I couldn't speak to branded content. Perhaps, in some way, each account is its own brand. After all, regular readers will need to recognize the writer to help in selecting what to read.

I am finding that posting to the blog doesn't do as well as posting within communities. This has drawbacks in that you don't reach the entire Hive audience. However, it has the advantage that you will find more supportive Hivers. Although, some communities don't have much activity. So, you'd have to choose popular communities.

For example, there are people whom I follow because of their consistent quality over at LeoFinance. If I tried to read them in the general stream, I would not see half their posts, or more. So, there is some advantage to being part of communities in that it narrows down your audience to others who have similar tastes and interests. I think that's the basis of finding your regular and engaged readers.