Marketing
Content marketing is beneficial but if you’ve never
considered it before you may have a tough time figuring out the different types
of content you can use. Even if you’ve tried your hand at content marketing you
may be stuck on how to truly get the most out of your content. It always helps
to have a list of the different types of content.
Here is a list of that content as well as an explanation of
the types of businesses that could benefit most from it.
1.
Blog Posts
Blogging has become a popular way for businesses to
communicate with customers and potential customers. This type of content
marketing allows you to create a voice for your business. It also offers the
flexibility of sharing other types of content within the blog. Posts can be
text based, image based, video based or a combination of the three. The thing
to remember about blog posts is that you have to create them with a level of
consistency to keep people coming back to read your blog posts. You don’t have
to post everyday but you do have to post regularly.
Businesses that
could benefit: Blog posts can work for a variety of businesses because it
lets you share the type of information that works best for your audience. It’s
most ideal for businesses that are information or news heavy. If you have a lot
that can be shared and discussed in your blog, you won’t be at a loss for
content.
2.
Guest blog posts
If you aren’t interested in hosting your own blog, you can
create content for other blogs. This requires you to do some research and
identify blogs that are well aligned with your brand with an engaged and active
following. You also have to be prepared to pitch your posts to the blog owner.
In this instance you should prepare some blog post topics and possibly have
some of those topics expanded into posts ready to be published. The best way to
ensure that your posts are accepted and published is to take some time and
familiarize yourself with the blog voice. You want to make sure your posts fit
in with the blog you’re submitting them to otherwise your posts won’t be
shared.
Businesses that
could benefit: As with a blog that you create yourself, guest blog posts
can also work for a variety of businesses. As long as there is an active blog,
you can submit guest posts to it.
3.
Cartoons or comics
There was a time when cartoons and comics were reserved for
younger audiences but they also provide some value to businesses interested in
sharing information in a more whimsical way. Cartoons and comics can be used to
explain topics that may be tough to understand or not particularly interesting
overall but need to appeal to a wide audience. This is one of the forms of
content being used to explain some tech products that would benefit a non-tech
savvy audience. Creating a cartoon or comic can be done a few ways. You can
hire a professional who can design or create a comic. You can also use a tool
that will allow you to create your own cartoon. These are some websites that
make it easy for you by offering a menu of characters and scenes.
a. Go
Animate
- http://goanimate.com/
b. Moovly - http://www.moovly.com/
c. Wideo
- http://wideo.co/
Businesses that
could benefit: If your
organization is targeting children or parents of children, this type of content
would work well. It’s also great for creating videos about tech products,
sanitation products, health products and any other kind of product that could
benefit from the whimsical nature of animation.
4.
EBooks
EBooks are electronic books written to be shared online or
through eReaders. They can be as short as 10 pages or as long as 150 pages. An
eBook is a long form of content that is used to provide information. Sometimes
there is a call to action in the book but other times it’s used as a piece of
collateral to build an email list. These pieces of collateral take an extended
amount of time and should be created with a plan for how it’s going to be used.
An eBook can be used to discuss a topic, educate an audience or tell a story.
It can also be used to do all three. You can also create how-to guides in eBook
format.
Businesses that
could benefit: If your company is related to internet marketing or other
business oriented industries, it could benefit from this type of content. It
also works well for health and fitness organizations as well as any specialized
niche industry. Any time you’re dealing with an audience base that appreciates information,
you could benefit from creating and distributing an eBook.
5.
Infographics
Infographic is short for information graphic. It’s when a
long, often complex series of statistics and information is put into an easy to
read graphic format. If you create a research heavy report or document and want
to share the information to a broad audience, this is an ideal way to do
it.
Businesses that
could benefit: If your business is very statistics oriented or involves
making use of complicated information, an infographic is a great way to
communicate.
6.
Video
The great thing about video is that it can be used by any
type of organization. If you’re going to use video, it has to be well planned
and executed. You don’t have to go out and spends tens of thousands of dollars
but if you don’t have a huge budget, it’s important that you make sure your
video is good quality. It’s also important to make sure your video isn’t too
long. You don’t want people to feel like they have to sit through a long video
when they visit your website.
