How to Create Branded Content to Drive Engagement

How to Create Branded Content to Drive Engagement

In a world where 5,000+ marketing messages bombard your audience daily, there's something most businesses ignore: nobody cares about your brand.

They care about themselves.

The companies dominating their current industries aren't just creating content—they're engineering perception-shifting assets that transform scrollers into customers.

While your competitors blast generic posts into the void, I'll show you how to create branded content that doesn't just capture attention—it commands it.

The difference between content that gets ignored and content that drives real engagement isn't creativity, budget, or quality. It's understanding a simple principle: branded content that converts speaks to what your audience wants, not what you want to tell them.

This framework has helped my clients generate over $100M in revenue through content alone. And today, I'm breaking down exactly how you can do the same.

The Importance of Audience Analytics in Content Strategy

Most people are guessing. Winners use data.

If you're creating content without looking at audience analytics, you're playing darts in the dark. Maybe you hit the board. Perhaps you don't. But why guess when you can know?

Tools like Google Analytics show you what's working. What pages do people land on? Where they click. How long do they stick around? That's not just data — that's a blueprint. It tells you strictly what content hits and what flops.

Social media? Same thing. Stop posting and praying. Start tracking and tweaking. Every like, share, and comment is a signal. Double down on what people engage with and scrap what they ignore.

Then there's customer feedback — the free goldmine. Your audience is telling you what they want. If you're not listening, you're leaving money on the table.

Here's the move: segment your audience. Break it down by age, gender, and location (demographics). Then, go deeper — values, interests, beliefs (psychographics). People don't just buy based on what you sell — they buy based on how it makes them feel and if it aligns with who they are.

Want to go even deeper? Use behavioural analytics.

Track the journey:

• Where they enter
• What they click
• How far they scroll
• When they bounce

Use heatmaps and session recordings to watch real users in real-time. See what grabs your attention. See what gets ignored. Then fix it.

This isn't fluff. This is optimisation.

Most brands spray content and hope something sticks. The best brands reverse engineer attention. They understand their audience well; it's like reading minds — because they already have the data.

Bottom line: Data doesn't lie. If your content isn't performing, it's not because “the algorithm sucks” — it's because you're not analysing what your audience wants. Use analytics. Dial in your message. Convert more.

3 Surprising 2025 Stats That Rewrite the Rules

1. 13-second videos now drive 62% of purchase decisions. The “micro-moment” isn't coming – it's here. Brands squeezing storytelling into sub-15-second clips (think POV demos, blink-and-miss CTAs) see 3x conversion rates vs traditional 30-second ads. It's the commercial equivalent of a sniper round: one shot, no waste.
2. 93% of influencers reject collaborations with brands using AI-generated social posts. Creators aren't tools – they're curators. Your lazy AI content now directly impacts partnership opportunities. One creator put it bluntly: “I won't attach my name to robotic shite.”
3. 76% of companies have AI-generated content ranking… but 89% of those pages show rising bounce rates. Google's E-E-A-T update isn't a guideline – it's a guillotine. Brands pumping out synthetic content are winning SERP battles but losing the war for engagement.

Be Different

To succeed with brand content, your organisation must understand the value of the audience you are trying to reach.

This audience must include current clients, new prospects, and current and potential employees.

When creating brand content, consider the benefits to your audience and whether they see your brand as trustworthy.

Consider how your audience will view your brand to create a resonant message.

Branded content allows you to engage with your audience at an emotional level.

Studies show that emotions make people more likely to take action and respond positively to a brand.

By using branded content, you can connect with your audience deeper, creating better results for you and your business.

The Role of Authenticity in Branded Content

Authenticity in branded content fosters trust and brand loyalty. Audiences today value genuine communication over perfect but impersonal messages.

Sharing behind-the-scenes content or stories about your brand's development can create genuine connections.

Patagonia, for instance, stays authentic by focusing on environmental sustainability, which aligns with its brand values.

By being transparent and consistent, brands can connect more deeply with their audience, encouraging long-term engagement and advocacy.

Authentic storytelling plays a significant role in building authenticity. Share narratives that reflect your brand's mission and values.

TOMS, for example, connects with its audience by highlighting its charitable efforts and impact stories, resonating with socially conscious consumers. Creating content that reflects the values and expectations of your audience helps solidify their trust.

