The Power of Sponsored Content For Vape Shops

Sponsored content or branded content seems to be the next natural step in the evolution of advertising. But what exactly is sponsored content, and how can you put it to use for your ecommerce vape shop? Read on to find out more.

Table of Contents

1. What is Sponsored Content?
2. Reasons Your Vape Shop Needs Sponsored Content
3. How To Create Sponsored Content
4. Federal Trade Commission Guidelines
5. Conclusion

What is sponsored content?

According to Hubspot, sponsored content is a type of promotional media that's paid for by an advertiser but created and shared by another brand, influencer, or publisher.

In essence, any blog post, video, social media post, editorial, or article created by an influencer, or publisher, or brand that benefits or calls out the company's services or products paying for the content, or in our case, an e-commerce vape shop.

Usually, sponsored content is best when the medium that will publish the content aligns with the brand's services paying for the content offers.

For example, sponsored content for vape shops would be paying a vape publication for a sponsored article that highlights your products. Trying to get an anti-vaping publication to publish a pro vaping sponsored content piece would not be an excellent example of sponsored content.

The key is to align your products or services with a brand, influencer, or publication that shares similar services and is in the same industry.

Reasons Your Vape Shop Needs Sponsored Content

There are many reasons why your vape shop should consider using sponsored content. Here are three of the most important ones:

• Sponsored content receive more engagement
• Consumers trust sponsored content more than traditional content
• It creates leads

Sponsored Content Receives More Engagement

In a Reuters survey, 75% of consumers said that if a piece of content piques their interest, they would engage with it no matter if it is sponsored content or not. In a different survey by Business Insider, it was found that only 9% of consumers would immediately avoid a piece of content if they found out it was sponsored. Both of these metrics tell us that sponsored content can connect with an audience better than any advertisement can. Consumers are more receptive to sponsored content than regular content created by your vape shop.

Consumers trust sponsored content more than traditional content

In a study by Time Inc that 2 out of 3 Gen Z, Millennials, and Gen X consumers believed that sponsored content was more sincere than traditional advertising. Furthermore, the research states that 56% of customers want brands to share something “cool” or teach them instead of solely selling them. 

It Creates Leads

It might seem surprising, but sponsored content drives ⅓ of millennials to purchase, according to Business Insider. This is probably because sponsored content aims to entertain and educate rather than to sell. If the brand can be successfully integrated into a social media post, video, or article, it is more likely to convert. 

How to Create Sponsored Content

Now that you know the benefits of creating sponsored content, how do you create sponsored content?

First, you need to decide on the type of content you will utilize. Whether it be a video, a social media post, or an article, this is the first step in creating sponsored content. Because sponsored content aims to entertain and educate, you need to find the perfect format to reach your audience in the most effective way possible.

Second, you need to find the right partner, publisher, influencer, or brand to work with. Usually, these can be publications, brands, or influencers that will already be in your industry in one way or another. For example, for vaping, reaching out to cloud chasers to make a sponsored video on youtube using your products will be a great way to create sponsored content.

Here are some other tips for creating sponsored content that works:

• Create a story. Make it informative, educational, and just overall entertaining, especially if you’re creating written content. You want to connect with your audience’s interests, not sell to them.
• Partner up with a brand, publisher, or influencer that has some authority in your industry. For example, reaching out to a pro-vaping doctor to write a piece on why vaping is less harmful than smoking for a medical website will give the article authority, which will help with SEO.
• Remember to set goals for what you want the sponsored content to achieve with the brand, publisher, or influencer you’ll be working with. Whether it be increased traffic to your website or conversions, clear goals will let you know if the content is effective or not.

Federal Trade Commission Guidelines

Although sponsored content might be more effective than traditional ads, it still has to answer the Federal Trade Commission Guidelines since it is still considered advertising.

In essence, the Federal Trade Commission wants to make sure that when creating sponsored content, the influencer, brand, or publishers make it clear there is a "material connection" to the brand or company paying them for the content.

This means that the influencer must make it clear that he/she is being paid for the content. To do this, brands, influencers, and publishers create hashtags like #sponsored or #ad when they post the sponsored content on their channels. This helps differentiate regular posts they make from the sponsored content and keeps them from getting fined by the Federal Trade Commission.

Here is where you can find the Federal Trade Commission's official guidelines for sponsored or branded content.

Conclusion

With the right publication, brand, or influencer, your vape shop could benefit from sponsored content. Just remember to align with a brand that shares your values, is related to vaping somehow, and that the content created sells and informs, delights, and educates. This way, you’ll create sponsored content for vape shops that work.