This morning I am sitting in a room at the Hotel Intercontinental in Dallas full of buzzing conversations and anticipation as we await the start of the #SEJSummit morning session which will feature 4 speakers on the topic of Brand Marketing and Brand Content Strategy. Branding is one of the most important parts of a business’ marketing strategy and I am excited to hear what the experts have to share about the best techniques to grow a company’s brand recognition in the marketplace.
“The Content Brand Pyramid” – How to Build Your Brand Online
by Dennis Goedegebuure, VP of SEO and Growth at Fanatics, Inc.
Lumps for SEO
How are your pages getting found? and How relevant are you to your users?
Base your pages around:
- Text links
- URL
- Meta Tags
- Page Content and elements
- site maps and site speed
Content-Brand Pyramid for Brand SEO
Brand must have a presence in the marketplace online. It must be found in searches. Once your brand is found you build your brand with Evangelism, Thought Leadership and Presence Content.
Presence content is the base – explain why your audience needs your product or service.
Thought Leadership is the next building block – create information/infographics that show your audience you are an expert in your field as well as more detailed information on what your product or service does and/or is.
Evangelism – Stories of how your product or service has helped others and why your business is the best to use. Use YouTube for videos and fun or trending marketing pieces to generate interest in your brand. You need to have interaction through social media to get people interested and excited about your brand.
“Creating a Winning Brand Content Strategy”
by Michelle Lowery, Co-Founder of Passion Fruit Creative Group
- Content created without specific goals is a waste of money and time.
Example of the chocolate chip cookie recipe on the back of the bag of chocolate chips. It gives additional value to the bag of chocolate chips. What value are you giving your audience in your content marketing? Create goals as to what you want your audience to take away from your content. - Content strategy begins well before the first word is written.
Where is the money going that is being spent on your brand marketing? Make sure that money is going toward the goals you set in the beginning. Know your audience! Who is your content for? What are the goals of your audience? Their goals become your goals.
Where is your audience? Where your audience is, that is where your content goes.
Who are your content writers? Make sure they are all clear on the goal and that there are not ‘too many cooks in the kitchen’. - You need to think like a publisher.
Create a brand newsroom. Oreo had a marketing war room during the Superbowl and they were able to get a tweet out during the blackout that you could still eat Oreos in the dark.
You must embrace the current culture.
Coca Cola Journey page is another brand that is very effective at embracing the culture. They are getting their audience to engage with their site.
You need an Editor, not a Brand Manager
