Contents
What is brand media?
Brand media are specialized media created by companies to attract new customers and enhance loyalty among their target audience. This concept combines two key elements: "brand" and "media." The brand encompasses all images and associations formed in consumers' minds regarding a trademark. For example, Volvo is associated with reliability and safety, while the chocolate "Alenka" evokes nostalgic childhood memories.
The term "media" covers various channels and means of information transmission, including television, social networks, blogs, podcasts, and advertising. Thus, brand media serve as a communication tool that helps companies shape their image, build reputation, and engage with their audience. Such media operate like traditional mass media, having an editorial policy, strategy, and content plan. Sometimes the media's name coincides with the name of the owning company or refers to it.
For instance, the fitness club network World Class creates content about healthy eating, workouts, and sportswear. However, if a company simply publishes articles and news on its website, it does not qualify as full-fledged brand media, as such content does not fulfill the main task—engaging and attracting potential customers.
Objectives of brand media
Modern brand media face several tasks, including:
- Creating and maintaining a positive image of the company and conveying its values to the audience;
- Attracting the target audience and converting readers into buyers;
- Building a loyal community around the brand and increasing its supporters;
- Presenting the company in a native way and overcoming ad blindness;
- Increasing the number of brand mentions across various sources;
- Promoting the company's website in search engines;
- Demonstrating expertise and describing how the company solves customer problems.
Modern channels of brand media
Companies utilize various channels to implement their media projects:
Own media portal
Creating a separate website on a unique domain requires significant financial investment and preparation. For example, the "Clear Explanation" project offers a unique name and domain, allowing users to transition to the "SberInvestor" app.
Company website
Another approach is to create a separate section on an existing website. This allows the company's clients to become the first readers. For example, the TexTerra agency's blog is located in a separate section of its website.
Application
Mobile applications support and duplicate the web versions of media portals, allowing for additional materials and special projects to be launched.
Social networks and messengers
Brand media in social networks are not just company profiles. There are pages with useful content that attracts readers. For example, the "Dagger" magazine from "Yandex.Practicum" creates an active community on Telegram.
Video hosting and podcasts
With the increasing popularity of video content, companies are launching video blogs on YouTube and other platforms. Podcasts are also finding their audience by offering interesting stories and content.
How to assess the effectiveness of brand media
Brand media represent a marketing tool, so it is important to evaluate their effectiveness through specific metrics:
- Audience: tracking the number and growth dynamics;
- Engagement: likes, comments, and reactions;
- Brand mentions on the internet and social networks;
- Traffic sources: the number of external links and their growth;
- Page depth and time on site;
- Conversions to customers;
- Loyalty index: the willingness of readers to recommend the brand.
Mistakes in creating brand media
The main mistake is that many companies turn their brand media into a corporate newspaper, which is ineffective. It is important to focus on solving the target audience's problems. This means that the content should be oriented towards the readers' requests.
Some types of content that should not be published include:
- Company news and press releases;
- Corporate reports;
- Excessive amounts of advertising and promotional materials.