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Many words are ubiquitous in brand language these days but perhaps none is quite so omnipresent as “content.” That reductive, catch-all term that means everything and nothing, and is touted by so many as the way to “connect with an audience” and “build community” (a couple more buzzwords there for you).
That’s not to say that content can’t do those things, but when everyone is making it, how do you stand out? And how do you know if it’s working? Does anyone even care?
Make it meaningful
The stance we take with the work that we create at WeTransfer: Try to make something that will cut through the white noise. And if we get it right, it might even mean something.
The best content should be able to do two things: tell you about the moment in which it was made, and make you feel something. Best case scenario, it can even start important conversations or help to move the cultural needle. It’s brand marketing at its best, and today we’re seeing more brands opt for this approach over the cold, impersonal nature of performance marketing.
When we start any new project or creator collaboration, we try to think about why it might matter and what kind of audience it might resonate with. Crucially, it’s thinking about people in human terms, not just as users or metrics. If you wouldn’t read, watch or listen to the work you make, then why would anyone else?
Today, brands need to have a grasp on what is happening in the publishing and media industries to understand how to better serve their audiences when it comes to brand marketing. My background as a journalist has been the best tool for finding the beating heart of a story, the part that I think is essential to good content. As a journalist, you are taught to lead with the hook—the easy and understandable way into the story for your audience—then follow up with the emotion, the part that resonates with them.
Brands should take this same approach with their content. You have to be able to pique people’s attention and then keep it, especially in an already oversaturated media market. It’s not easy (and we’ve not even mentioned the competition from social media) but it’s a human approach that will likely garner far more affinity for your brand than treating every person as a statistic.
