Editorial content is
all about marketing a service or product in a
subtle way to your brand’s target audience. This means that no direct approach to advertising or selling a product or service is used when creating content.
So, if your brand decides to take on an editorial marketing approach, it means that when creating content, you will need to shift your perspective from
brand storytelling to highlighting your brand’s perspective on a certain topic or matter.
Ready to learn more? Then let’s get right to it:
What exactly is editorial marketing?
This type of marketing is done in a way that is not too obvious, meaning the content creator will provide subtle hints to a certain brand or product. This content focuses more on the overall benefit that a consumer will receive by making use of a product or service that your brand (
conveniently) has to offer. The way in which the offering is presented
subtly hints toward the brand that provides it.
Editorial marketing can be found on digital platforms, on content such as blogs, articles or social media. This type of content then will be accompanied by a link to the referred product or service.
Why is this type of marketing beneficial?
The consumers of the 21st century are well clued up on new ways that marketers try to sell them products or services that they don’t need or want. Additionally, consumers see so
many advertisements on a daily basis. This means that once they realise someone is trying to sell them something they will stop reading, start scrolling or just avoid it altogether.
So, what makes editorial marketing beneficial in this particular setting? It is not
painfully obvious, and the content will be well-balanced — meaning you won’t lean towards a specific brand or service too much. Yes, it will have a sense of bias but not in a way where it will influence the facts.
Editorial marketing also educates and informs the reader around the topic or industry in conversation, allowing a consumer to both learn and see the benefits and needs of a certain product or service within that context.
How do you create editorial marketing content?
When you create content, it should
always be accompanied by a set of objectives. There is no point in having a great idea to sell a new product, but then your content is all over the place. Therefore, your brand needs a clear content strategy
as well as a content calendar. You need to ensure that your content builds on one another.
An example of all these elements at play together can look like this:
Let’s say you are writing content for a brand that sells pet products. Before you just start jumping into the writing, you need to think of the variety of topics you want to touch in surrounding your client’s brand. Then you should add it onto your content calendar and spread each topic idea out over a few months.
This way, you can then continue to build on your content and be sure to relate them back to your client’s brand in a subtle manner.
Once you have your set objectives, you need to create content that will be editorial marketing. How does one do this you ask? Let’s take a look:
- Chose a relevant topic in your industry.
- Research and write on information about the topic.
- Mention what service or product can help a person looking to grow in that specific industry.
- Link to your brand in the sentence where you mention a certain service or product.
- Be sure to avoid mentioning the actual brand’s name or service specific to just them.
- Keep it general.
For example, if you are creating content for a brand that sells animal products you can write an article titled:
The importance of slow feeders for pets. In that article, you can say something along the lines: “
A puzzle slow feeder has been shown to stimulate the mind of your pet while allowing them to eat slower.” Then you can link to the brand that you are writing content for.
Has your brand ever made use of an editorial marketing approach? Be sure to let us know in the comments section below.
*Image courtesy of Pexels