Creating successful branded content is about more than just shooting pretty pictures. In today’s blog we’re getting into what really makes content effective.

What goes into a campaign strategy? How is the content being distributed? Do you have a system in place for continual growth? We’re talking about it all. Let’s get started.

BRAND GOALS + INITIATIVES

Before you can even begin capturing footage or writing copy, you have to know what you’re trying to accomplish. What do you want this content to do? Boost sales? Generate interest in a promotion? Tell a story?

If you don’t have the answers to these questions then anything you create is just going to be a shot in the dark. Don’t do that to yourself. It’s a waste of time and money.

We often see businesses throwing out content just for the sake of content itself. And then they’re upset when that random content isn’t bringing them the results they wanted. But the problem is they never put time into strategizing from the start.

You need to know your KPIs. What numbers can you watch to see if you’re achieving your goals? Product sales? Website traffic? Amount of impressions?

The answers to these questions are the ingredients that will then get baked into the content you create. The result will be a piece of content that is highly strategized and designed to succeed.

At the end of the day pretty pictures don't move product for the most part, right? There has to be some kind of sales, marketing, operations -some kind of message in there to actually help you move the product.

Julian Tillotson
Founder & CEO, INDIRAP

DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY

Next up, you have to know how you’re going to get this piece of content out there. If it’s a simple photo or infographic, sure, you can just post it to your socials. But if you put time, effort, and money into a piece of content and you’re hoping for actual results, you’ve gotta go big. Facebook and Insta aren’t gonna cut it.

Here are some content distribution ideas to get you started:

• Paid Ads
  - Honestly, the best way to explode your sales + boost brand interest
  - Easy to monitor success
  - Click the icon for an Intro to Paid Ads
• Email Marketing
  - A free and relatively simple way to get eyes on your content
  - Potential ROI through the roof
  - Click the icon to learn more about The Power of Email Campaigns
• Website
  - A great way to keep audiences engaged on your site
  - You have total control over where the content lives and how it's presented
  - Click the icon to learn Why Your Website Needs Video
• Sales Integration
  - Adding video content into your training presentations or sales pitches
  - Gets more eyes on your content
  - Higher engagement rates
  - Can sell for you 24/7
• Social Media
  - Not as results driven as paid marketing
  - Still necessary and a great tool to distribute content
  - Click the icon to learn more about Organic Social Media

SYSTEM AND PROCESSES

We understand the excitement of having a campaign finalized and ready to go. You want to just press “send” and start seeing the results. But before you do that, you have to access if you’re ready for those results.

Suppose your content is going to drive more people to your website. Have you optimized your site to properly engage with that audience?

If your content results in an increase in social media followers, do you have a system in place to keep those followers and put out regular content?

The worst thing you can do is spend time and money developing an incredible campaign, only to realize you weren’t prepared to handle its success.

I've seen creators go out there and they put their creative vision first over what the actual business or brand needs, and that's where content fails.

Julian Tillotson
Founder & CEO, INDIRAP

WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU?

We want you to experience all that content can actually do for you. It’s supposed to perform for you. It’s supposed to help you market and sell. Your content is supposed to help your operations run fast, help you train more people more, help you cut your overhead and your expenses.

It’s all within reach. You just gotta put in that extra effort to reap the benefits.