Social Branded Content: Navigating a New Opportunity in Media Publishing
Brand advertisers are continually tasked with staying on top of the dynamic habits of consumers, and with the current state of digital media, finding new sources of inventory and revenue proves to be challenging. In the wake of a new advertising world order, reaching engaged consumers has become imperative ---but how?
Studies of social branded content in the media publishing industry show a significant opportunity for media companies and sponsors alike. Though branded content contributes less than 1% of total social content in the industry, the results represent incredible potential for media publishers. Between Q1 and Q4 2017, as the number of publishers posting branded content grew by 34%, the volume nearly doubled and surpassed the average engagement on all other content. At ListenFirst, we expect to see this trend continue through 2018.
EFFECTIVENESS OF BRANDED CONTENT
On average in 2017, branded generated +5% more responses than non-branded posts on Facebook. Media publishing's social branded content began outpacing non-branded content in average post responses in Q2 by 23%, with the trend continuing through Q4 2017. Additionally, looking at the second half of 2017 (8/1/17-12/31/17), sponsored posts saw an average estimated media value of $6,020 per post. It’s apparent that media publishers and sponsors have been investing in different ways by which they can integrate brands into content, resulting in higher quality of branded content, more seamless integration, and ultimately, more engagement by fans.
Advertisers are seeing significant return on engagement when partnering with media publishers. In fact, advertisers garner 13X the engagement from partnerships with media publishers than that from content on their own pages on average. For instance, after partnering with popular lifestyle and entertainment publisher, The Dodo, Samsung Mobile USA saw 48X the post responses than the average garnered by its individual page.
FATHERLY WITH NEW YORK LIFE
A look inside the top branded post of 2017
Fatherly and New York Life have uncovered a winning technique for sponsored content, coming in with the most engaging branded post of 2017 at 853K post responses. The video features a heartfelt montage of fathers motivating their children, proving that engaged parents are just as valuable as “superheroes.” With a relatable theme such as family, the video went viral, being shared 638K times with 46.6M views in 2017.
HOW TO CAPTURE ENGAGEMENT THROUGH BRANDED CONTENT
Integrate your brand into original content
Product integration is proving to be an excellent strategy for branded content. In 2017, 9 of the top 10 most engaging branded posts were custom made to seamlessly integrate the sponsor into the content.
Bleacher Report and Adidas Running are a prime example of this tactic with their partnership. BR shared the sponsored video that features Snoop Dogg stopping by a local school to hand out the new AlphaBOUNCE sneakers. The content performed well on social, generating 92K responses and coming in as the publisher’s 3rd most engaging post among nearly 900 others during 2017.
Capitalize on viral social trends
It’s the age of DIY and tutorial videos, and media publishers are starting to comprehend the viral strength of content that features a “How To” tone. Brands from a multitude of industries ranging from health and beauty to home improvement and cooking are utilizing the trend, sharing content that gives their audience “life hacks” or “secrets” to everyday tasks.
Refinery29 sees strong engagement through DIY-themed content, publishing makeup tutorials, gift ideas, and travel itineraries. Refinery29 worked with Clairol Professional in a hair tutorial titled “Power Purple | How To Rock Purple Hair.” The video of a hair dying tutorial with Clairol “Flare Me” products, generated 16.4K responses and came in as the publisher’s 2nd most engaging post of 2017, among 443 others.
It doesn’t stop here -- there are various other ways to make a genuine connection, and further engage your audience through branded content. See the rest of the best practices and those enlisting these winning strategies in our Branded Content report for the Media Publishing Industry.
Download the report here.