This connection often increases brand loyalty, as consumers feel aligned with brands that reflect their ideals. Incorporating customer testimonials and case studies further reinforces authenticity.

These allow potential customers to see real-life examples of your products or services.

Featuring honest feedback, even if it includes constructive criticism, can enhance credibility.

Brands like Fitbit effectively use customer stories to convey the impact of their products on health and wellness.

By showcasing real users, brands build a narrative that speaks directly to the audience's experiences and desires.

What types of brand content does your organisation need to create? There are a variety of ways in which branded content can be used, including:

• Promotion of the brand: Branded content is used to promote the brand. A customer service representative uses branded content to explain the organisation's policies and procedures. A salesperson uses branded content to convince a client to purchase a product.
• Marketing campaigns: Brand content is marketing a specific product or service to an audience. For example, a retailer might use branded content to promote a jeans sale.
• Advertisements: Branded content advertises the public's products or services. Branded content is commonly used on television, radio, and online websites.
• Training: Content is used to train employees and educate customers. An organisation might use branded content to train its employees about its products and services.
• Events: Branded content is used to promote an event related to the organisation. For example, an organisation might use branded content to promote its conference.
• Social media: Content is shared via social media. Examples include blogs, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook posts.
• Surveys: Research is done to gather information from the target audience. You can then use this information to create brand content.
• Reports: Reports are created to provide information to the target audience. These reports can help the organisation improve in areas with room for growth.
• Case studies: These are stories or accounts of events that happened in the past. The purpose is to educate the audience and demonstrate a solution to a problem.
• Interviews: Audiences are interviewed to gain a better understanding of the audience. The interview creates a story about the audience, which you can incorporate into the brand content.
• Testimonials: Consumers give testimonials for a product or service. These stories are used to demonstrate a product's or service's benefits.
• How-to guides: Guides are helpful, step-by-step instructions on how to complete a task. An example would be an instruction manual for a piece of equipment.
• Newsletters: Newsletters are sent to the target audience. These newsletters can contain an exciting story or helpful information.
• Podcasts: Podcasts are digital media that includes audio and video. Podcasts allow for more personal interaction with an audience, allowing the organisation to use the voice of its employees.
• Online videos: can be uploaded directly to a website or posted on YouTube. Online videos are a great way to promote the brand, as the audience can access it anywhere.
• Email marketing: Email marketing can include personalised messages sent to the recipient's inbox. This method is cost-effective, as it allows the organisation to communicate with the audience.

Leveraging User-Generated Content (UGC)

User-generated content can significantly amplify your brand's reach. Encourage customers to share their experiences with your products through social media.

Hosting contests or showcasing customer stories on your platforms can boost engagement. For example, Starbucks' annual Red Cup Contest allows users to submit their themed photos, which fosters community involvement.

This approach enhances credibility and provides fresh content, nurturing a community that feels involved and heard. Expanding on user-generated content involves embedding UGC strategies directly into your marketing campaigns.

Hashtags are key in aggregating user content under a unified theme or campaign. Encourage your audience to use a specific hashtag when posting content related to your brand.

This helps organise content and increases visibility. Campaigns like Coca-Cola's “Share a Coke” utilised personalised bottle labels, prompting consumers to share their experiences on social media.

Such strategies strengthen community bonds and amplify organic reach.

Create a Unique Value Proposition

You've got a product. You've got a service. Cool. Now what?

How do you get someone to care?

How do you get them to understand what it does in under five seconds?

And more importantly — how do you get them to buy?

That's what a value proposition is for.

It's not a slogan. It's not a mission statement. It's the reason someone gives you money instead of your competitor.

Here's the problem: most companies skip it.

They assume, “We exist so that people will come.”

No.

They won't.

Having a product is not enough.

Having demand is not enough.

You need to articulate value better than anyone else in your space.

“People don't buy the best product — they buy the one they understand the fastest.”

Now, let's talk branded content.

This isn't some new fad. Apple's been doing it for decades. It's not about shoving an ad in someone's face — it's about storytelling. It's a way to communicate, not broadcast.

You create content — videos, images, blog posts — that people want to consume. Then, you promote it on social. Simple.

Here's how it works:

• You entertain or educate your audience.
• You slip in a link to your site or product.
• You earn attention →, drive traffic, → make sales.

