Brand journalism is building your brand's identity in a way that stands out from your competitors and demonstrates what your brand's ethos is.
Blu Mint Specialise In:
Branding
Feature Writing
Team Interviewing
Podcast & Media Production
The internet is overloaded with content, most of it generic and of little value. Having an engaging, authentic and high-quality content output has never been more important.
Businesses need to see themselves as media companies, producing interesting, intelligent articles, tailored to the profile of their customers. These won’t be advertorials, they may not even be related to the product or market, but they will appeal to the sensibilities of the target demographic.
People want quality, and they’re willing to spend their precious time on it.
The term Brand Journalism is ambiguous, misused, misunderstood and often passed off as PR.
You’ll see descriptions of brand journalism as an extension of content marketing – which of course it is – but the very nature of journalism is that it is unbiased and impartial. This impartiality is what our interpretation of the term is keen to be loyal to.
Brand journalism is the future.
It is known by many labels: brand journalism, corporate journalism, corporate media. More businesses than ever are creating “journalistic” content, with some even going as far as hiring actual journalists. Whilst others are hiring camera crews and launching dedicated news sites to discuss their industries and their brand.
These days the majority of businesses has a corporate blog, to aid not only keyword related content yet to announce company press releases and news. Companies need to more - for these brands; there is no direct return on investment, instead, they are seeking to tell a story of their company and to generate more brand awareness. Doing so places (and maintains) their company in the minds of their target audience.
Corporate blogging is a form of public relations and is used by brands to cover the industry news because the mainstream does not cover it, or if they did, they did a lousy job of doing it.
Take a moment to consider that traditional outlets for good journalism also have similar challenges. Many a publication may have a political agenda, influential owners or pressure from advertisers; pure, unfettered journalism is rare.
Content Marketing/Corporate Blogging v Brand Journalism
It is tricky to tell the distinction between blogging and content marketing and brand journalism - it could be argued that blog posts belong with blogging and content whilst interviews, case studies and news are part of brand journalism.
It is best to view the distinction as outcomes, not necessarily the work completed.
The aim of brand journalism is to:
- build awareness and affinity
- determine the context for brand messaging
- acquire a niche and relevant audience
In contrast, content marketing
- captures and nurtures interest
- generates leads and conversions
- builds loyalty with existing audiences
Think of it this way. Brand journalism begins people on a journey with your brand, whilst content marketing and corporate blogging push people along and often is the final touch point that prompts people to buy.
You may argue that true journalism can’t exist in an environment where one party is commissioning to develop their brand image or sell a product - there is bound to be bias?
We believe this doesn’t have to be an issue, because we’re not going to try to hard-sell your product or persuade an audience that your company is cool.
The aim of brand journalism then, is not to push your brand, but to entertain and enlighten those most likely to buy your product or service, with relevant yet unbiased and impartial features. This is our main objective.
We’ll help you show your potential customers that you care about the same issues as they do: entertain them, inform them, educate them within the boundaries of their beliefs, and they’ll be well on the way to becoming the loyal, long term customers that your brand really needs.
