Do you suffer from “Banner Blindness,” aka the condition that causes your brain to auto-delete ads? The bad news is so do your clients. Most of us zero in on the content we’re looking for and ignore everything else. Not to mention the fact that the sheer volume of digital content in our feeds can bury even relevant ads.
The Cure: Branded Content
According to a recent article from CNBC, branded content is 22× more engaging and delivers 59% higher brand recall than traditional ads.
So, What is Branded Content?
Traditional ads are a bit like used car salesmen. They’re pushy and your whole experience with them feels transactional and one-sided. Branded content on the other hand, is more like a conversation with a friend. It's interesting, useful, and authentic. You walk away feeling like you gained something—even if you never make a purchase.
Branded content can also be considered native advertising, or ads that don’t look like ads. For example, a video or social post that appears organically in your feed, rather than an ad hovering above the content you actually care about, or a video that plays before the video you’re actually trying to watch.
The content you make can take pretty much any form: blogs, how-to videos, stats, tips, and even jokes! The key throughline is that it's content your clients actually want to click on.
How Does Branded Content Make Sales?
It’s a clique in our industry, but the answer is brand awareness! Just like with traditional ads, people might see your content over and over again before they decide to make a purchase. That doesn’t mean it’s not worth it to build your audience and your industry cred. After all, if traditional, “buy now” ads can’t get them to engage with or remember your brand, you’re back to square one anyway.
Branded Content for You: The Promotional Product Distributor
So how can you incorporate branded content into your own marketing as a promo product distributor? Here’s a few ideas:
- Share educational blogs, trend guides, and compliance tips.
- Highlight client success stories and campaign results.
- Partner with suppliers to tell product origin or sustainability stories.
- Offer clients campaign templates and content ideas.
- Share personal stories about your business journey.
Including Promo in You Client’s Branded Content Strategy
The exact format your client’s branded content takes could vary widely by their industry, size, and brand personality, but here’s a few ideas to make promo a part of it:
- Wear branded apparel during vlogs or webinars.
- Raffle off hot-ticket promo in exchange for user generated content.
- Send influencers branded merch and encourage them to tell a story about your brand.
- Include brand merch in social photos or offer it as giveaways to boost engagement.
- Highlight causes or sustainability, and how your promo choices support them.