Branded content works. But it isn't cheap. And it sure as hell isn't worth it if you're just shooting in the dark.

You need targeting.

You need clarity.

And most of all — you need a UVP that punches like a right hook.

If you're selling something and you're running a branded content campaign, here's the formula:

1. Who's it for?
2. What problem does it solve?
3. Why is it better/different/faster/cheaper than the other options?
4. Why now?

Answer those clearly — and you've got something worth promoting.

But most brands don't do this. They make the content. They pay to promote it. Then they wonder why it didn't convert.

Because the value wasn't obvious.

Let's talk ROI.

One of the biggest complaints about branded content:

“We can't measure it.”

False. You just haven't defined your baseline.

• Is it traffic?
• Leads?
• Sales?
• Conversions from first click to checkout?

Whatever it is, define it before you launch. Then, track it. No guesswork.

And if you're targeting everyone, you're targeting no one.

Broad campaigns = wasted cash.

Niche down. Win big.

A unique value proposition is your anchor.

It guides the messaging.

It cuts through the noise.

It tells the right person why your thing matters right now.

If you can't explain your product's value clearly and quickly — you don't have a UVP. You have a liability.

Fix that, and branded content becomes a weapon.

Integrating Multichannel Approaches

A multichannel approach ensures your content reaches a broader audience while maintaining consistency.

Each platform has different strengths, and leveraging them can maximise engagement.

Using Instagram for visual storytelling, X for real-time updates, and LinkedIn for professional content keeps your brand varied across different audiences.

Crafting content that suits each channel's audience while keeping a coherent brand message is vital for a successful multichannel approach.

An effective multichannel strategy also involves coordinating content release timing across platforms to maximise impact. Understanding when your audience is most active on each platform can lead to better visibility and engagement rates.

Employing social media scheduling tools, like Buffer or Hootsuite, allows seamless content distribution management.

Additionally, integrating feedback loops helps adjust strategies based on performance metrics, ensuring that each platform contributes positively to broader marketing goals.

Make it Easy to Share

For the past few years, brands have been busy creating social media content, which has been very successful for most businesses but not all brands.

Branded content is designed for a brand's audience and is typically produced by an internal or external PR agency. It is usually well-produced and has a vital creative component. It can be any type of content: video, images, text, etc. and should always include a call to action to drive the customer to the business's website.

So, why do many brands struggle to get their branded content shared?

1. Most branded content marketing budgets are focused on paid advertising rather than creating content that will naturally go viral.
2. Content marketing budgets aren't set up to produce content that is easy to share.
3. Many brands don't understand how to promote their content correctly.

Let's examine these issues and explain why making your branded content easy to share is essential.

Branded Content Marketing vs Paid Advertising

If your budget is limited, using it on paid advertising is tempting. Paid advertising is much cheaper than producing branded content, and you will often get more impressions and a higher click-through rate with paid ads.

However, a low cost does not necessarily mean a high return. This is because of a problem with the algorithm that drives social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram: they reward users with many friends and followers.

This means that the most famous content is always shown to the user, regardless of whether it is relevant to the user or not.

So, paid advertising means your content competes for attention with other users' content – not just the other users in your company but also the millions of different content providers.

To make things worse, there is an ever-growing pile of content, with brands and businesses competing for the same customers' attention. What works for a brand today may not work tomorrow, so the need to pay for advertising to be seen becomes more urgent.

Branded Content Marketing Budget

Spending money on branded content is vital to driving traffic to your website. However, this doesn't necessarily mean spending a lot.

The problem with the way budgets are set up is that they are usually set up to cover only paid advertising. If you don't see results within a set timeframe, the money you invested in your campaign is wasted.

If you do see results, you might have spent the maximum that you could spend on paid advertising. This means you will have to find the money elsewhere the next time you want to invest in content marketing.

When you set up a budget to make your content easy to share, you are setting up a budget to create content that will generate results and not a budget to advertise your product.

Content Marketing Budget

Content marketing budgets are usually set to pay for paid advertising, content marketing, and community management. When you have a budget for all three, tracking results and spending the money you get is easier. 

However, if you only budget for content marketing and leave paid advertising as a free bonus, you won't be able to track its results. It will simply be too late to make changes if you see a decrease in results.

