Branding is an integral part of marketing, and content is the currency of digital marketing. While content marketing and branding may initially seem like different strategies, they actually work best when they are combined. Done right, content marketing can strengthen your brand while building trust and creating a lasting impact. 

What exactly is the relationship between content marketing and branding? 

I have cobbled together the inner workings of content marketing and branding, just as I have explained to my Fractional CMO clients, along with some actionable strategies to combine the two for maximum impact. To understand the value of both, I am going to identify what the two are, how they differ, and how they can work in tandem. 

First up: content marketing. 

What is Content Marketing?

Content marketing is a marketing strategy focused on both creating and subsequently distributing valuable content that is relevant, timely, and focused on drawing potential customers. In content marketing, the primary goal is to attract and then retain your target audience, through regular posting and a content strategy focused on engagement and providing value. 

Once customers have been drawn in and engaged, the next goal is to drive customer behavior that yields a profit. This typically means the end result being a sale, but even the creation of user-generated content can prove profitable and useful for content marketing. 

What is Branding?

Branding is a process versus an arrival, and involves creating a distinct identity for your business. Visuals, messaging, and values are all used to create a distinct, identifiable brand. Your target audience should have no issue identifying what your brand is, based on your social media posts, and any relevant content you post. 

Branding ultimately shapes customer perception and can help build loyalty. When a customer knows what to expect from your business through branding, they can feel as though you are trustworthy and easily recognizable. Over time, consistent branding builds trust and, as a result, helps encourage loyalty. 

Further Reading: Brand Voice: 9 Tips on How to Create Your Own (with 7 Examples)

How Content Marketing and Branding Work Together

Content marketing acts as a support for branding, by consistently delivering the messaging your brand is known for through content creation. Producing and putting relevant content out on your social media platforms reinforces your brand for your target audience, and lets potential customers know what to expect from you. 

Each and every piece of content you put out–from blog posts to the content on your social media platforms, to press releases–should reflect your brand’s voice, values, and mission. When you regularly reinforce your brand identity, you continue to build trust and deliver effective marketing to your audience. Consistent content leads to loyal customers and a clear brand identity. 

The Benefits of Aligning Content Marketing with Branding

Aligning your marketing content with your branding comes along with a slew of benefits, each of them reinforcing your sales goals and supporting your efforts to build your business. Building brand awareness, establishing trust and authority, and driving customer engagement are the most consistent takeaways found in effective content marketing efforts. I’ve identified the deeper benefits of each below. 

Builds Brand Awareness

Marketing with content helps introduce your brand to a new audience while providing them with valuable information. Beginning your introduction to a new customer by providing value helps set your brand apart as a go-to source of information, and can help keep your audience coming back for more. As your informational content is shared, you build brand awareness and increase notoriety. 

Establishes Trust and Authority

By regularly publishing high-quality content, you position your brand as an industry leader. Consider this: your target audience wants information that is not only interesting, but correct. When you create blog posts, white papers, social posts, or other pieces of content for your digital marketing campaigns, you are creating more opportunities to establish authority and encourage trust between you and your audience. 

Drives Customer Engagement

Any effective content marketing strategy worth its salt is going to focus on driving engagement, and branding does this in spades. By reflecting your brand’s values on a regular basis through the types of content you put out, you can foster deeper connections with your audience. Connections fuel engagement! Regularly producing and posting compelling content can help increase brand awareness and encourage engaged audiences. 

Actionable Strategies to Combine Content Marketing and Branding

Although marketing via content and branding are often aligned, the two do not always coexist peacefully. Different types of content marketing are used for different needs and occasions, and content creators are not always on board with the precise branding efforts a company is hoping to achieve. I have identified some of the best steps you can take to make sure your content is supporting a positive customer journey and developing a distinct and identifiable brand in tandem. 

First up:

Develop a Content Marketing Plan Aligned with Brand Goals

As you map out your educational content, make sure that you are aligning your plans with the long-term vision of your brand. Although search engine optimization, and customer loyalty are both important metrics to take into account as you create, make sure that those concepts are in line with your overall brand message. 

Further Reading: How to Develop a Killer Content Strategy in 18 Easy Steps

Maintain a Consistent Brand Voice Across Content

Tone is just as important as content overall; after all, if the tone constantly shifts or is never quite established, how can you build a loyal customer base? Whether it is your blog posts, your social media, or even your email newsletters, make sure that your tone and messaging are consistent. Ideally, your audience should be able to seamlessly transition from content you sent out to your email lists to your social media, without wondering if it is the same company producing the content in question. 

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Create Branded Visuals

Consistent colors, logos, and design elements are essential to maintain brand voice and tone. Content formats should utilize these same elements, from social media marketing, to blog and site posts, to email campaigns. Identifying the precise colors, logos, and even fonts that you use can help ensure that your content formats are cohesive, no matter the platform on which you are posting. 

