In the modern day, where advertisers and marketers alike are vying for digital consumers' attention, sponsored content has been an increasingly popular way for brands to get in front of a wider audience. For marketing teams that feel like their digital footprint is struggling, sponsored content can be a fresh way to connect with or grow your audience, since it’s intended to flow with the content already being consumed.
Sponsored content is exactly what it sounds like, promotional content that is sponsored by an advertiser to highlight a particular subject or product. The type of content can vary, from sponsored articles to influencer partnerships, and all of them can be beneficial as an additional tool. The most obvious reason to add sponsored content to your arsenal, is that it can allow a business to reach a much wider audience than they might be able to through traditional advertising. Most marketing these days is aimed towards identifying your audience and funneling through to them, but adding this into the mix allows you to reach parts of an audience you may not have previously considered valuable. By partnering with brands or sites, you’re able to take advantage of an established audience, leverage those additional views into direct sales or broader brand awareness.
Sponsored content, especially sponsored articles, are also great for personalizing your message, and allowing you to connect with the audience in a more direct way. By sponsoring or promoting content that highlights a particular product or service with context or in a relevant setting, you’re able to build trust between the audience and your product/service. This fosters a positive experience, and therefore a positive relationship with the audience, which can lead to higher engagement and interactions especially when the content is available for comment or review from the general public.
Something to be aware of when inquiring about sponsored content, is that while sponsored content can foster trust, mislabeled content can also foster mistrust. Since this kind of marketing is designed to fit in seamlessly, advertisers need to take care and make sure anything they’re sponsoring is clearly marked as such. By making it clear that a particular message is sponsored by your company, you’re creating an open line of honesty with your audience, instead of trying to ‘dupe’ them.
If you’re looking for a way to incorporate a more creative marketing campaign, or even identify a larger audience, sponsored content can be a great outlet to bring a different view to the forefront. Your options are pretty limitless here, as long as you have a message to share you’re already on your way to running a successful sponsored content campaign.