How to make your branded content easy to share

This leads us to the first point we want to make: a low cost doesn't always mean a high return.

For example, if you have a budget for content marketing, you can spend the money you get on creating and producing your content.

But, creating and spreading the word will take much effort when you create content that isn't easy to share. You must think about how to promote your content and plan it carefully.

There are a few things you can do to make your content easy to share:

• Make your content easy to digest.
• Use bullet points, images and videos.
• These are great ways to get information across quickly.
• Consider what you want people to do after reading or watching your content.
• If people don't know exactly what they should do next, they won't be able to share your content.
• Use links. Ensure your content is linked correctly so people can easily share it.

Measuring the Success of Branded Content

Tracking the success of branded content involves analysing several metrics. Engagement rates, including likes, shares, and comments, offer insights into how the audience interacts with your content.

Measuring ROI provides a financial perspective of your efforts. Google Analytics can track website traffic generated by branded content, while tools like Hootsuite can measure social media impact.

Setting clear benchmarks before launching a campaign allows you to evaluate the most effective strategies.

Using these insights to adapt your approach ensures your content remains relevant and practical.

Delving into more detailed success metrics, it's worthwhile to consider sentiment analysis, which gauges consumer reactions and emotions towards your content.

This qualitative metric provides insights beyond engagement numbers, helping refine messaging based on audience perceptions.

Tools like Brandwatch or Mention can monitor sentiment in real time, offering a comprehensive view of public opinion.

Such insights enable brands to adapt quickly, iterating content based on what resonates positively with the audience, thus maintaining a favourable brand image and sustained consumer interest.

Provide Value

Providing value is one of the keys to building a successful brand.

But how do you ensure your brand provides value to your prospects and clients? Here is a brief overview of what you must consider before creating a branded content campaign.

Branded content is anything you create to promote your brand or business.

This can include blogs, videos, presentations, infographics, etc. While branded content has many different forms, one thing is sure – it's a great way to reach out to new people and connect with them. It's also a great way to position yourself as an expert and show your expertise.

Providing value in branded content campaigns:

What to consider before creating your content

As mentioned above, there are many different ways to create branded content.

Some companies use video content to explain their products or services. Others use blogs to provide tips and advice on using their products. Still, others use presentations to teach their audience how to use their products.

Before creating your own branded content, it's essential to understand the purpose of your content and whom you want to target. Are you creating your content to drive traffic to your website? Or are you making it to promote your product or service?

Either way, you need to know the goals and audience of your content before you start creating it.

After you know whom you are creating the content for and the purpose of your content, you can start creating your content. But before you create your content, you need to think about the following things:

Do you want to give away free content?

Giving away free content is a great way to get people to like your brand. Giving away free content can build credibility, attract new followers, and establish yourself as an expert. Ensure you don't lose potential customers and have a clear call-to-action (CTA) in your content. 

You want your visitors to do a CTA after they read your content.

For example, if you're writing a blog post about your company's new product, you may want to encourage your readers to go to your website and sign up for your newsletter. You can also ask your followers to like your Facebook page.

How do you know you're providing value?

Once you decide on the goals and purpose of your content, you need to evaluate whether your content is providing value to your audience. To do this, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Is the content helpful? Is it helping your readers? Does it help your readers get what they need? Does it help your readers solve their problems?
2. Is the content valuable? Is it worth sharing? Is it worth recommending? Does it help people achieve their goals?
3. Is the content shareable? Does it stand out among similar content?

Create an Audience

Branded content marketing is about creating and sharing content with the targeted audiences relevant to your brand.

It's all about building relationships with your consumers and creating trust. Here are the essential things that you need to do to create an audience for branded content campaigns:

Branding

You need to understand your brand before starting your audience creation process. The audience creation process of your brand should be consistent with your brand's identity.

For example, you can create videos about healthy eating if you work for a fast-food brand. Your audience creation process should be like this:

Brand + Target Audience = Branded Content Marketing

The target audience for the branded content should be your consumers or those who are interested in what you offer.

Audience Creation

There are two methods to create an audience:

Using a list service:

A list service is one of the best ways to create an audience. You can use services like MailChimp, ActiveCampaign or Constant Contact to make an audience list for your branded content. It's much easier to create an audience using these services than manually.

Using the Facebook Ads Manager:

Facebook Ads Manager is another good option for creating an audience. It has all the features like demographics, interests, custom audiences, etc.

