You’ve completed your branding journey… or so you think.
Branding doesn’t end after coming up with a brand strategy and signing off on the approved assets. It lasts as long as the brand itself. It is how you sustain your brand, after all.
Because after the brand strategy comes the hardest part – execution.
Can you keep up with the guidelines set for you?
What happens after a rebranding exercise?
One of the most common problems clients struggle with in the application stage is creating content, whether it is for ads, campaigns or social media posts.
Your content strategy comes from your brand pillars and your brand system is what upholds everything that makes up your brand, so it stands to reason that your content should continuously support (and in turn be supported by) this. From the subject matter and language to the imagery and tone of voice, your content should reflect your brand consistently and accurately.
For example, fashion brand Diesel is known to be rebellious, edgy and provocative. In their latest campaign, Diesel Spring Summer 2024, they sponsored real Guinness World Record title holders, unconventional characters that embody their “anti-conformist, free-thinking, radically inclusive values”.
Stay focused, relevant yet interesting with the guidance of brand pillars and content pillars.
What are brand pillars?
Your brand pillars are the foundational elements that define your brand identity. They encompass your Brand Purpose, Brand Personality, Unique Selling Point, Target Audience, Brand Story and Brand Language (or Tone of Voice).
Most of these elements should be covered in a previous blog entry on developing a purpose-driven brand system, which you can access here.
At the end of this exercise, you should have a good understanding of the meaning of your brand. This is your story.
Now let’s move on to how we share this story with your audience.
What are content pillars?
Simply put, content pillars are a series of topics to share and discuss with your audience that is relevant to the overall message of your brand. Without them, your content will be messy, confusing and random.
The content pillars of a clothing brand, for example, might include reports on fashion trends, outfit suggestions and personal style tips. A restaurant would share recipes, kitchen hacks and nutritional guides, and a travel agency the best places for a vacation and the history or cultural norms of the location.
Note that these topics are not solely concerned with promoting the brand’s products and services. Your content pillars help you stay focused but also allow enough variety to expand people’s knowledge and keep things from getting stale.
The Golden Circle
By breaking down the WHAT, HOW and WHY of your brand with the Golden Circle model, you establish a pattern that will carry your content through.
Most businesses make the mistake of focusing on WHAT, endlessly selling their products and services, when they should spend most of the time on WHY.
Let’s use the example of a clothing brand again. Everyone knows you sell clothes, but why? What makes your clothes so special? Why should people buy them over clothes from other brands?
Your answer to that is the purpose of your brand and the values you will share with your audience.
Next is what makes you stand out from the rest or what you believe is your greatest strength. Chances are, you are already known for this.
Once you get the WHY and HOW sorted out, you can talk about all your stuff!
Ready to create your content? Or do you still have questions?
Since 2012, we’ve been helping brands tell stories and communicate effectively with their audiences. We would be happy to help you, too.
Contact us today to get started!
