Trust is the key to success in any business. Consumers are looking for companies they can rely on and brand journalism content marketing is the path to help your business achieve this goal.
During my three-year tenure at KWSM as a Senior Digital Marketing Strategist, I have executed many digital marketing strategies that utilize Facebook and Instagram. By implementing a brand journalism approach to content marketing and providing relevant content that meets Google’s E-E-A-T requirements, my clients have been able to create loyal clients that stay with their company for years.
In the recent Helpful Content Update, Google is focusing on supporting only the highest quality content that provides users with original, helpful, and accurate information and is written by real people. Google rewards users that follow these Google E-E-A-T requirements by pushing their blogs and webpages to the top of organic searches.
In this blog, I will share how incorporating this brand journalism approach and Google E-E-A-T requirements has helped our clients build lasting trust with their audiences and can strengthen the success of your blogs and social media content as well. https://www.youtube.com/embed/UGDTCb2V_UY
What is Brand Journalism in Content Marketing?
In its simplest form, brand journalism focuses on creating unique content. This method uses many tactics that reporters have been successfully using for years, such as investigative research, interviews, and expert commentary. Using these tactics in marketing focuses on telling your business’s story instead of just sharing what you sell.
A journalistic approach to your content can limit the need for AI-generated tools to write your social posts, ads, and even blogs because it truly focuses on the humans behind your brand. Although AI can be a helpful tool, it is limited to replicating information that it scrapes from the internet and regurgitating it. Google frowns upon duplicate content. With this method, you run the risk of sharing content that is too similar to that of another company. Google can then choose to push your content down in organic search and hurt your chances of ranking highly on the first page.
“The landscape surrounding AI copywriting is still developing and filled with uncertainty. With the threat of legal ramifications, malicious intent, duplicate content, and plagiarism looming, it becomes evident that the best way to safeguard your business is by producing content that uses the human touch. Embracing human understanding of nuance and emotion sets your content apart from the influx of AI-generated work, and protects you from the hazards connected to the rapidly evolving state of AI.”
Greg Colacino, Director of Content, KWSM
Brand journalism creates unique content using direct quotes and insight from your company. These one-of-a-kind pieces are rewarded in Google’s algorithm and can help you climb the rankings in organic search. Using your personal voice allows your business to stand out in social media feeds as well. You will build trust with your audiences on all channels because you are focusing on who you are and trying to make real human connections with the people you are reaching out to.
How Can Brand Journalism Content Marketing Build Audience Trust?
Case Study: Many of the clients I have worked with at KWSM focus on selling services. One of those clients was an art logistics company that aimed to provide security and peace of mind to art professionals and collectors with high-value pieces. Their marketing strategy consisted of social media and blog posts that aimed to highlight recent projects and the company’s services. However, not all of our content was connecting well with our ideal audience.
I decided to take a brand journalism approach to their content marketing instead and began to focus on who they are and not just the services they provide. To do this, my team and I began interviewing their leadership team weekly to gather quotes and industry insight on the process of shipping, storing, transporting, and installing fine art for their clients. We implemented this research and professional quotes into our social media and blog content. By the end of the quarter, we saw a 20% increase in organic website clicks, a 96% increase in organic search traffic, and a 110% increase in leads from our blogs. From the content we shared on our social channels, we saw an 88% increase in web traffic.
How Can You Apply Brand Journalism to Your Content Marketing?
AI is a growing trend in the digital space. However, brand journalism is a foundational part of digital marketing strategies that get results. My client would not have seen the same level of success from their content without implementing journalistic tactics focused on interviewing the team. Through this method, I was able to develop custom content that a bot couldn’t scrape from another website. By applying this brand journalism strategy to your writing, you can help your business stand out in the flood of social media and blog posts and provide valuable pieces to your audience.
Only 35% of businesses use content marketing in their current strategies.
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