Consumers typically buy products because they solve problems or fulfill an internal need. Consider Apple loyalists – people buy the company’s products and they feel hip and cool, even months after their first purchases. So, how can brands much smaller than Apple achieve similar success? To build a loyal customer base, brands must create a long-lasting experience for their new and existing customers – one that extends beyond the transaction and evolves into a strong relationship. A new report shows 98 percent of studied business sites use online newsrooms to tell brand stories that engage and re-engage clients.
The emergence of branded newsrooms
Content creation has long been an integral practice performed by the world’s most influential brands. These companies know success doesn’t happen overnight. It takes long-term commitment to customer engagement and endless efforts to get in front of the right audiences. The premium placed on consistent presence in front of shoppers is apparent each time Google refreshes one of its many algorithms, and SEO experts tout the importance of fresh and frequent custom content. As a result, brands have established their own in-house newsrooms or outsourced news content marketing to third-party services. My Newsdesk’s “How the World’s Top 100 Brands Are Using Online Newsrooms to Tell Their Stories” reveals that these companies have two goals in mind: To become visible in SERPs while also building a devoted following.
My Newsdesk’s report also highlights a lot of inconsistencies across the board. For example, SEO content already helps increase brand visibility online and companies see returns on their investments, but many companies publish media without keeping SEO in mind.
Online newsroom trends
The report found that 98 percent of the world’s largest brands have their own online newsrooms. These departments, however, experience unique challenges. Thirty-five percent struggle to keep news up to date, and 51 percent fail to present quality images within articles. More, 38 percent of online newsrooms do not categorize, tag or optimize their news content. This leaves businesses missing major SEO benefits that exclusive news content can provide.
On the positive side, 29 percent use video in web content, highlighting the value of video marketing for brands telling their unique stories. Additionally, 65 percent link from their homepages directly to their newsrooms, which drives added traffic and assists in greater conversion rates.
As online newsrooms improve, it will become more competitive for brands to learn how to leverage this media for greater visibility. The maturation of the market will strengthen the power of content creation, and consumers will become more infatuated with their favorite brands online.