Make it short and punchy while asking them to take action
in some way. When it comes to video length you do have some wiggle room but not
much. Ideally, your video shouldn’t be much more than 1-3 minutes. However, if
you are providing valuable information, it could go up to 5-7 minutes. There
are some companies that can make videos that run for as long as half an hour or
longer. Don’t do that unless you’re absolutely sure your audience will tune in.
Educational companies may share videos of workshops that provide instruction of
some kind. In this instance, a longer video may be accepted.
Businesses that
could benefit: Any type of business can use video. The thing to keep in
mind is to make the video valuable and not too long. If you find yourself
creating a video that’s going to run for several minutes, look for ways to
break it into chunks and create a series. This is a great way to have people
coming back to your website consistently to gain access to all of the
information you’re providing in the series.
7.
Testimonials
Sometimes the best way to encourage people to become new
customers is by letting your current customers sing your praises. Testimonials
can be very powerful for showing the value of the product or service you are
providing. The best testimonials are ones that sound and feel authentic and
include specifics about your business. For example, I was in desperate need of a plumber and Jamie was willing to come to
my home on a Saturday and fix my bathroom sink. Without his help, my apartment
would have surely flooded! Thanks so much.
As you can see that testimonial mentions a specific service
and employee as well as how it was beneficial. This feels much more authentic
than, I really love working with your
company. You guys are the best! While both are great to share, the first
one presents a very specific reason why your customer was pleased with your
business. It tells potential customers why they should work with you. When you
are working stand out from the competition, showing why your business is better
than others is a great way to do that.
Businesses that
could benefit: If your business offers a specific product or service, it
could benefit from this type of content. It’s best to make sure your
testimonials reference specific benefits that were gained from using your
products or services. You want them to sell your business, not just tell people
how cool you are.
8.
Livestream Video
This type of video content is different from other video
because it is usually centered on a specific event or occasion. There is some
planning that must be done, but it usually involves simply setting up a camera
to record while other things are going on around it. You do want to make sure
whatever you’re live streaming will provide value to your audience, but it’s
usually expected that this will be long form video.
You have to ensure that your video is good quality as well
as your internet connection to ensure that the stream isn’t broken while the
video is airing. The best way to take the most advantage of this type of video
is to stream it and capture it to be used at a later date. You can repurpose
the streamed video and share snippets of it on your website after the event is
over. This video serves two purposes. It brings an audience to your website
while the video is being live streamed and provides an opportunity for
additional page views if you decide to share the video after the event.
Businesses that
could benefit: If your organization hosts workshops, seminars, panel
discussions or other educational presentations, it could benefit from
livestreaming those events. This is a great way for conferences to expose a
portion of the event to people who couldn’t attend to encourage them to attend
the next time it takes place. It also helps with securing speakers and
presenters. If they know their talk may be featured on the web, they may be
more willing to be a part of your event for free or at a reduced cost.
9.
Podcast
If you don’t have the budget to create a video or aren’t
comfortable being on camera, you can put together a podcast. This is an audio
only form of content that you can use to educate, inform or entertain your
audience. You can make it a one-time occurrence or an ongoing podcast series.
When it comes to length of podcasts, it’s much more liberal than video. People
tend to treat podcasts like radio shows which can run for several hours at a
time. While you shouldn’t create podcasts that run for several hours, you can
do them for anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes.
Depending on how compelling your discussion is people will
gladly tune in to a 90 minute podcast. Creating podcasts are a bit easier than
creating video but it still takes an element of planning and an investment in a
good quality recording system. You need a good microphone, the ability to
capture audio and an audio editing program. You can host the podcast on your
own web server or use a service. It’s best to use one of the services that make
it possible for you to make your podcast available to a larger audience while
featuring it on your website as well.
a. iTunes
- http://www.apple.com/itunes/podcasts/creatorfaq.html
b. Podomatic
- http://www.podomatic.com
c. Podbean
- http://www.podbean.com/
d. Podcast
Garden - http://www.podcastgarden.com/h/en/
Those are just a few of the tools available that make it
possible for you to host your podcast through a service. You should definitely
take some time and research to find the one that best serves your needs.
