The publication of sponsored articles is increasingly becoming an element of content strategy and distribution. A sponsored article is one of the types of advertising that is often used in social media, both as an element of complex marketing campaigns, a series of publications, and an independent message. Companies usually commission sponsored articles to promote a specific product or service. We can also find them on various websites and in the traditional press.
Sponsored articles can be entirely written and delivered for publication by the client and created from scratch by a copywriter or a contractor, e.g., bloggers or influencers who lend the company their platform. From this text, you will learn, among others, why publishing sponsored articles is a good idea and how you can get the most out of it for your brand.
Publication of sponsored articles – why is it important?
Building brand awareness
Publication of sponsored articles, if well planned, can positively affect the image of your brand and attract new customers to you who would not otherwise find out about your offer. Thanks to this, you will gain an invaluable opportunity to increase the recognition of your brand among consumers and, at the same time, build a positive image. Furthermore, developing brand awareness and greater recognition, even if they do not immediately translate into sales results, may make potential customers decide to use your offer in the future, thanks to the sponsored article you read earlier.
Trust in the brand
Another benefit that publishing sponsored articles can bring to your brand is trust. When the first meeting of potential customers with your offer takes place through a medium they frequently visit or, for example, their favorite influencer or influencer profile, there is a good chance that they will consider your brand trustworthy since a well-known portal or person recommends it. In addition, your company’s image will benefit from it because a positive association with a source of information may translate into a positive attitude towards the entire brand and, as a result, expand the group of regular customers.
A wide audience
The publication of sponsored articles also has great potential in reaching recipients who are reluctant to other forms of advertising but are active in social media and the blogosphere. In their case, “classic” advertising will not be effective as they will deliberately ignore it for various reasons. A sponsored article can help you overcome this barrier by resembling a regular, non-sponsored topic article and the already mentioned trust in your preferred portal.
What distinguishes an influential sponsored article?
Subtlety
A practical and good sponsored article must not be intrusive in its overtone. High call-to-action density, repeated repetition of the advantages of the advertised product or service, or even too frequent use of the brand name will be counterproductive, as they will cause irritation or discouragement in the recipients. An adverse reaction to a sponsored article may also affect the audience’s attitude to the medium in which it was published and even to the individual responsible for its publication.
Therefore, the key to success is finding a balance, the golden mean between subtlety and exaggeration. Arousing the curiosity and interest of potential customers will encourage them to search for more information about your brand independently. The lack of pressure to take action will help you build a positive relationship with them.
Linking
The search will be facilitated by placing links in the text pointing directly to your website or contact information, with a subtle incentive to interact. Links will increase traffic on your website and positively impact its positioning in search engines; therefore, they should be an obligatory element of the texts of sponsored articles.
Visual attractiveness
It is also good to make the text visually more attractive by highlighting or adding graphic elements. Highlighting vital parts of the text attracts recipients’ attention and makes them remember the information you have specified better. Remember, however, that too many highlights are unsightly and visually burden the text, so it is worth keeping them to a minimum.
An additional advantage will be the inclusion in the sponsored article of graphics or infographics, illustrating, for example, the proposed use of the advertised product or service or the benefits of its purchase. If skillfully selected and arranged, graphics or infographics significantly increase the attractiveness of the article in the eyes of the recipients and strengthen the message contained in it.
Step-by-step publication of sponsored articles
Research
Detailed research is the basis of an effective marketing campaign. Therefore, before you start creating sponsored articles, it is necessary to carefully identify your target group: its age, education, interests, and advancement of knowledge in the field covered by the advertisement, etc. Targeting a sponsored article to a specific group significantly increases the chances of a successful marketing campaign. Thanks to detailed research, you will be able to meet its needs and expectations.
In addition, it is much easier to gain the attention and interest of people whose interests coincide with the scope of your business than people who have nothing to do with your industry. Publishing sponsored articles without defining the audience are pointless because the message contained therein will not be adapted to specific recipients, so even the entire campaign may lose its effectiveness.
Preparation of the text
At this stage, it is worth taking care of an eye-catching title that arouses interest in the lead and planning the arrangement and length of individual parts of the text. A catchy title should not be too long because the audience’s attention will quickly be distracted. An exciting procedure, often used in traditional journalism, is formulating a question or problem to be solved in the title, which encourages people to look for an answer in the article. It is also vital that the title refers to the article’s content, so it is worth including the most important word or keywords.
The lead should be attractive and encouraging for further reading. It is good to include an announcement of the information in the different parts of the sponsored article, which will interest the audience and make them read the rest of the text. The statement may take the form of a mention, questions to which the answer is in the text or another – depending on the selected platform and preferences of the target group, you can allow yourself, for example, a jocular tone, a reference to a non-textual fact known to the sender and recipients or a linguistic stylization.
The following parts of the text, i.e., the expansion and the summary, are the place to put the correct information about your brand and links to your website. A good sponsored article is primarily characterized by high informativeness and substantive and linguistic correctness. The substantive correctness of a sponsored article is one of the pillars of an effective marketing campaign.
If you commission a sponsored article to copywriters, bloggers, or influencers lending you their platform, be sure to provide them with information materials about your brand and the products or services you offer, as this will significantly reduce the time needed for research and help build a good relationship with subcontractors.
The language in which the sponsored article is written should be adapted to the target group. You will approach young people who have not had contact with the product or service you offer so far differently than experienced specialists who are familiar with the industry. Therefore, adapting the language and style to the target group is extremely important. Thanks to this, the sponsored article will be understandable and legible for the recipients, and the information contained in it will be transparent.
It is also crucial that the text is free from stylistic, spelling and punctuation errors – it creates an unprofessional impression that may translate into a negative perception of the entire brand and discourage potential customers from using it. Therefore, before publication, it is worth checking several times whether the article is correct in terms of content and language.
Choosing the right place for publication
It is also imperative to choose a suitable medium. Even of the highest quality, the publication of sponsored articles will not be influential if they do not appear in the right place on the web or in the traditional press. The paper’s subject should correspond to the thematic profile of the selected medium so that the information contained in it reaches people who, due to their interests, will be more willing to pay attention to our offer. The group of recipients of a given medium should also, at least partially, coincide with the target group specified by us. This increases the chances of positive reception of the sponsored article and attracting potential customers.
Also, pay attention to how high the page you want to publish the sponsored article is in the search results. The higher the position, the greater the chance of reaching a large audience and increasing your brand recognition. Of course, publishing sponsored articles on popular websites may be associated with much higher costs than on websites with more modest reach.
Summary
Publishing sponsored articles can be a great tool in marketing communication, can increase brand recognition and awareness. However, they should be linguistically and factually correct, non-intrusive, and adapted to the target group. Do you need a sponsored article to attract new customers to your company? Check out our platform.
