Cognition #16: Content research vs. Brand research

Hi there!

Ah! Good to do this weekly again. Sending issues biweekly feels like a long-distance relationship. I feel closer to my readers when I publish frequently.

Good to be back. :)

Welcome to Cognition #16!

In today's issue, we'll be discussing:

1. Content research vs. Brand research

2. Non-technical aka fun segment

Get rolling, shall we?

After working with a few clients, I realized one should give a window period of 15-30 days for research before the actual work begins.

Most times, especially in the case of inbound leads, the prospects expect you to start working as soon as possible (which is fair from their end.)

But if you aim long term consistency + quality, you need to give 15-30 days to understand the brand—and this understanding comes with prime research.

But this is basic. Research is something we all do, right?

Wrong.

Content research vs. Brand research

Again, like all my issues, these aren't any jargons or globally defined terms.

I randomly name my learnings, experiences, and documentation in a way I understand them best. That's it.

So this is what they mean:

Content Research:

I see it as research where you scratch the surface.

You glace on the details, you understand *only what's needed* at that moment and create content accordingly.

It works brilliantly when you're just filling in for someone, and you need to create 5-7 content peices and then leave.

But if you're working on long-term projects (social media, blogs, etc.) or long-lasting projects (website, product scripts and descriptions, etc.), surface understanding of your client will not be enough.

You need Brand Research for it.

Brand Research:

I define brand research as a core understanding of the brand about what it wants to achieve with content and its relationship with its audience.

It is similar to understanding the company from First Principles—A mental model that allows you to understand things at an elemental level.

[I've been applying first principles in my work recently, and I love it. I wrote a thread on it too. You can read it here.]

Okay, back to brand research. Again, it is a deeper understanding of your client to a level where you are in a position to estimate what content drives which behaviour.

Note: Brand Research puts you in a position to estimate what's best for the audience. Your estimation only gains accuracy as you experiment and fail multiple times.

A little more context to explain content and brand research better:

Content research includes questions like:

1. Who is the target audience?

2. What products do you sell?

3. What is the brand voice + tone + style?

4. Any reference content that you'd want your brand to replicate?

Brand research includes questions like:

1. Do you have an audience? If yes, what is their perception of you? Is it good or bad for business? Can it be changed? If yes, how? If not, what should we do?

2. What are your most sold products, and why are they doing well? And vice versa.

3. What's the brand personality? What are its values? What does the brand stand for, and what does it not endorse?

4. Competitor + Industry research. How similar are we to the rest in the industry, and how do we create a unique/different recognition?

The content game is all about the audience, and one needs to be on top of their content + brand research to crack it.

Only then can they deliver the best content for the client's audience.

And this is something I realized late:

To provide what the audience need, you need to understand what the brand offers. Hence, do deeper research—even if it takes 15-30 days before you start content creation.

The technical segment ends here, and enters the fun part! 👇🏻

Non-Technical aka Fun Segment

Favourite quote from a book

Unposted letter is one of the most beautiful books I've read, and this quote about relationships will stay with me for a long time.

I got many things to say about the quote, but my thread on relationships sums it up nicely.

I feel it's one of the smoothest reads I've written so far. Read it here.

Movies/Shows I loved recently

I rewatched Shutter Island this week. I just go wow every time I see this film.

I assume you might have already watched it. Not a bad movie to rewatch on your weekend, and if you have not watched it yet, drop everything and watch Shutter Island.

Made in English. Available on Amazon Prime and Netflix.

Here's the trailer for you:

Tweets I loved

[tweet https://twitter.com/philosophytweet/status/1570928259097034752]

Youtube videos I loved

I'm binge-watching Raunaq's Relationsh*t Advice.

A group of comedians answer anonymous relationship queries and turn the show into a stand-up. It's super fun and relaxing.

Song I’m listening to on a loop

Randomly stumbled upon Kabhi Kabhi Aditi and I'm listening to it on a loop now. Love the energy of this song.

So that's Cognition #16!

I'll see you again next week.

Remember I told you we're doing three short editions and one long edition every month? It will be a long and insightful edition next week.

See ya!

Take care, stay safe, and do Brand Research when needed!

Love,

Vikra Vardhan.

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