You’ve probably heard the phrase ‘content is king’. If you’re in the digital publishing industry, that phrase guides all you do. But what if content isn’t king?
In the world of branding, content is just one cog in the mechanism, and if you expend all your energy on it, you’ll be wasting resources and time.
Sure, the stuff you put on your blog and on your social media, matters but it means little if it’s incongruent with the rest of your brand.
Content and your brand’s purpose.
Purpose is what guides everything about your brand. It’s why you do what you do. It’s at the centre of your brand’s identity. At HKLM we believe that a successful brand engages both the heads and the hearts of the people you encounter. It should inform everything you do, from the tone you use in your copy, to the way you treat your employees.
“Your content is only king if it’s in line with your brand’s purpose.”
Your content is only king if it’s in line with your brand’s purpose, and if the other aspects of your brand are being looked after. There’s no point in having incredible content if it has nothing to do with your brand. It’s just as pointless to produce excellent content that drives forward your brand’s purpose, if your purpose isn’t cascading down to all the other aspects of your brand.
In other words, it would be hypocritical to preach purpose-coherent values in your content, if you don’t employ purpose-driven practices in your day-to-day actions, and at every level of the business.
According to LucidPress, brands that are consistently represented are 3 to 4 times more like to experience improved brand visibility. In fact, consistency is so important, that revenue can increase by 33% when a brand is always presented in the same way.
Scaffolding for good content.
Once your purpose is down pat, you need to craft a solid scaffolding from which to build your content. Craft your brand’s vision, put together its values, outline its positioning, then draw up its personality.
Once you have done this you can put together guidelines for every piece of your brand that reflects the brand’s purpose. Is the tone you use in your copy casual or formal? Are the colours of your logo reflective of the brand’s personality? What policies do you have for strong internal brand engagement? How do you train your client service department to speak to customers?
“A good brand is more than just the face of a corporation; it’s the very essence of it.”
When all of these aspects coherently represent the brand and its purpose, strong, high-quality content will do its part to bolster your business.
A good brand is more than just the face of a corporation; it’s the very essence of it. Achieving coherence between every aspect of your brand is tricky at best, but it is so worthwhile. Only when you have established a consistent brand, can good content really do its part to boost your business.
Jessica Evans is a final-year Journalism and Media Studies student at Rhodes University. While she has experience in lifestyle and science writing, she has developed an interest in branding, HKLM’s speciality. She joined HKLM for a week and diverted her writing and editing skills towards a beat totally new to her. Jessica hopes to gain experience as a copywriter and to build her knowledge of the world of brands.
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Jessica Evans is a final-year Journalism and Media Studies student at Rhodes University. While she has experience in lifestyle and science writing, she has developed an interest in branding, HKLM’s speciality. She joined HKLM for a week and diverted her writing and editing skills towards a beat totally new to her. Jessica hopes to gain experience as a copywriter and to build her knowledge of the world of brands.