Importance of Choosing the Right Types of Content Marketing
There are numerous advantages to incorporating various types of content marketing formats into your content marketing strategy. Consider some of the most important benefits:
Different Types of Content Marketing Formats Aid in Scaling
When you have a variety of content to create, having reusable content structures and repeatable processes makes scaling much easier. Eventually, the whole content creation process becomes much more convenient and faster.
Assume you have a framework that works well enough for case studies and a related process flow that your team frequently employs. You could probably write more at the same time. Furthermore, you could delegate or outsource that work on a large scale to content marketing services without sacrificing your content quality.
Your Audience Will Benefit from Various Content Types
Not all your target audience does not all consume content in the same way. For example, some people prefer written content over video content, while others prefer the opposite.
Likewise, not every user can be reached through the same channels. Some people, for example, may only use social media on occasion. As a result, if you only focused on creating social media content, you would miss out on chances to connect with them.
So, what is the takeaway here?
Using a variety of content marketing methods enables you to reach and fulfill the needs of a greater portion of your audience. This directly translates into improved business outcomes.
Assume you have a framework that works well enough for case studies and a related process flow that your team frequently employs. You could probably write more at the same time. Furthermore, you could delegate or outsource that work on a large scale to content marketing services without sacrificing your content quality.
Content Types Aid in Audience Research
Experimenting with content is great. But, not every piece of content you try will be a success. Furthermore, audience preferences and behaviors can shift over time. So, how your audience reacts to your content or does not can provide you with helpful information for improving your digital content marketing strategy.
Likewise, not every user can be reached through the same channels. Some people, for example, may only use social media on occasion. As a result, if you only focused on creating social media content, you would miss out on chances to connect with them.
So, what is the takeaway here?
Using a variety of content marketing methods enables you to reach and fulfill the needs of a greater portion of your audience. This directly translates into improved business outcomes.
Assume you have a framework that works well enough for case studies and a related process flow that your team frequently employs. You could probably write more at the same time. Furthermore, you could delegate or outsource that work on a large scale to content marketing services without sacrificing your content quality.
The Elements of Any Content Type
There are numerous ways to achieve success in content marketing, especially when you consider that there are over 100 different types of content available (including tutorials, infographics, podcasts, landing pages, and so much more).
What do these various types of content have in common? They each serve a specific purpose, adhere to a particular structure, and are accepted by the audience that consumes them.
Similarly, we can comprehend other types of content by examining their three “legs”:
Purpose: Goals are brought to life through various forms of content. The BBC, for example, aims to educate, entertain, and inform. Their content types, such as news, documentaries, and commentaries, help them achieve their goal.
Structure: A piece of content’s structure serves two purposes- first, it informs audiences about what to expect, and second, it allows organizations to reuse aspects of the structure in new ways. Consider a numerical chart from a case study that is reused in a blog post.
Social acceptance: The types of content contribute to the formation of a community. Buzzfeed, for example, has a devoted audience for its catchy, gossipy content.
Let’s understand these elements by taking the instance of a case study:
- Their goal is to record the process or events surrounding a specific “case” as they unfold over time, such as the narrative before and after implementing a new policy.
- They follow the typical structure of case descriptions, steps to accomplish the set objectives, and results.
- Case studies are widely accepted in the business-to-business community.
Likewise, not every user can be reached through the same channels. Some people, for example, may only use social media on occasion. As a result, if you only focused on creating social media content, you would miss out on chances to connect with them.
So, what is the takeaway here?
Using a variety of content marketing methods enables you to reach and fulfill the needs of a greater portion of your audience. This directly translates into improved business outcomes.
Assume you have a framework that works well enough for case studies and a related process flow that your team frequently employs. You could probably write more at the same time. Furthermore, you could delegate or outsource that work on a large scale to content marketing services without sacrificing your content quality.
Choose Between Different Types of Content Marketing Formats
Although blogs and long-form articles are an integral part of the content marketing strategy, writing blogs and articles is only one aspect of content marketing. It is time to broaden your horizons to include the most recent and popular content marketing formats. Just as different targeting skills are required for customers at various stages of the sales funnel, so are different content formats.
So, let’s look at the types of content marketing formats that can help you achieve your strategic goals.
What do these various types of content have in common? They each serve a specific purpose, adhere to a particular structure, and are accepted by the audience that consumes them.
Similarly, we can comprehend other types of content by examining their three “legs”:
Purpose: Goals are brought to life through various forms of content. The BBC, for example, aims to educate, entertain, and inform. Their content types, such as news, documentaries, and commentaries, help them achieve their goal.
Structure: A piece of content’s structure serves two purposes- first, it informs audiences about what to expect, and second, it allows organizations to reuse aspects of the structure in new ways. Consider a numerical chart from a case study that is reused in a blog post.
Social acceptance: The types of content contribute to the formation of a community. Buzzfeed, for example, has a devoted audience for its catchy, gossipy content.
