Creative content marketers cringe when they hear the words “You have to run everything by the legal team.” Why? Because a legal review often results in changes that compromise their vision of a unique brand identity.
The internet opened up a new world of regulations put in place to protect consumers from misleading advertising and keep their data safe. Businesses must remain compliant or they risk legal action, fines, and damage to their reputation.
In compliance-heavy industries like healthcare, finance, and law, the rules are tighter and penalties heavier. These sectors present unique challenges to content marketing professionals hungry to implement strategies they know will make their company stand out.
However, marketing can still be forward-thinking and expressive while adhering to industry regulations. It requires a different approach, but if well executed, branding and content marketing not only complies, it thrives.
Get Familiar With the Rules and Find Your Wiggle Room
A solid understanding of industry regulations is your first step toward effective marketing in your industry. Compliance is crucial, and you must have a good grasp of what you can and can’t say before developing content strategies and building your brand.
The Federal Trade Commission protects consumers from deceptive practices, including misleading advertising. Other agencies govern specific industries, like the Food and Drug Administration (healthcare) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (the financial sector). These are good places to start when researching industry compliance.
A deep dive into the laws isn’t necessary–you’re a marketer, not an attorney. But some basic knowledge familiarizes you with industry boundaries.
Next, do some market research and get familiar with your target audience. Knowing who you’re marketing to, their needs, and where to reach them allows you to build compliant content strategies.
Performing a competitor analysis during your market research is a great way to fine-tune your compliance knowledge. Analyze how the market leaders handle compliance issues for ideas on reaching your audience in a highly regulated industry. During this research, look for opportunities to differentiate your brand identity from the competition.
Lead With Self-Defense
Once you get familiar with the compliance hurdles in your industry, it’s time to put measures in place to protect the business. Establishing a healthy relationship with legal and compliance teams is a good place to start.
Internal compliance protocols vary based on the industry. For example, forward-thinking Healthcare Content Marketing educates the public while boosting brand identity and recognition. However, content marketers need to go through a compliance process with an internal medical team so they know they’re not misleading the public.
Regardless of the industry you’re in, it’s important to implement a reliable review process. This could be a monthly meeting where your team presents content to the compliance experts or an automated approach where you submit content and receive feedback.
Once you establish a reliable system and effective workflow, your review process will likely get easier and faster. You’ll learn what messaging gets flagged by compliance and start shifting your approach to meet their standards.
Creating and maintaining compliance guidelines also helps you streamline the content creation and review process.
There are plenty of things your legal or compliance teams can create for you.
- Disclaimers
- A glossary of compliant product descriptions
- Image guidelines
- Customer consent protocols for things like email opt-ins and unsubscribes
- Legal guidelines for conducting influencer marketing
If you operate in a complex industry like finance or pharmaceuticals, compliance training offers the insight you need to market effectively. Consider asking the compliance team for assistance.
Make Thought Leadership Part of Your Brand Identity
Building trust is imperative in compliance-heavy industries. Businesses in these sectors offer products that are either complicated, costly, or emotionally charged for consumers.
As a content marketer, it’s your job to ensure clients are in good hands when they work with you. The last thing you want is for consumers to question your intentions. For example, Cybersecurity Content Marketing often uses fear-based tactics to create a sense of urgency. This backfires when consumers feel manipulated after they learn the fear isn't real.
Honest, high-quality content is the way to go, and a strategy with thought leadership at its core does amazing things for your brand identity.
Thought leadership establishes you as a trusted expert in the industry. Educating, reporting on trends, sharing client stories, and providing unique insights improves your credibility and strengthens engagement with your target audience.
You have plenty of content avenues to explore when building a strategy focused on thought leadership.
- White papers
- Industry reports
- Ebooks
- Case studies
- Videos
- Blog articles
- Podcasts
Once you start creating content, forming relationships with other industry experts helps you reach a wider (and interested) audience. Publishing articles on reputable websites, collaborating on a podcast, or partnering with a popular influencer are effective ways to boost your brand’s reputation as a trusted name in the industry.
Throughout this content creation and distribution process, communicate with your compliance teams. Your work needs to meet regulatory standards and publishing agreements must be free of risk.
Lean Into Your Content Calendar
Planning ahead is key to any effective content strategy. In regulated industries, it's a mandatory part of establishing a seamless process and avoiding compliance issues. Think of it as risk management.
An exhaustive content calendar adds an extra layer of protection against regulatory missteps. Creating content ahead of time gives compliance teams the breathing room they need to review your work and provide feedback. If they spot issues, implementing changes isn’t a rush job for the marketing team.
Working months in advance also helps you plan for foreseeable industry changes. For example, a new law that takes effect months down the road may change your compliance requirements or offer new opportunities to create topical content.
Finally, a well-managed content calendar doubles as a tracking tool. It gives marketers and compliance teams a record of the content you’ve created and where it lives. This makes it easy to spot outdated compliance verbiage and update or remove it when necessary.
Keep Your Finger on the Pulse of the Industry
Marketing in highly regulated industries requires constant attention to changing laws. This seems like a heavy lift, but there are easy ways to stay in the know.
Here are some tips:
- Hold regular meetings with compliance teams to go over the latest legal updates.
- Attend conferences that expose you to industry experts.
- Get updates from regulatory agencies via content like newsletters, magazines, and industry reports.
- Monitor industry news by setting up Google alerts.
Implement the processes that best suit you and your team and avoid getting caught off guard by a change that affects your content. Staying informed also helps you put measures in place so you can quickly adjust to changing laws. Things like templated disclaimers, content management systems, and automated compliance tech help you make smart changes without rethinking your entire strategy.
This level of awareness protects your brand and establishes you as a market leader who understands the ebbs and flows of the industry.
Embrace the Challenge
Building a successful brand identity in what feels like a rule-based industry isn’t as hard as it seems. It’s all about collaboration and striking the right balance between compliance teams and your vision for high-quality content.
Once you find your rhythm, you’ll discover that working in a heavily regulated industry isn’t a burden. It’s a chance to create high-end content that educates, entertains, and makes a real impact on the lives of your audience.