Businesses that
could benefit: Niche oriented businesses with a specialized focus would
benefit most from a podcast. Your audience has to have a strong interest in
whatever topic you’re discussing to tune in for 30 minutes or more.
Entertainment and pop culture based companies could also benefit from a
podcast.
10.
Case studies
These are a little different from testimonials because
they’re written in a more official context and format. This is a great way to
highlight how your business executed a solution to a problem from start to
finish. It can demonstrate the layers that come with operating a business and
successfully working with clients. Case studies are best when they’re no more
than a page and a half long. You should keep it brief, and focus on the who,
what, why, when, and how of the situation for your clients. You want to show
your potential clients what they can expect when working with you.
Businesses that
could benefit: Case studies are great for new businesses with a service
focus. It allows you to present your methodologies and work process while
marketing your business. One of the hesitations customers may have with trying
a new business may be knowing whether it is worth the investment. Case studies
can help you demonstrate your worth using a practical example.
11.
User Generated Content
This is content that you invite your customers to create
and share on your behalf. This is a great way to engage your customers and turn
them into marketing representatives for your company. You can invite them to
create product demonstrations, reviews or posts about how much they love your
product or service. It may require an extra level of management to ensure that
this type of content reflects your brand properly. In some cases, it’s not a
good idea to try to regulate user-generated content too much because that will
discourage people from creating it. You should really consider your audience
before actively encouraging this type of content. Make sure they will make
content that you’ll want to have representing your brand.
Businesses that
could benefit: This type of content is great for any type of product or
customer service heavy business. For example, if you have a tech product, you
could invite users to create how to guides or product demonstrations. You could
also benefit from this type of content if you have a sporting product that
you’re selling. Inviting users to create videos showing cool ways they use your
product can really help with sales. Any type of product that has a specialized
use can benefit from usergenerated content.
That’s a pretty comprehensive list of the different types
of content you could use in a content marketing campaign. However, it’s always
a good idea to keep an eye out for other forms of content. The thing that makes
content marketing valuable is that it’s only limited by your own imagination. As
long as you don’t let your creativity overshadow your product or service, you
can explore as many options as you want.
Although there are some businesses that would benefit most
from certain pieces of content, you shouldn’t limit yourself. If you see a form
of content that you want to use for your business, do it. The key is to ensure
that you commit to the process of creating the piece of content and keep the
quality as high as possible.
If you are a new business and want to livestream a nontraditional
event like a new product unveiling or the opening of a new office, go for it.
As long as you have a plan for how the content will help your business, you
should do it. With content marketing, your ultimate goal is to increase sales
for your business. However, you have the ability to be creative about how you
reach that goal.
Now that you have some insight into the different types of
content you can create, you have to make sure that your content has a clear
objective. Yes your overall objective is to increase sales but how you do that
must be decided in advance. There are four objectives you should choose from
when creating content.
1. Content
that entertains
Do you want your content to be entertaining? If so, you
need to look for a creative way to accomplish that objective. This is the type
of content that you create to be shared. It can be funny or just very
interesting. Since what’s considered entertaining can be subjective, it’s best
to commit to your concept to ensure that it comes across effectively.
2. Content
that persuades
Do you want to convince your audience of something? Using
your content to persuade is a great way to let it work for you long after it’s
been created and shared. You should make sure your persuasive message is
consistent throughout the content.
3. Content
that educates
Do you want to provide value to your
audience by educating them?
People often appreciate it when you
enlighten them about something
and help them increase their level of knowledge on a topic.
Educational content can always be valuable well after it’s been created and
shared initially. Do your best to make sure the educational information you
provide is as timeless as possible. You want to be able to use your content for
as much time as possible.
4. Content
to sell or convert
There is some content you create solely for the purpose of
turning potential customers into actual customers. It’s perfectly fine to use
content solely for this purpose but if you do, it must include a clear call to
action.
While there are four distinct objectives, it’s entirely
possible to combine them when you’re creating content. However, it’s important
that you have a clear purpose with the content. You don’t want to create
content with a muddled objective. This is why it’s important to plan your
content before it’s created and shared. This allows you to ensure that your
objective is clear and that the content does its job effectively.
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