Let’s understand these elements by taking the instance of a case study:
- Their goal is to record the process or events surrounding a specific “case” as they unfold over time, such as the narrative before and after implementing a new policy.
- They follow the typical structure of case descriptions, steps to accomplish the set objectives, and results.
- Case studies are widely accepted in the business-to-business community.
Likewise, not every user can be reached through the same channels. Some people, for example, may only use social media on occasion. As a result, if you only focused on creating social media content, you would miss out on chances to connect with them.
So, what is the takeaway here?
Using a variety of content marketing methods enables you to reach and fulfill the needs of a greater portion of your audience. This directly translates into improved business outcomes.
Assume you have a framework that works well enough for case studies and a related process flow that your team frequently employs. You could probably write more at the same time. Furthermore, you could delegate or outsource that work on a large scale to content marketing services without sacrificing your content quality.
Blogging
For a good reason, blog posts are one of the most popular types of content. They are simple to create and distribute. And it is no wonder that blogging is all the rage these days. Consistently publishing high-quality blog posts can bring in quality traffic, establish you as an authority, and nurture site visitors over time.
So, why should YOU choose blogging as your primary content marketing tool?
- For starters, it assists you in establishing brand authority in your niche.
- Second, it aids in the development of backlinks (which eventually help in taking your SEO rank higher).
- Finally, it creates a community and drives traffic to your landing pages.
While blogging was previously used primarily for top-of-the-funnel efforts, an increasing number of organizations are incorporating it into other parts of the funnel. Consider product-driven content.
Infographics
People’s attention span on digital platforms is shrinking by the day. It is currently around 7 seconds. So, needless to say, you have little to no time to make your point. And what better method than visually appealing and engaging content?
So, how exactly can an infographic assist you?
An infographic tells a story as a blog does. An infographic can be more effective than plain text in attracting customers if it has exciting headings and subheadings and visually conveys your point. As a result, you can anticipate an increasingly engaged audience and landing page traffic.
Video
Videos are the most versatile type of content marketing format. YouTube does not have nearly 2 billion monthly active users for no reason. Videos, for example, can be used in emails, blog posts, and social media content. Furthermore, videos can be used for a variety of purposes, such as audience education, product demonstration, and sales.
87% of video marketers predicted that video content got them a good ROI in 2021. They have seen positive outcomes ranging from increased time on page and lead generation to reduced support calls and increased sales. This demonstrates how popular video content is in today’s world. So, how can videos be used for content marketing?
- You can begin by introducing your brand through a video.
- You can also include product/service features in the video.
- Finally, a tutorial guide in video form always gets results.
E-books, Whitepapers, Webinars: Long-Form Content
Never underestimate the power of long-form content in a content marketing strategy. E-books and whitepapers are excellent engagement tools. This means that you will have more business opportunities.
Here are some guidelines to keep in mind when writing whitepapers and e-books:
- Concentrate on a single issue and apply in-depth knowledge to it.
- To make the content more interesting and credible, include graphs, statistics, quotes, and charts.
- Include a strong CTA that informs readers of their next step.
Webinars are another significant type of long-form content. Approximately 20-40% of webinar signups result in qualified leads. Again, this is an ingenious strategy for converting your target audience into buyers.
Podcasts
Podcasts are another tool for increasing brand loyalty and building relationships. In fact, more than 35% of the audience these days listens to a podcast on a monthly basis. Podcasts have all of the features that people want these days. For starters, they have industry-specific knowledge. Second, your audience can access these conveniently, even on the go.
Another advantage of investing in creating podcast content is that you can reuse other types of content. You could, for instance, make an audio file from an existing video or even read out your blog.
Emails/Newsletters
Although many enterprises believe that email content marketing is obsolete, statistics say it still has value. However, the method of using emailers as a digital content marketing format has evolved and become less annoying and more informative.
With the count of email users worldwide touching 4.2 billion by the end of 2022, email content marketing can achieve impressive returns on investment when used correctly. Weekly email content or newsletter content is an excellent tool for engaging your customers, subtly promoting your products, or simply asking them to sign up for upcoming events or webinars.
Case Studies
Case studies, similar to testimonials, are excellent for securing the trust of potential customers or supporters. After all, their goal is to describe how you assisted people in your target audience to achieve their objectives.
Because this type of content is unique to your business and the products or services you provide, it should be tailored to people in the middle to bottom of the sales funnel.
And the more commonalities between the audience and your case study subject, the better the chances of conversions.
Checklists
Checklists provide detailed information or instructions on a specific topic. Checklists can underline the steps to take, resources to use, or considerations to make when completing a task.
For example, if your niche is blogging strategy and you provide blogging guidance to your crowd, you could create a checklist outlining all the steps involved in creating a blog post from scratch, from ideation to publishing. It will assist bloggers in ensuring they do not overlook any critical steps in the process of content creation.
- Pay close attention to item organization. Take into account that these will be used as a guideline by people.
- Remember to include whitespace. It allows the copy to breathe.
- Put your logo somewhere in the copy. As a result, when your audience wants to share them, you get free publicity.
