Whether you work as an independent blogger or as a marketing professional in a large international company, introducing your brand to the world at large can be a challenge.
In recent years, social media platforms have spiked in popularity due to the sheer level of access available through smartphones and affordable personal computers. In 2018, the number of monthly active Facebook users worldwide exceeded 2.32 billion.
So if you want to reach a wide audience, it will be a wise decision to focus your marketing efforts on Facebook and particularly on branded content creation. Here you can find a step-by-step guide, which will help you to design highly-effective branded posts to benefit your business.
What is Facebook branded content and what it looks like
Facebook defines branded content as any post made by celebrities, influencers, or media companies that features a third party product,
First of all, let’s find out how branded posts differ from ordinary and sponsored posts. Facebook defines branded content as “a creator or publisher’s content that features or is influenced by a business partner for an exchange of value.”
Branded posts differ from ordinary and sponsored posts due to the following distinctive features:
- “With” + “name of the business partner’s page” label placed next to the publisher’s name
- “Paid Partnership” label placed next to the timestamp (displayed in grey)
- “About the partnership” button
An example of branded content – Screenshot source
If Facebook users click on the “About this partnership” icon, they will see additional information regarding the content creator and the company, which paid for its product promotion.
About this partnership panel information – Screenshot source
How to create Branded Facebook Content
Before you are able to create your very first Facebook Branded Content, you need to request access to the Branded Content Tool.
Select the Facebook Page you’re requesting access for and click “Send”. Next, you’ll get the following pop-up.
Once your request is approved you will be able to publish a branded content post. To do so, head over to your Facebook Page and in the post composer, choose the “Tag Sponsor” option.
Next, fill in your business partner for this post
Marketers that want to amplify their branded content can now promote it. Ensure that the “Allow business partner to boost this post” option is checked in order to give permission to the marketer to boost the post. The marketer, from their side, can utilise Facebook’s targeting and custom audiences to reach the right people. The target audience will see that the post originated from the creator, even though the marketer boosted it.
Facebook Branded Content Insights
In order to access insight on the performance of your branded content, you need to visit the “Insights” tab on your Facebook Page and then choose the “Branded Content” tab from the left-hand menu.
Benefits of Branded Facebook Content
Do you wonder why it’s so important to create branded posts? You will get a comprehensive answer if you look through the list of benefits, which branded content has:
- It’s not invasive. The properly-designed branded posts don’t irritate users as ordinary ads do.
- It helps to improve brand loyalty. People genuinely appreciate honest advertising. And they tend to trust brands, which disclose the information regarding their partnership with influencers (content publishers).
- It brings better results in the long-run, while Facebook ads help to achieve only short-term goals.
- It increases reach and engagement. Content published by influencers gets in a few times more likes, shares, and comments than the same content posted on the company’s corporate profile.
- It humanizes a brand. Followers start associating their favourite influencers with a brand.
Types of Branded Content
Depending on the preferences of your target audience, you can create the following types of Facebook branded content:
- Photos
- Vector images
- Music videos
- Short films
- Infographics
- GIF Animations
- Memes
Today, photos and videos are the most universal and popular types of branded content. However, if you target Millennials and Generation Z, don’t be afraid to diversify your content strategy. Funny memes and hilarious animations may help you to draw the audience’s attention to your brand.
Set Content Standards
The high quality of branded content is a must because it represents the quality of the products and services you sell. You should set high standards of content production and comply with them under any circumstances.
For instance, when you write a caption, you should control its quality in terms of grammar and syntax. You can set a rule to check every text for mistakes using proofreading and editing services like Grammarly.
When it comes to visual content, you can set a rule to never use low-resolution photos or free, not unique images from the net. Make a promise to utilise only high-quality photos from photo stocks like
Introduce a Content Calendar
When it comes to branded content, it’s important to craft a strategic plan and design a content calendar. It’s necessary to decide in advance how many posts you need to create a week and a month.
If you publish branded posts too often, your target audience will perceive your content as a spammy. As a result, brand loyalty will decline.
On the other hand, if you publish new posts too seldom, you will not be able to achieve high results. So, it’s crucial to find a golden mean and publish content as often as your followers can consume it.
Use of Content Creation Tools
If you don’t know how to facilitate content creation process, check the following tools. They will definitely help you to cope with challenging tasks.
- Biteable. This is a user-friendly video editing tool. Biteable offers a great variety of easy drag and drop templates, which you can use for free.
- iMeme. You can utilize this software to create funny memes, which will allow you to grab the audience attention immediately.
- GIFMaker. Using this tool, you can convert multiple images into GIF animation or video animation just in a few clicks.
Engage with your Audience
The major purpose of branded content is to engage the target audience and to drive curiosity around the product. For this reason, every post should contain an easy-to-answer question and/or powerful call to action. It helps to start a conversation with the followers and, as a consequence, to increase the number of comments, likes, and shares.
“Don’t make your branded post look like a standard ad. Add a personal touch to every post and try to humanise your brand message,” says Ethan
Add a personal touch to your Branded Post – Screenshot source
In Summary
As you can see, you don’t need to be a marketing guru to create high-quality branded content. You simply need to follow this guide step by step.
If you want to promote your brand on Facebook, just do it! Today is the right time to take the first step!
