connect and share stories,
and the old barriers to publishing have
disappeared.
Brands now have access to myriad distribution channels,
multimedia content production, and the talent to make
it happen – including top editors, writers and producers
– not to mention the kind of audience insights that their
competitors in the traditional media can only dream of.
It’s an opportunity not to be missed – and the best
Content Brands are already making the most of it.

Core
principles

There are lots of factors that contribute to
the success or failure of an individual piece
of content, but we’ve developed some core
publishing principles – built around the needs
of your target audience – that guide content
creation and planning.
Great brand content should be:
1. ELEVANT – it must be relevant to
R

the user and your brand
2. ALUABLE – it must offer value
V

by INFORMING, EDUCATING or
ENTERTAINING your audience
3. ARKETABLE – in order to reach the
M

widest possible audience, ensure your
content can be found (search-friendly)
and amplified (unique, shareable, actionable)

Secrets of a
successful
content brand:
the ‘6As’

Content Brands are underpinned
by a sustainable, ‘always on’
content marketing strategy and
a commitment at every level of
the business to resourcing the
development of content on an
ongoing, long-term basis.
The ‘6As’ – aims, audience, analysis,
approach, action, assessment – is
a tried and tested process we’ve
developed as a simple, step-by-step
guide to Content Brand success.

It’s not about content
for content’s sake.
Content marketing is
only as valuable as
the goals it helps
brands accomplish.
Think of a challenge –
in any area of business –
in order to establish your
content ‘mission’. This is the
ultimate goal, from which
your targets/measures can
be developed.

Which audience(s)
are key to the
success of
the content mission?
Once you’ve defined the
target demographic, it’s
essential to create a clear,
tangible persona – down
to individual attributes and
preferences such as media
habits, hobbies, interests,
career, location, age, use
of technology, shopping
behaviours.
The big question is,
what content (information,
education or entertainment)
do they want or need that
your brand can provide?

In order to identify all
the factors that will
have a bearing on
the success of your
content and its ability
to deliver your aims,
review the current
situation – including
full content channel
audit and what
competitor brands
(and the media) are
offering.
This could include
social listening, your
own consumer data and
feedback from relevant
stakeholders.

The next phase is
to devise a content
marketing strategy
based on:
1. he content (themes
T
in the ‘sweetspot’)
2. he channels (how to
T
get the content to your
audience)
3. Editorial programme/
schedule (how you’re going
to sustain content over
time)
4. esource – team
R
(and technology) you need
to deliver the content
5. he measures (how you
T
know if the content is
working)

Once you’ve devised the strategy
and mapped out your required
resources, you need to implement
the publishing processes, develop
journalistic (storytelling) instincts
and ‘always on’ discipline to
ensure you consistently meet your
audience’s expectations.
Here are the key points to consider:
Essential tools
(tone of voice/ style guide to ensure
consistency across channels)
Forward planning
(editorial schedules aligned
to marketing/PR strategy)

Newsgathering
(sourcing stories inside and
outside of the business)
Weekly editorial meetings
with cross-business team
(propose, review, discuss stories)
Publishing process
(assigning research, writing, editing, proofing,
go-live – with deadlines – to named
individuals)
Channel management
(tracking impact and interactions,
marketing/amplifying stories)

As we’ve said, content should
have a purpose – a goal. And
therefore you need to be constantly
measuring its success, whether
using sales or engagement
measures.
Create goals that make a difference. These
goals should be specific and actionable, and
they should impact the bottom line. Identify
actions for all segments and goals. Types of
goals could include:
• branding/awareness (tracked by research
into customer attitudes
and affinity towards the brand,
or likelihood to recommend)
• engagement (shares, follows, subscriptions)
• marketing (lead generation)
• sales (time to sale, wins)
• retention (renewals, repeat purchases)
• understanding (improved knowledge about
products and services for staff, partners
and customers)
• website traffic (unique visitors,
page views, traffic referred from search
engines)

Think (and act) like a publisher
We see here many of the roles within a traditional publishing set-up – some
Content Brands are building highly-evolved, expert teams such as this. But many
smaller brands have started down a similar path with just one or two content
producers multi-tasking across a range of planning/creation duties, with support
from social/PR teams and other contributors inside and outside of the business.

Ready to
build your
content
brand?

We hope this guide will set you on the path
to building a great Content Brand – if you’d
like any help or advice along the way,
we’d love to hear from you.
For an informal chat, email Paul Williams,
client director: paulwilliams@speakmedia.co.uk

Contact details
Speak Media
12 Links Yard
Spelman Street
London E1 5LX
Telephone
020 7375 1253
Email
paulwilliams@speakmedia.co.uk
georgetheohari@speakmedia.co.uk
tandoan@speakmedia.co.uk
www.speakmedia.co.uk

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