Publishing branded content during a pandemic can be challenging – it is something that has never been done before. Are people ready to hear branded content messages again? Are they ready for life to go back to normal? What is the best lane to be in, should you be in more than one or are you doing the Jersey slide* and in every lane at the same time?
Shareablee took a look at the best performing branded content to see what is working during the pandemic – and the good news is branded content IS PERFORMING WELL! Actions per Post on branded Facebook posts are up 124% from January 1 – May 15, 2020 compared to last year.
When looking at content that performed well we took deep dives into Sports & Recreation as well as Media & Entertainment – two traditionally high performing categories, and both heavily impacted by COVID-19 changes. We saw that both verticals have pivoted their branded strategy to the new normal we are currently living in.
“On this Day” (OTD) posts dominated top performing content from Sports & Rec pages. 3% of the top 500 branded content posts from March 1 to May 15th were “OTD” posts – they garnered 9% of total engagements – outperforming other content themes. LA Galaxy had the top branded post on Facebook from Sports pages and it was about David Beckham scoring his first goal with the team from 12 years earlier. The LA Galaxy aren’t the only sports team to use this strategy – the San Antonio Spurs, Detroit Red Wings, Cincinnati Reds all used this strategy to capture engagement. People are desperate for their sports content, it is a big part of a lot of people’s lives that ended suddenly due to COVID-19.
Top Sports & Recreation Branded Content Posts:
Top Sports & Recreation Branded Content OTD Posts
Media & Entertainment took a different strategy when posting branded content. Humor captured a lot of engagement, Rick and Morty had two comical cartoon posts with Wendy’s chicken sandwich integrated into the videos. Kristen Bell filmed an episode – sponsored by Hyundai – at home of her show and spoke to new mom Ashley Graham. Kristen Bell’s video represented the world we are living in now – we are all stuck at home (soon to be released into the wild). She added in humor by using underwear as a mask making her viewers laugh in the process. Outside of humor, lighthearted content worked – asking people to take a breather and to watch puppies was one example of a piece of branded content that captured engagement. Overall, videos were posted the most from Media & Entertainment brands and they captured the most amount of engagement (74% and 84% respectively).
Top Media & Entertainment Branded Content Posts:
What does all of this mean? Great question! If you’re looking for ideas on what branded content you as a publisher should publish overall, I recommend considering the below points:
Can you do an OTD post? What happened a couple of years – even a decade ago and how can you create new content with it?
Do you have any content you can recycle? Is it when a puppy came to your offices and allowed colleagues and guests to pet it?
Is your content acknowledging that there is a new normal – despite more businesses opening it is not the same as it was – if your content isn’t reflecting that will you pivot? (PIVOT! PIVOT!**)
*the Jersey slide is when you are entering a highway (preferably the parkway headed south to exit 98) and go all the way to the left most lane, if you have any questions about New Jersey please contact us ** please watch Friends season 5 episode 16 for the reference (it is now available via HBO Max)