There is no doubt that content is king. Content is a great way to engage customers, keep them on your web site, build trust and boost sales.
When it comes to content, there is endless amount of information that can be offered and it can be delivered in various formats ranging from blogs to video and more.
This article will cover the many types of content marketing entrepreneurs should consider when trying to boost their business.
Blogs
Blogs are articles that are written to keep consumers engaged. They can directly promote products, but they are often informational pieces that are relevant to your industry. Creating blogs that add value and are not overly salesy promote trust and can make you a thought leader in your field.
Blogs are also great for marketing because you can use elements like backlinks, captioned images and SEO to get your site to the top of search engines. They are also sharable across a variety of platforms so they will get the word out to a large audience.
Including a blog in your marketing strategy can be extremely beneficial to business. Statistics show the businesses that use blogs receive 97% more links to their web sites and have 434 more indexed pages for SERPs.
Infographics
Infographics are images that show some sort of data. They typically include charts and a minimal amount of text and provide a full overview of a topic.
Infographics can’t be used for everything, but if you see the potential, seize it. They tend to promote shares and links. They are also a great way to break up text on a page and add interest to a blog.
If you create your own infographic, keep it simple to read and use imagery that makes it impactful. This will work best in getting your point across.
Podcasts
Podcasts seem to be getting more popular by the day. When used in business, these online talk shows provide information that is relevant to your industry helping to build trust and boost engagement.
A podcast can be used to give listeners valuable advice. You can bring on guests to interview or use more than one host to provide more energy.
When creating a podcast, make sure to add elements that make it sound lively and upbeat. Use speakers with strong voices that can adlib well. It’s also important to use the right equipment so your podcast sounds high quality.
An engaging podcast can do wonders for your business.
Video Content
Video is one of the most powerful forms of digital marketing. In fact, 54% of consumers say they would rather get brand information in video format as opposed to any other type of marketing.
The fact that video has both audio and video elements means it has the ability to tell the entire story. It has also been shown to produce high ROI and to make for a more memorable learning experience for viewers.
Videos can be used to introduce a product line (much like a commercial), to teach viewers more about your industry, to give a workshop relevant to the items you sell or to show viewers how to use your product.
Like a podcast, a video should be high quality. The content should be upbeat and engaging. You also want to cater to short attention spans by keeping your videos short and sweet. Two minutes or less is an ideal length.
Social Media
Social media is a powerful form of digital marketing. With so many people on a variety of platforms, business owners who are not taking advantage of social media are missing out.
The great thing about social media is that almost any type of content marketing can be shared to the various platforms. You can share video links or download video directly to a page. You can share blog links or you can create your own posts.
There are many social media platforms out there and it’s important to find one that’s right for you. You can base this on where your customers are.
Certain platforms cater to certain age groups and demographics. Once you figure out your target audience, go from there to figure out the platforms where they are most likely to be.
Once you find your platforms, post content that will appeal to your target audience and fits the necessary requirements. Each platform has specific regulations regarding what can and can be posted in terms of text length, images etc. Familiarize yourself with these requirements to make sure what you post is formatted correctly and will not get deleted.
In general, social media posts tend to be short and sweet so focus on creating text that will get your point across clearly and concisely.
Case Studies
People are more likely to buy your product if they know how effective it is. A case study is a few paragraphs of content that explains your customer’s problem and how your product helped them find a solution.
Case studies can also be presented in video format to make them even more engaging.
Testimonials and Customer Reviews
Similar to case studies, testimonials and customer reviews show consumers that your product has brought promising results to past clients. The best part is, you don’t need to write anything, your customers will do it for you. However, you should take steps to ensure those reviews and testimonials keep coming in.
There are several ways you can motivate customers to write reviews for your product. After they use your product, you can send them a link to your review page in the hopes that they let you know what they thought.
You can also let them know that if they leave a review you will enter them in a sweepstakes where they have a chance to win a gift card, free products and other goodies.
eBooks
eBooks are longer form content. They are not as long as novels but they can be quite a few pages. They are conveniently downloadable so people can access them from anywhere at any time.
eBooks typically contain informative information. They are often used by businesses to connect with customers. For instance, a company might ask a user to enter their email address in return for a free eBook. Once they have the consumer’s contact info, they can follow up by sending updates on their latest products, specials and so on.
