By taking a brand journalism approach to content marketing, companies can distinguish themselves and create a deeper connection with their target audience. This approach entails humanizing brands by telling the story behind them. This more engaging, valuable, and authentic content helps businesses realize greater success. A brand journalism case study is a great way to demonstrate the power of this approach.
At KWSM, we have helped hundreds of companies tell their unique story over the past 13+ years. I have worked as a copywriter for 6 years and can attest to the power of brand journalism. Read this case study to witness it in action.
What is Brand Journalism?
Brand journalism is a form of content marketing that humanizes companies and brands through storytelling and the utilization of traditional characteristics of news media, like investigative research, interviews, and expert insights.
Brand journalism produces content that appeals to the experiences of the target demographic and strives to maintain objectivity and integrity with an emphasis on creating informative and valuable content for your target audience.
This form of content marketing creates a brand identity, builds awareness, and positions you as an authority and thought leader. By taking a brand journalism approach to content marketing, you’re telling compelling stories about your company that resonate and connect with readers more deeply.
“Brand journalism is so important in today’s digital landscape as it allows businesses to differentiate themselves and connect with their audience on a deeper level. Brand journalism helps you craft authentic, engaging stories that resonate with readers, and adds that human touch that AI-generated content often lacks.” – Greg Colacino, Director of Content, KWSM
A Brand Journalism Case Study
To demonstrate the value of incorporating this approach into a content marketing strategy, let’s take a look at a brand journalism case study that demonstrates how I have employed this tactic for one of my clients, a CPA and trust accountant.
I meet weekly with this client to discuss her practice, and she shares her experiences in the field. We have worked extensively to craft the voice and tone of my writing to be more engaging and aligned with her identity and values.
I ask her questions about what distinguishes her services, and she gives me real-life examples of the benefits her services provide and how she has helped people. Recently she shared a heartwarming letter she received from a satisfied client.
Beneficiaries who she worked with years ago sent her this letter out of the blue. In the wake of their mother’s passing, they were being uncooperative and nasty to each other as they navigated this emotionally taxing and tumultuous chapter.
But they recognized that my client never lost sight of her duty to ensure that their mother’s wishes to have her estate settled as fairly as possible were fulfilled. The letter stated:
“I never took the time to thank you. You were kind when everywhere around our family was hatred. You were professional when all of us were being unreasonable. You were what, I think, we all thought we might be, we hoped to be, but never were. For that, I’m grateful.”
This was an excellent opportunity to leverage brand journalism. I discussed the situation with her in more detail for context, took notes, and we turned this into a blog post. This is just one example of how I have used her experiences to tell her story.
Using her examples and insights, I regularly write compelling copy that tells the story of the woman behind her brand to showcase her passion and expertise. The results?
- 444 first-page keywords
- 3,758 monthly clicks on keywords
- 4,718 monthly organic sessions
- A 79% year-over-year increase in overall website sessions
My client receives several leads weekly and consistently tells me she’s too busy to work with them all. She also says when clients contact her, they refer to the informative, engaging copy we craft together as a reason they came to her.
The numbers reflect this, too. Looking at the most recent blogs we wrote for her, people regularly spend approximately 3 minutes reading the content, with one blog yielding an average of nearly 12 minutes per visitor.
This is a good indication that the content we craft together is valuable for her audience. Plus, we edit content together in real time, so I hear genuine human reactions, like laughter or excitement as she reviews the content – which is the stamp of good writing.
Content Marketing that Tells Your Company’s Story
A brand journalism approach to content marketing leverages the greatest assets you have when driving leads and conversions: your expertise, your people, and the story behind your brand. As this brand journalism case study reflects, when implemented effectively, brand journalism can help your business reach more people, generate more leads and conversions, and achieve greater success.
Fill out the contact form below to schedule a consultation with the KWSM team and start telling the story behind your brand and, ultimately, reach new heights.
