The speed with which content is created online is staggering. It's much easier to create content online and more cost-effective to make it visible to a much larger number of consumers, given that your online budget is calculated at no. Clicks/actions taken by the consumer.
At the same time, the growing presence of consumers online, especially from the new Generation Z or Millenials, is pushing brands to launch or step up their digital actions.
Brands feel the need to create as much as possible, as quickly as possible and risk losing their identity. Therefore, the challenge for brands is to find ways to use the digital environment to enhance their authenticity. A good way to do this is by creating brand-generated content.
What does that mean?
It means that a brand can retain its authenticity online only when the content it creates is firmly anchored to what the brand represents:
/its attributes
/the benefits it offers to its consumers
/personality
/brand aspirations
No matter how many likes cat pictures and memes get on social media, if they are not related to the brand or personality, they don't really help the brand to strengthen its image.
Every “on-brand” communication is a step forward towards building a solid brand. Every “off-brand” communication is a step to the side or often a step back.
How do you create branded content? Here are some insights to help you.
Avoid using automation that depersonalizes your brand
Such automations are the software that creates ads for your Google Display campaigns. A headline and an image “placed” in a template does not automatically mean that your brand speaks coherently. Or chat windows that simply appear on your screen automatically, without creating a relationship
Target out-of-the-box
Everyone targets by age, gender, and locality. Like if you could target according to your consumption habits or preferred ingredients (especially if you had the ability to gather these insights using the first good practice I talked about earlier — the one where the brand's website is the control tower through which valuable information about the consumer's needs/expectations/intentions passes through
Create content relevant to consumer needs/expectations
“Self-praise doesn't smell good” also applies to brands. Brands that only talk about themselves online do not create long-term attachment and do not seem authentic.
Example: Locally, Samsung has created unique experiences for the user community through authenticity and original approaches. In addition to authentic content based mainly on stories, it has built a platform for collaboration and content creation with a group of influencers with common brand values and passions (technology, photography, film, music, design), where they have access to resources, specialists and courses to create better content.
Lidl has one of the most active brand pages in Romania on Facebook, with more than 2.1 million fans, where content is produced 50% in-house. She has grown her Instagram and YouTube communities strongly over the past year by promoting recipes and tips & tricks for everyday life.
Example: Stripped is an English brand of healthy snacks and dietary supplements that has understood how to be authentic through content online.
The content they create is relevant to the expectations of consumers, who not only want to know the benefits of the products, but also how they can use them on a day-to-day basis.
Thus, on their website they have a section dedicated to recipes where you can use their products, at different times of consumption (dessert, breakfast, etc.) and even for different needs - workout recipes, vegan recipes..
Chipotle is an American fast food brand that encourages local farmers. And it's a perfect example of authenticity in the digital environment.
How do I do that? Using the brand's mantra online: back to basics, focus on the simple things.
That's human communication, 1-on-1 interaction. The brand has a team of several Social Media Managers, each of whom brings their own personality to the tone of the brand's voice. Each of them signs their posts and responds on a personal level to those they interact with.
In addition, more than 80% of comments on social media receive a response from the brand (83% on Facebook) and most often reflect human understanding, a desire to help.