Brand development is an important part of every company. Studies have shown that consumers are far more likely to work purchase products and services from those that are known and familiar, so the more exposure you can get for your company/brand, the more likely these individuals will use your product or service.
It’s the reason that many companies spend thousands each month on billboards. No one is calling a home repair service while driving simply because they saw a phone number on a billboard, but seeing the brand will cause them to be more likely to use the company if they ever need them in the future. It’s the same reason that people choose to purchase Apple products instead of Cowon products. Cowon – a company that makes some of the highest quality electronics on the planet – has almost no branding. Apple is possibly the most well known manufacturer in the world.
Investing in Brand Development
The problem for most companies isn’t the idea of brand development, but how to successfully invest in brand development at a time when most traditional methods are less successful. Spending money on newspaper advertisements isn’t helpful. Spending money on billboards rarely garners business. Spending money on direct mail doesn’t work. All of these strategies tend to be unsuccessful now, and in addition to being unsuccessful, they’re also short lived.
Ideally, you need to invest in branding that is long lasting – and one that is viewed by more modern day consumers. That’s why the best branding investment you can make is in content marketing.
Content Marketing and Brand Awareness
Content marketing is a more modern term, but the idea is fairly simple: write excellent, valuable articles on your website that turn your website into a resource of information. Search engines love websites with valuable information, and rank those websites above websites with less information or less valuable content.
There is substantial branding value in this type of investment:
- Any time someone searches for a service in their area, they see your name and brand first.
- Any time someone searches for information related to your industry – even if they are not looking for a purchase – they’ll find that information on your website and get exposed to the brand.
- Any time someone finds that information on your website they can immediately make a purchase.
Compare content marketing to old school branding, like a billboard. With a billboard, most of the people that see it are uninterested in your business, those that are interested may still not see it, and those that are in need of your business right now are still unlikely to take out their cell phone and call you illegally simply to make the appointment. Then they get home and you’re forgotten.
On the other hand, with content marketing, someone in need of information related to your business will find your website. They’ll see your brand, and get to know you as a business. If they want to make a purchase, they can. If they don’t, they’ll be able to find you again easily without being forced to drive across the freeway again.
But if that wasn’t reason enough, content marketing is considerably less expensive and the investment can potentially last forever.
Brand development has changed dramatically in recent years, and content marketing is at the forefront of that change. If you’re interested in learning more about building your brand with content marketing, call us at (347) 460-5492 or email us at anthony@greatleapstudios.com today.