Because eBooks are in digital format, they are generally inexpensive to make. You just need to pay a writer and perhaps a graphic designer. If they work to help you attract customers, they can yield a considerably high ROI.
User Generated Content
User generated content is exactly what it sounds like. It is content generated by users, often ones that are fans of your brand.
Sometimes fans voluntarily create their own content. You can also encourage them to do so by doing some sort of sweepstakes. For instance, if you own a jewelry business, you can let your fans know that you are looking for people to model your jewelry online.
Tell them to take pictures of themselves wearing your jewelry and post it on social media with the appropriate tags so you know when it’s posted.
Then award the best post by giving the user free merchandise, a gift card or some other type of award. This will get everyone excited about your product or service.
You can also share user generated content as additional posting content for your platforms. This will make the customer feel special making for a win-win.
Memes
Memes are always fun and they are a great way to market your business. They are images with culturally relevant text that can be circulated online. They are often funny, and if you’re lucky, you can make your meme go viral.
Once again, with memes, you won’t want to outright sell your products and services. Rather you will want to create a meme that pertains to your industry and is ‘hashtag relatable’!
Usually the same meme images circulate with different texts added. Find an image you think you can work with and all you will need to do is come up with a funny caption. If it’s clever enough, it could circulate around the internet for some much-needed exposure.
Whitepaper
A whitepaper is an authoritative guide that provides information on complex issues and presents an overriding philosophy on the matter. Like an eBook, this can be a downloadable resource that you can use to collect consumer contact info.
The fact that you are providing value to consumers will help you stand out as a thought leader and it will build trust with your target audience.
How To Guides and Workshops
If you are offering software or any product that takes a learning curve to use, it’s essential to include some sort of How To resource on your web site. This can appear on other platforms as well.
How To guides can take various forms. They can be in video format or blog format, but it’s best to add some sort of interactive element to make for increased clarification.
One platform that might be helpful is Carousels. Carousels is an Instagram feature that allows you to post 30 second clips or several photos that instruct users on how to use a certain product or service. Posting on a popular platform and using short, digestible pieces of media will help people learn.
Influencers
Influencers are well known personalities who have a following that is likely to take their advice and follow their trends. While many celebrities are considered influencers, most got their start on social media.
There are many ways you can connect with influencers. Perhaps the most direct is to send them a press release telling them about your products or services.
You can also try to reach out on a personal level by commenting on their posts and trying to start conversations.
The ultimate goal is to get the influencer to use your product and to create a post or blog that illustrates its effectiveness. Once an influencer promotes your product, it’s likely that sales will skyrocket.
Checklists
Checklists can be useful for just about anyone, from small to medium business owners to travelers to brides to be.
Think of your target audience and what they can use checklists for. Then create a downloadable version that they can use as a resource.
Giving your customer something of value will make them likely to reciprocate. And, like eBooks and white papers, you can also use them as a way to collect contact information.
If you make an attractive and useful checklist with your logo printed at the top, it will also help promote your brand name.
Marketing Strategies
Now that you are familiar with the various types of marketing, let’s go over some tips that will make your strategies as effective as possible.
Decide on Your Primary Content Type
Once you have content, you can repurpose it and post it on multiple platforms. Instead of trying to do everything at once, come up with one content type you think is most effective. Go from there to distribute it in different forms through various media sources.
Choose the Right Format For Your Niche
Think of your industry and decide on the best format for promoting it. For instance, if there are visual elements to your product or service, you probably won’t want to do a podcast. Videos and blogs will work best.
Use a Content Type Your Target Audience Consumes
As mentioned earlier, it’s best to post on platforms you know your target audience will be on. It’s also advisable to post content that will work on those platforms.
For instance, if most of your target audience is on YouTube, create videos. If they are mostly on Instagram, take plenty of videos
Show off Your Strengths
You should also choose a content type that shows off your strengths. Are you really great at creating video content? Then there’s your content type. If you are a great writer, go with blogs.
There are so many content types a business owner can choose from. While it’s important to find ones that work for you, it’s a good idea to experiment so you will have all your bases cover. Which do you think is best for your marketing needs?
Some research for this article was sourced from: