How Educational Content Builds Brand Authority

Brand authority—an indicator of how reliable a brand is in the audience’s eyes—is hinged on trust. One tried and true way to grow trust is with the help of educational content. Financial institutions demystify complex investment options, insurance companies explain intricate policies, SaaS (Software as a Service) companies provide in-depth tutorials, and consultants share strategic frameworks. Whatever industry you’re in, you can create trust by creating educational content.

Why Educational Content Works for Brand Authority

Educational content is any material that teaches something new to the audience. It informs and empowers the viewer, reader, or listener.

How educational content ties back to building brand authority is multifold:

Demonstrates Expertise

One of the first things your brand should prove is its understanding of the customer’s needs. Releasing educational content can help with this. It not only showcases your brand’s ability to identify a problem but how your product or service can make the consumer’s life easier.

Builds Trust and Credibility

Releasing educational content can show that you’re an expert in your field, but it goes much further than that. By demonstrating your technical knowledge, you’re letting the audience know that you’re somebody they can trust. The more insight you offer, the more credible your brand becomes.

Positions Your Brand as a Thought Leader

A thought leader is the go-to person for a specific field. This is the ultimate goal for any company that offers educational content to its audience. You’ve demonstrated your deep knowledge in your industry, which gives you influence in shaping others’ opinions on the matter.

Supports Long-Term Development

As an “influencer” in your field, you’re in a unique position to build your brand through engagement with your audience. This invites engagement, unlike traditional ad campaigns that often focus solely on promotion. Instead, the relationship goes far beyond transactional in that constant interaction can boost brand loyalty. Remember: brand loyalty is the first step to brand advocacy!

Industries Where Educational Content Thrives

As great as educational content sounds, it’s not a blanket strategy for all industries. It’s particularly useful in industries where knowledge is power. Take the following as examples of this:

Finance & Insurance

Navigating the complex landscapes of finance and insurance can often leave people with more questions than answers. Some of the more popular educational materials in these sectors include:

• Explainers on investment strategies: You can come up with videos or blog posts to detail different financial options. Depending on your niche, you may want to delve into various topics and subtopics like asset allocation, risk management, and diversification.
• Guides to different insurance policies: The average person doesn’t have the time to read the fine print of every policy, which is where you take the reins. Talk about different types of insurance (health, life, car, etc.), important terminology (coverage options, deductibles), and share your expertise via e-books or infographics.
• Calculators: At the end of the day, the numbers tell the complete story. Instead of explaining complex mathematical formulas, an online calculator shows how the audience’s financial decision today will make in the future. Calculators for saving, retirement, and buying a home are all popular.

SaaS & Tech

SaaS and tech companies are known for constant innovation. As such, the products and services offered are ever-changing, which creates a learning curve many people may not consider worth their time. With educational content, SaaS and tech companies can bridge the gap and make technology much more accessible.

SaaS and tech companies can make technology more accessible by offering the following:

• Tutorials: Even basic procedures like setting up an account can be a head-scratcher for those from a pre-digital era. Step-by-step guides, from basic to advanced features, can help your audience understand everything your product or service has to offer.
• Knowledge hub: Even with tutorials in place, users may not know how to sidestep certain obstacles until they encounter them. Be pre-emptive and create knowledge hubs that compile all issues—common and otherwise—so users can self-serve solutions. These include searchable repositories of blog posts, FAQs, and troubleshooting articles.
• Interactive walkthroughs: Do you remember how Chandler and Rachel from Friends taught users how to use Windows 95? You can do this, too, but feel free to give your interactive walkthrough your own unique twist. Take the time to highlight key features and functionalities that make your software or tech stand out.

Consulting & B2B Services

Consultants and B2B services are unique in that their expertise is the product. Clients invest resources in the experience of those who know what they’re doing and can teach others how to benefit in a specific context. Here, educational content demonstrates the brand’s expertise with the hopes of building credibility.

Examples of educational content for consulting and B2B services include:

• White papers: Simply put, a white paper is an in-depth guide that details a specific topic. For consulting and B2B services, white papers can describe best IT security practices, maximizing lead generation through content marketing, and so on.
• Data visualizations: These visually represent data in an easily digestible format. Of course, not everything can be broken down into tables or charts, so choose your data wisely and adhere to best SEO practices!
• Podcasts: This is the latest and greatest way of speaking to a wide audience about any topic in mind. Plus, more and more people from younger age groups are tuning in! If you have something interesting you want to say about your field of expertise, there’s likely an audience awaiting your podcast!

Case Study: How TAL Uses Education to Strengthen Its Brand

As we’ve established, brand authority is hinged on trust and becoming a voice people want to hear. TAL Life Insurance, based in Australia, has managed to take advantage of educational content to establish brand authority through TAL Risk Academy.

TAL Risk Academy is a comprehensive learning platform that equips financial advisors with relevant knowledge and skills to navigate the difficulties of risk management and life insurance. TAL has invested in generating valuable free and paid educational resources that help advisors align consumer needs with product offerings.

Here are a few ways TAL’s educational content benefits the company:

Positions Them as a Trusted Authority in Life Insurance

Some insurance companies will drown their policyholders in technical jargon, but TAL takes a different approach. Through the Risk Academy, TAL has a specific focus on sharing knowledge rather than direct product promotion. This, in turn, builds trust with financial advisors, as well as positions the brand as the go-to source of understanding complex risk management principles.

Builds Long-Term Relationships With Financial Professionals

As a free or paying student of TAL Risk Academy, the financial advisor’s success is TAL’s success. They want their clients to engage by simplifying communication, which builds long-term trust between all parties involved. Advisors who benefit from the academy’s resources can develop a positive association with the TAL brand.

Reinforces Brand Credibility Through Community Support

TAL donates to the ACBN, a charitable organization that helps low socio-economic status schools. This philanthropic initiative demonstrates the company’s values beyond the bottom line. This reinforces the idea that TAL has a commitment as being an ethical and caring organization—something many people may consider a green flag in an insurance company.

How Businesses Can Leverage Educational Content

We’ve learned what educational content is, and we’ve seen how an insurance company uses it to its benefit. But how can you leverage educational content?

Start a Knowledge Hub

The first step to becoming a thought leader may be to create a centralized repository of educational resources. This, known as a knowledge hub, takes many forms, such as blogs, video tutorials, or regularly scheduled webinars. The key here is consistency. Keep your repository fresh with up-to-date materials that address your audience’s current needs.

Offer Industry-Specific Training

Take a leaf out of TAL’s book and offer industry-specific educational programs. Holding short workshops or in-depth certification programs (paid or otherwise) can show your audience you mean business, especially if you’re in a field that’s difficult to understand by the average person. An added bonus of offering training programs is that they become a valuable source of feedback—e.g., what you can improve, what benefitted your customers the most, etc.

Use Education as a Lead Magnet

Take advantage of educational content and use it for lead generation. Offer free training programs, e-books, or white papers in exchange for their contact information. While email marketing can be effective, you can be confident that those who signed up for your resources may be interested in further interaction.

Integrate Education Into Customer Experience

Educational content should be an integral part of the overall customer experience rather than a separate initiative. The content you release, from articles to webinars, should provide concise information that your audience finds meaningful. When you equip your customers with knowledge, they’re more likely to have a positive reaction to your brand.

To Wrap This Up

Creating educational content can be an effective way to boost your brand authority. Shift the focus from short-term, money-oriented goals to building long-lasting relationships based on respect and knowledge sharing. Every industry is bursting with knowledge waiting to be shared, so don’t be afraid to spill the beans!  What knowledge can your brand impart to create more meaningful engagement?