Slide Decks
This content format uses PowerPoint slides and is especially useful if you need to explain something to a significant number of individuals quickly. You can make your PowerPoint slides more appealing and eye-catching by using the right color combinations, fonts, shapes, and images. This also makes it easier to list points, highlight graphs and charts, explain flowcharts, and tell a clear story.
Just remember a few things to keep it simple and effective:
- Keep the design simple and leave sufficient space around the text to prevent a congested appearance.
- To keep the written text to a minimum, make your images as self-explanatory and illustrative as possible.
- Consider how you will smoothly transition from one subject to the next.
UGC or User Generated Content
Did you know that nearly 80% of people say the content generated by other users of your brand influences their purchasing decisions? In other words, the audience believes what others say about your brand more than what you say.
You can create such content by simply resharing positive reviews or testimonials or inviting current customers to participate in campaigns or contests by giving videos or images of them using your services or products. You can also ask micro-influencers to review your products/services and post about them on social media platforms such as Instagram or Facebook. You can also promote user-generated content through paid advertisements.
Just remember to get the user’s approval before reposting or sharing their content and to give them proper credit. User-generated content is an excellent way to foster customer loyalty while increasing brand awareness.
Interviews
If you have a sizable following, the next step is to conduct an interview. Why? To begin with, you get to connect with an industry insider, which means more exposure to potential customers. Second, your visitors will gain more information from the interview content and better understand their needs.
How can you incorporate interviews into your digital content marketing strategy?
- Use Facebook Live to host a live interview, similar to a webinar. In addition, make a recorded interview available on YouTube.
- Make a blog out of the interview content.
- You can also conduct customer interviews. This will build trust and connection within your brand’s community.
Quizzes and Polls
Quizzes and polls are highly interactive and entertaining ways to get people to visit your blog or website. They are also fun to create and take. Quizzes and polls can help you generate leads, develop relationships, and boost the time people spend on your content/page.
You can share quizzes on social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter. It is also one of the best practices that many marketers use to increase engagement.
Consider the following pointers when making a quiz for your audience:
- What is your intended audience?
- What types of questions will pique your audience’s interest?
- What style do you want your quiz to be in? (Fill in the blank, Multiple Choice, True or false)
Memes
There is no denying that a good meme has staying power. They are the ideal way to add some laughter to your digital content marketing strategy and have your audience laugh.
Memes are amusing videos or images with witty captions that usually convey an opinion or make a point. While you may believe that memes are only for entertainment, they can also be an effective content marketing format. Memes can help you establish a brand image, increase engagement, and even generate new leads when used correctly, all while providing entertainment to your audience.
How-to Guides
How-to guides are an excellent way to break down complicated topics/processes into simple steps. How-to guides could show your audience how to use your product/service to solve a problem or how to achieve a specific result by following a predetermined set of steps.
These can be highly beneficial to the audience and a great way to raise awareness about your product.
Reviews
Reviews are an excellent way to demonstrate to prospective customers what your existing users think of your offerings. They can be used to highlight your best assets or to provide an honest view of your brand. A review is an assessment of a service, a product, or an experience people had with your brand.
They also help in developing confidence and trust with potential customers. Try to write case studies of how consumers have succeeded with your brand or solicit testimonials from customers directly. These can serve as social proof and help you build your brand’s reputation.
These can be highly beneficial to the audience and a great way to raise awareness about your product.
Some Research Tips Before You Choose the Right Format for Your Strategy
- First, consider the best format for your market segment or the subject areas you aim to cover.
- Always rely on your strength. Determine which content formats work best for you and devote more time to creating them.
- Next, find out where (platform) your target audience spends their time.
- Finally, look into the kind of content format that your target audience is most likely to engage with.
- Consider an example. Assume you are a market research expert who creates whitepapers. Because whitepapers are usually long-form content, transforming and reusing them as Instagram stories may not produce the best results. This is because most of Instagram’s users are between the ages of 18 and 24. This refers to young adults who are more interested in entertainment than research findings. However, if you reuse your whitepaper into a blog and post it on LinkedIn, you will receive much more response and engagement as it is a business networking platform.
Let One Digital Land Tailor Content Marketing Strategy for All Your Business Goals
Content marketing is more than just writing and creating content for your social media platforms or website. Your content must include valuable information that will entice and instill trust in your audience. The public wants to be entertained, informed, and engaged. Therefore, enterprises must be creative in order to meet these expectations.
If you are a B2B small and medium enterprise and are wondering how to start content writing or a content marketing campaign, the first thing you should understand is that the days of one-size-fits-all solutions are over. Instead, if you want to capture people’s attention in a world where everything is customized and bespoke, you must create tailored content to suit your audience’s needs and preferences. So whether you hire expert content marketing services for that or make do with your in-house team, the goal should be fulfilled.
If you have more queries about how to engage the audience and derive maximum results using suitable content marketing formats, shoot us an email or contact team One Digital Land right now!