You've successfully created your audience for branded content campaigns. Now, you can start creating content for your consumers.

Create Brand Advocacy

I know it is not always possible to generate massive numbers of mentions, but there are ways to create brand advocates that would benefit from being told about a specific campaign.

Brand advocates promote your brand because they believe in it and want others to experience it. Your brand does not pay them; they are fans who feel compelled to share your message with their friends and colleagues.

If you have already researched and identified the influencers your target audience will trust to spread your message, then you must build a campaign around these individuals.

Once you have the influencer list, you must develop a campaign strategy. The next step is to create a compelling offer to make the influencer an advocate.

Here are the steps you need to follow to start building brand advocates for your brand:

Create compelling content

You first must pick a topic and consider what you can say about it. It would be best if you came up with something people can relate to.

What if I don't have the expertise to write a blog post? Many online articles and guides can be helpful for you. Look up articles related to your niche and read them to understand what type of content works best for your audience.

Promote the content on social media.

When you're ready to publish your content, you must share it on all social networks. You also need to make sure you tag the influencer in the post. This way, they can see and share the post with their audience.

Adding the influencer in the bio section of your social profiles is also essential. This way, they can see all the shares and likes you receive on your social posts.

Include a call-to-action (CTA) to encourage them to share your content. Make sure you include the influencer in your CTA.

You can even send a special message to them. This way, they will be able to receive a personalised message, making them more likely to share the content.

Invite the influencer to your email campaign.

Once you have published your content, you must email the influencer, inviting them to join your campaign. You can do this using a tool like MailChimp. Ensure you have the influencer list, and you can ask them for your campaign.

Ensure you include the influencer in your email and send them a link to your blog. You can also send them a message through X or Facebook.

You will want to allow them to opt in if they want to join your campaign. Influencer marketing is one of the most effective ways to drive traffic to your website, and it's easy to use.

Use Emotion, Social Proof, and a Great Call to Action

Branded content has many applications and uses, but it is important to note that there are three main elements to branded content. The first is the brand, the second is the call to action, and the third is the emotion.

The Brand

The brand is the name of the company. When talking about brands, we should always think about what they stand for. They should be able to create a sense of trust within their audience because people will always buy a product if they trust the brand. 

An excellent example of a great brand is Apple. When you hear the word Apple, you know what to expect. It is a premium product that delivers the highest quality and has the highest standard. The same is true for every brand that you have ever heard of.

The brand must always stay consistent. It means that the brand should never change its style or its image. You should brand the content because it is something the brand wants to deliver to its audience. A brand that always stays consistent will always have a loyal audience.

It is always recommended that the brand be the driving force of the content.

This is why they need to create the content and make sure that it is delivered in the right way. There are two ways in which a brand can provide the content; they can either be the content's primary subject or a secondary subject.

In the case of a secondary subject, the brand can still ensure that it is a part of the content, but it will not be the main focus. In the case of a primary subject, the brand needs to focus on delivering the content.

The Call to Action

The call to action is the final element of branded content.

The call to action should be clear and highly likely to be converted. It should be something that will get the viewer to take action.

The call to action needs to be a part of the content, but it should not be the primary purpose of the content.

The best example of this is an eCommerce website. The content might say, “Buy this product”, but the call to action should say, “Purchase now”.

The emotional appeal

Emotional appeal is the last element of branded content. The emotional appeal can be anything that will create an emotional response in the audience. It could be an image, video, song, or brand story. 

It's essential to make sure the emotional appeal is appropriate for the brand, and it is also important to complement the brand message.

When you are creating branded content, it is imperative to identify what the emotional appeal will be. This is one of the essential elements of branded content. 

In addition to the emotional appeal, other elements are necessary for branded content, such as the visual appeal, audio appeal, text appeal, timing and placement of the content and the story behind it.

Conclusion

The key to creating branded content is to think like a human being consuming your content instead of thinking like a marketer trying to promote your brand.

That's why brands like Apple, Google, and Amazon have developed such a strong identity and brand—because their marketing and advertising teams were able to connect with consumers on a personal level. 

That's how you create branded content—by taking a human approach to your audience and listening to what they say.

Use these ideas to build your content marketing strategy that resonates with your audience and leads to long-term engagement.