Most people have heard the phrase “Content is king.” It was popularized by Bill Gates in 1996, in an essay published on Microsoft’s website that remains surprisingly current. In it, he says: “One of the interesting things about the Internet is that anyone with a PC and a modem can publish any content they can create.” Although the democratization of information production (amplified in the 2000s with the spread of social networks) is beneficial to society, we have been seeing the side effects of this advent for some years.
Like it or not, misinformation or disinformation is already part of our lives and has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. It can appear as lies, distortion of facts or simply negligence in conducting research. And while social media networks like Facebook and Twitter have taken steps to combat misinformation by federal governments and the public at large, the volume of information published online 24/7 makes it nearly impossible to eradicate misinformation completely. Brands can interact with misinformation directly (producing or disseminating it — even if not intentionally) or indirectly (for example, not having control of the pages where their ads are served), and it is not news how much this can harm corporations’ credibility and financial standing.
In that sense, brands can learn a lot from reputable publishers. They can be a valuable ally for brands in developing content marketing strategies that incorporate expert content into their initiatives. Publishers are, by nature, fact-checking institutions that have been on the front lines of combating misinformation. Many have a content licensing or copyright licensing division that helps brands develop a content marketing offer specifically tailored to their goals and audience profiles.
3 Ways Publishers and Marketers Can Work Together to Create Credible Content
1. Choose content from authoritative sources
Always look for expert, recognized and authoritative voices because they will be associated with and will influence your brand image directly. Although this seems simple, it’s not an easy thing to do. Marketers must make sure to educate all the people involved in the production and distribution of content on that matter, be it your in-house content department, a third-party agency or an outside content provider. Recognizable and reputable publishers can also provide licensed content to complement your content marketing offer. By using licensed third-party content, brands not only benefit from established credibility, timely relevance and experienced storytelling but also can focus their resources on original content and other initiatives.
2. Focus on KPIs that matter
In an era when our feeds are assailed with clickbait and low-quality information, brands can ensure they are building a true relationship with customers by adopting performance KPIs to measure the effectiveness of content posted online. For engagement, think comments, shares, likes, scroll depth, time on page and number of sessions. For reputation, think mentions, sentiment analysis and share of voice. With time, valuing this kind of metric will help shape the culture of the marketing departments to focus on the material that adds value to people’s lives, instead of furthering clickbait culture. Shifting the focus to providing value through content marketing also allows brands to develop deeper connections with influential audiences and high-level decision makers. Working with a high-quality publisher to license content can help marketers develop an engaged group of niche consumers who deliver more return on investment in the long run than a click-rate-focused approach.
3. Have a genuine purpose when providing branded content
Audiences can sense if the brand’s reason for providing content is genuinely empathetic or if the brand is just trying to push some product or service. This will be especially important in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, when consumers are facing increased uncertainty in their lives. Focus your efforts on empathetic marketing and your offering on quality content that will help people navigate through these difficult times and they will remember your brand even when they are not directly interacting with your platforms. In practical terms, that means answering questions people are asking and providing solutions to problems they are experiencing. With that in mind, brands will see an increase in brand affinity and brand awareness. In this sense, brands can learn from publishers that have been increasingly investing in “service journalism,” content that focuses on providing readers with helpful advice and practical tips to improve their lives. Service journalism has become a very important part of publishers’ digital pay model strategies as it provides immense value to their audiences. The New York Times, for instance, created a series of content dedicated to service journalism, Smarter Living, which provides readers with advice and guides on a wide range of topics, from personal finance to home decorating. Most recently, The New York Times has also invested in At Home, a series of articles aimed at helping readers navigate home life in the time of COVID-19. Additionally, we've curated a gallery of COVID-19 images, which are ready for licensing.
Deepen Brand Loyalty With Licensed Content
Brands that strive to understand the challenges their customers are facing and create content with the intent of helping their audiences stand to deepen brand loyalty and establish deeper relationships with consumers. Creating this content from scratch can seem overwhelming, but there are resources available to brands that are looking for an assist. NYTLicensing, the licensing division of The New York Times, can help brands build and bolster their content marketing strategies with curated articles, news curation, photography and videos from The New York Times and other reputable publishing brands.
