Content is content is content, right? As long as you’re providing your followers with something to look at, you’re doing your job, no? If you think that’s all there is to the game, you’re missing the point entirely.
Content marketing is all about attracting – and keeping attention.
Keeping attention is dependent upon the quality of your content. You’re not looking to just spew a bunch of flapjack, you want to be sure the content you create delivers real results. When it’s done right, content marketing is one of the most cost-effective promotional techniques, according to the Content Marketing Institute (CMI). It can deliver more leads at a lower cost than most other methods. You’re looking to create content that is engaging and compelling.
Not everyone is looking for the same thing in content, and they visit the various social media platforms. No single type of content will appeal to absolutely every visitor, so you’ll need to vary the content that you offer. Different types of content can help you connect with different customers in a number of ways. It’s also ideal for reaching and connecting with users at different points of the digital sales funnel, too.
So what are some ideas you can use to grab attention?
How-To’s
It may seem simple, but show your audience how to do something: how to use your product, how to get the most life out of something, how to succeed at your next endeavor. People love to get something for nothing. And when they’ve gotten their fill of help, they’ll share it with their friends.
Blog Posts
Blog posts are what most people think of when they think of content marketing. They can help you build up a set of authoritative content in your niche, get more citations from other trusted sources which will lead to better search ranking, and have content that you can change into other content formats. Blog posts typically don’t take too long to write, they’re easily found by Google, users are happy to read and share them, and it’s a quick way to offer value at a relatively low cost.
You can cover all sorts of different types of articles in a blog, so put your creative writing skills to use!
Long-form Content
Long-form content is a great way to build thought leadership and increase subscribers when it’s free and available online. Think of the Ultimate Guide. It’s one of the best forms of long-form content you can create, and keeps viewers coming back for more, especially when you tease them with something like “Subscribe so we’ll let you know when the next chapter of our guide comes out.” When you cover it all in depth, your readers will never have to go anywhere else. Break your guides down into comprehensible sections.
Videos
Consumers today are viewing more video content than ever before. ⅓ of all online activity is spent watching video content, making video one of the best types of content marketing for reaching and engaging your target consumers, regardless of your industry.
The more time a person spends on your website, the greater your company’s chances of making a sale. Brands that use video can expect to see an average increase of 157% in organic traffic from search engines, according to BrightCove.
Large Listicles
While relatively easy to compile, readers appreciate the non-committal, loose format of a listicle. Overdone, they’re trite, but done right, they can reap rewards. They can be fun or serious, positive or negative.
Original Research
This is another form of sharing that gets links and shares across many platforms. When your original work is cited, you also get inbound links. You can utilize surveys or case studies too, providing both knowledge and actionable information. Don’t just share the results, since most people don’t know how to actually turn results around. Offer useable insight for them.
Because this is your data, no one else can steal it for their own. But they can share it, getting you even more attention.
Ebooks
Ebooks can be great lead magnets. They just have to offer real solutions and hard content. This isn’t the place to spend too much time talking up how great your company is. You shouldn’t even spend all that much time detailing your product or service.
Infographics
Infographics are a visual content marketing format that helps viewers better visualize data like statistics so that they have a better idea of why something is valuable and how it works or how they can use it. They can be used to educate your audience and provide useful information that can add value for leads and customers.
Not every topic is ideal for an infographic, so you need to decide what to use to engage your audience, but they can make a powerful visual aid to explain a complicated subject, present statistics that help others understand the value of what your business provides, or even a diagram of your product.
Helping you navigate through the world of content marketing, understanding which formats will combine to work for your business, Clock Tower Insight can steer you in the right direction.