The best branded content starts with being helpful

David Arkin, founder of David Arkin Consulting, shares advice on building successful client campaigns.

For media companies looking to grow branded content, focusing on useful information that’s solving problems for readers (and potential customers) continues to be a successful path forward.

That was a central theme of a recent Cash Camp session led by David Arkin, founder of David Arkin Consulting. Cash Camp, part of the Branded Content Project, is a 12-week, hands-on program designed to help media sales teams master pricing, pitching and closing branded content deals.

Arkin, who serves as a coach in the national program and works closely with media organizations on branded content strategy, focused his session on how helpful content drives great performance for branded content.

“The best branded content starts with the audience,” Arkin said. “If you’re creating something people genuinely want to read and need in their life, you’re already in a much better place.”

That approach, he explained, aligns directly with how Google evaluates content through its E-E-A-T framework, which emphasizes experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness.

“If the story reflects real expertise, real experience and builds trust with the reader, you are already hitting what Google is looking for,” Arkin said.

That becomes even more important as content is surfaced through AI-driven results.

“AI is answering audience questions,” Arkin said. “If your content is built around those questions, it has a much better chance of showing up.”

Start with the audience, not the advertiser

One of the biggest challenges in branded content is where the story begins and guiding the advertiser through what’s best for the customer.

Too often, it starts with what the advertiser wants to say, which leads to content that feels promotional and doesn’t connect with readers.

“The starting point should always be what the audience wants to know,” Arkin said.

“What are they searching for, what are they trying to figure out, what problems are they dealing with?”

He pointed to several areas that consistently perform because they align with search intent, including cost, problems, comparisons, best options and reviews.

“It really comes down to ‘they ask, you answer,’” Arkin said. “If you can build content around those questions, you’re creating something that has real value.”

That approach also changes how the advertiser fits into the story, he said.

“The brand becomes part of the answer,” he said. “It doesn’t feel forced because it’s actually helping explain something.”

Follow the standards of journalism

When branded content is working, it looks and feels like strong local reporting.

“It should be local, specific and focused on real people and real experiences,” Arkin said. “That’s what readers respond to.”

Instead of broad topics, the focus should be on what is happening in a specific market aligned with local data and examples, when possible.

In home services, that could mean focusing on what materials hold up best in a local climate or telling the story of a homeowner and what they learned during a project.

In financial services, it might involve breaking down what families need to know about saving or showing how a local family approached a major life decision, like picking a 529 program for their child.

“These are the kinds of stories people actually click on,” Arkin said. “They’re useful, they’re relatable and they build credibility.”

Structure the story for how people read

Topic matters, but structure matters just as much, which means you have to lay your story out in a way that holds attention.

“Think about why someone clicked on the story in the first place,” Arkin said. “Your job is to get them the information they’re looking for in the most effective way possible.”

That means clear, question-driven headlines, strong subheads and formats that make content easy to navigate.

Q&As, lists and step-by-step formats can all increase engagement and time on page.

It also means being intentional about SEO, with keywords integrated naturally across headlines, metadata and the body of the story.

“This isn’t about over-optimizing,” Arkin said. “It’s about making sure the content is clear, relevant and easy to understand.”

Where this drives real results

When branded content is built around what the audience actually wants it drives search traffic, increases engagement and continues to show up over time.

“When you create something that genuinely helps the reader, it keeps working,” Arkin said. “It shows up in search, it reaches new audiences and it gives advertisers something that has lasting value.”

At a time when both search and AI are prioritizing useful, trustworthy content, that approach is necessary.

“The goal is not to make something that feels like an ad,” Arkin said. “The goal is to create something people actually want to spend time with. If you do that, everything else starts to come together.”

Connect with Arkin at david@davidarkinconsulting.com to learn more about his branded content services and get more information about the Branded Content Project here.

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The Branded Content Project is designed through a strategic partnership between the Local Media Association and the Local Media Consortium, with funding from the Knight Foundation, to help facilitate additional growth, engagement, and revenue success for more publishers of all shapes and sizes.