One can barely get through a day without hearing about how brands are the new publishers, or how the rise of brand journalism is equipping marketers with new tools for telling their company’s story.
Fact is, it’s true. In the new era of business, excellent content is the golden currency that is redefining how brands interact with their audiences. It is undoubtedly an exciting time for those who can grasp hold and evolve to develop an authoritative, believable voice in this new climate of storytelling. On the other hand, the new era could potentially sound the death knell for those who cling too tightly to old-world narrative roles.
In the quest to create quality content, authenticity is key. Quality content should never be contrived, insincere or underhand about its intentions. So much is at stake when publishing content that represents your brand, its values and tone of voice – that it’s well worth taking heed of 5 guiding rules of producing authentic content.
Content marketing strategy: 5 rules to creating an authentic voice
1. Be honest
The fruits of content marketing labours will, with promotional and placement efforts, reach far and wide, inviting readers, shares and comments. It is imperative, then, that all assertions are backed up with valid evidence, or highlighted as personal opinion or as anecdotal references if applicable. Linked to this, we are seeing a growing trend for ads and advertorials implying false endorsements from celebrities. Even genuine endorsements of this sort only serve to raise question marks in the realm of true quality content – independently sourced information is far more valuable in the eyes of your readers.
2. Identify content marketing as ‘brand journalism’ or similar
Any content written or provided by an organisation, or on behalf of an organisation, should be clearly identified as such. The days of overtly promotional advertorial style content are, thankfully, dead – but sponsored material still has a rightfully valid place in quality publications. As long as pieces are well written and informative, the fact that they sit under the content marketing umbrella will not put readers off.
3. Choose collaborators with care
There’s a vast difference between a ghost writer and a true collaborator. The former often relies on somebody with no real connection to the source content creator. Collaborators, however, are closely aligned with the writer to connect with core information and deliver an authentic tone of voice. Nobody expects every company CEO, for instance, to be endowed with writing skills or to demonstrate precision in communicating complex messages. Writing that brings on board closely trusted collaborators tends to be more authentic, and is generally far more interesting and informative as well.
4. Admit mistakes
Anybody who has worked on a print publication, be it a newspaper, magazine or company brochure, will know that accidents do happen. And the realm of digital publishing, with content published at the press of a button, often allows for even more mistakes to slip through the net. When this happens, as it invariably will, don’t try to cover up your tracks. The authentic approach is to own up to the problem, explain to your audience what you are doing to fix the situation and prevent it from happening again. Ultimately, people will forget the mistake but will remember the fact that you are an honest, credible publisher with a human voice.
5. Provide information that people want and need
We’ve all come across articles in the guise of content marketing that are, in fact, nothing more than thinly-veiled press releases. It doesn’t feel authentic, it doesn’t feel credible, and in no way does it create any sense of warmth towards the brand in question. Yet publishing promotional material is still the number one mistake made by marketers. Save all product and service information for the corporate press release or brochure, and focus on adding genuine value for your readers. Thos who don’t will quickly fall by the wayside.
Over to you
What do you think? Have we covered all the ways in which to establish truly authentic content marketing?
Photo: Dee Bamford