Tell Your Brand’s Story Through Content

Storytelling is one of the most effective marketing strategies currently being used in the digital space, and you can help engage your audience by sharing the journey of your brand, your mission, and your values. Sharing each of these aspects of your business with your audience and social media users in a relatable way can help humanize your brand. Branded content with a human side can feel more trustworthy and can help support brand trust and loyalty. 

Further Reading: Brand Storytelling: The Definitive Guide

Real-Life Examples of Brands Using Content Marketing to Build Their Brand

There are certain brands and companies whose overall content strategy, from promotional content to educational work, follows a specific trajectory and rarely deviates. These are the companies whose content pieces you can identify after seeing a single commercial, or reading a single piece of online content. I have pulled examples from some of the brands I have seen excel in this respect, including how their branding remains consistent and cohesive. 

Note that each brand is able to successfully align their content marketing efforts with their branding strategies, no matter the form of content marketing being used. Notice, too, that much of what is posted is shareable content designed to garner and maintain attention.  

Red Bull

Red Bull is an easily recognizable brand that has developed a distinct brand message in their promotional content that remains consistent across other platforms, including blog content. Billing itself as a drink that supplies enough energy to give its drinkers “wings,” Red Bull leans into the concept of increased energy by highlighting customers who both drink red bull and complete feats requiring a great deal of energy and considerable bravery. 

A quick glance at Red Bull social media pages and site pages reveals blog content and other content intent on demonstrating the value of Red Bull as a drink for anyone needing energy and stamina, from BMX riders, to songwriters, to behind-the-scenes workers at the heart of the Red Bull team. 

Apple

Apple has long maintained its ability to innovate and streamline, and it has been at the forefront of branding for its ability to fuse abstract concepts into practical design. Apple content marketers continually bill Apple products as straightforward yet powerful, and with good reason! Apple’s branding is infused in all of its content topics, and the sleek design of its products. 

A quick glance at Apple socials and its main site reveals the core of what Apple content writers and marketers are trying to achieve: a sense of straightforward, simple, and streamlined structure permeates everything, from the design of the home page, to the brand’s grid on social media platforms. Customer testimonials in the form of breathtaking images abound on Apple’s Instagram, while its site is a testament to its ability to stay ahead of industry trends and deliver smooth functionality. 

Nike

Known in most circles, regardless of interest in sports or performance, Nike is another great example of using effective branding and content marketing to drive profitable customer action. Nike successfully brands itself as a lifestyle rather than a simple brand, and its content reflects that idea. Nike stays ahead of industry trends by keeping abreast of up-and-coming fads and maintains its evergreen content by sharing stories of greatness, success, and triumph over adversity. 

Nike effectively showcases itself as a brand favored by excellence by flying in the face of traditional advertising at any given moment, highlighting stories and Nike customers who may not be considered conventionally compelling or interesting. In doing so, it identifies itself as an accessible brand and regularly promotes social media content that upholds complex topics and its commitment to excellence, all while promoting a shoe, a pair of pants, as only one part of a larger lifestyle experience.

Further Reading: 19 Inspiring Content Marketing Examples to Learn From

Measuring the Success of Content Marketing and Branding Efforts

As any good content marketing agency will tell you, measuring the success of your efforts is vital to understand how your audience is relating to your content, and whether you may need to make changes. To ensure that your content production is achieving your goals, utilize a service to keep a close eye on your metrics and content marketing ROI. Google Analytics is a great starting point, as it lets you know how well different content types are performing, as well as measuring the success of things like timing and tone. 

Analytics tools can also be used to evaluate brand sentiment analysis via brand mentions. Google Analytics can complete some brand sentiment analysis, but dedicated tools are better equipped to help you land on an effective content strategy. A/B testing can be helpful as you start out on any digital platform, to help determine which strategies and branding efforts are most effective. Your cover image, logo, colors, and fonts can all be evaluated using A/B testing. 

Social media tracking, via the platform in question or a third-party tool, can also help identify entertaining content and compelling stories on your socials. Social tracking measures things like engagement rate, mentions, brand sentiment, audience demographics, and performance. Using social tracking, you can help identify which aspects of your social media marketing efforts are an example of engaging narratives and which could use more work. 

Further Reading: 7 KPIs To Measure Your Content Marketing Performance

Conclusion

Ultimately, both content marketing and branding are vital in the digital landscape, and they often act as two sides of the same coin. By using both together, you may create a stronger and more easily recognizable brand. That brand should resonate with your audience, and content ideas should ultimately be used to drive long-term success. 

Whether you are a business owner, a digital marketer, or the lead of a marketing team, begin aligning your content strategy with your brand’s identity today, and watch as your business continues to grow with consistent branding, meaningful engagement, and a keen eye for both types of development. 

Whether you are hoping to increase your conversion rates or simply increase brand awareness, a successful content marketing campaign is measured in far more than simple impressions. Instead, success can be measured in stages, and with numerous components. The awareness stage is arguably the first step in moving toward consistent branding, and is the basis of most content marketing. From there, you can use the principles of effective branding and consistent content marketing to develop a marketing strategy with content formats that will benefit your business and brand.