Branding can be a powerful tool. Everyone wants their brand to be top of mind in the eye of their audience but how do you achieve that?

We all know that to get your brand out into the world you need to promote it whether through advertising, social media or any other channels your audience frequents but then what? What is the goal of your advertising and promotion? Do you have a call to action? Are you purely generating awareness?

Often, we talk about clever marketing. Clever marketing isn’t just about having a great ad that people remember but it’s branding your product or service so that your audience or potential customer feels a connection with it.

There are many brands that have created great ad campaigns that have been a topic of conversation at dinner parties but is that the true intent of these ads? Yes, you want people talking about your brand but once they’ve spoken about it, you want them to go out and buy it and you need to give them a reason to do so. You want to create a sense of emotion that makes a person want to go out and try your product or service.

Recently, I wrote a profile piece on St Andrews Golf Links in Scotland for a client. While researching, I came across their new TV ads based on their ‘Write Your Own History’ campaign and can I say I was impressed. Not a golfer myself, I was moved by these ads and felt they encapsulated the spirit of St Andrews based on what I learnt through my research. After viewing these ads, I felt that St Andrews was a place I’d like to visit. I probably won’t play golf there, but I definitely want to visit the place known as the Home of Golf.

In my opinion, if a brand’s advertising and marketing can stir an emotional connection in an audience that has little knowledge or dare, I say interest in their industry then they must be doing something right.

Other examples of clever marketing include:

We Love Our Lamb – How many people were inspired to eat lamb on Australia day after watching a series of ads featuring well-known Aussies?

Tourism Australia – Aimed at an international audience, these ads make locals want to explore our own backyard.

Slip Slop Slap – While these Cancer Council ads have been around for years, the catchy slogan and the important message has effectively flowed from generation to generation.

Of course, we can’t forget the catchy slogans synonymous with certain brands. What’s so great about these slogans is the brand name doesn’t need to be mentioned to know who we’re talking about!

Just Do It – Nike

Because You’re Worth It - L’Oréal

I’m Loving It – McDonalds

The Burgers are Better – Hungry Jacks

Is there an ad campaign that you felt created a sense of emotion or made you feel good?

Here's the link to the St Andrews ads if you would like to take a look. https://www.standrews.com/wyoh

With so many businesses being online today, content plays a key role in driving customers to your website. It’s the means to which you get people to your site and build trust. This is especially important in a time when there is so much competition.

So, what is content marketing and how do you use it to get people to your site?

Blogs, video, social media posts and anything else that tells a story, informs, educates or entertains is content.

Why is content marketing important?

- It builds trust and credibility by showing you know what you are talking about.

- It enables people to engage and get to know you and your product before buying.

- Fresh content with well-placed keywords is more likely to get picked up by Google.

- It assists in driving more traffic to your website which can then be converted to sales.

It’s well and good to have good quality content but how do you deliver it so that it plays it’s part in adding value to your brand and entices customers to purchase? The best way is to have a content marketing plan.

A content marketing plan outlines your topic streams and what sort of content you will produce. It may be blogs, video, social posts, live streams etc. It also outlines how and where you are going to publish and promote them.

How do you go about creating a content marketing plan?

1. Firstly, determine what is the right content for your business. Conduct a review of your current content to see what performed well and what didn’t perform so well. Understanding the performance of current content will help with planning future content. Try to structure content around key activities in your business. If you are launching a new product or service, create content that supports that.

2. Once, you have determined what you will be communicating about, work out what you want your content to do. Your content marketing needs to have a goal. Do you want your content to build brand awareness, generate leads or increase sales? Once you determine the goal then you can create content that aims to achieve that goal.

3. Now you need to decide how you will present your content. Content is now so much more than written content. Videos, infographics, podcasts and live streams etc all have a place in the content marketing plan. You need to decide how best to get your message across and how effective that medium is in getting your audience to respond.

4. You have your content sorted; how often will you post? Will it be daily, weekly or monthly?

5. Promotion is a key part of your content marketing. It’s great to have content available but how will you let your audience know it’s there to view? Social media posts, email, forums etc are effective ways to promote your content. Keep in mind your promotion methods should be based on you ideal customers preferences for consuming content.

Creating a content marketing plan doesn’t need to be hard. It’s all about working out what content is best suited to your business and your ideal customer and how best to promote it.

If you would like help in developing a content marketing plan, contact Absolute Marketing Communications.