One of the most common comments we receive from our fantastic audience is that coming up with new content ideas may be challenging. Believe me when we say that we understand (and have been there ourselves).
It’s sometimes helpful to have some inspiration to get the wheels turning in your head about how you can 10x your marketing. So, as the title suggests, we’ll go over 15 types of content marketing formats you can add to your marketing calendar and disseminate to your audience to provide value and further your brand’s reputation.
Are you ready for some exciting new content concepts? Then, continue reading to learn about the many types of content marketing and how to utilize them to improve your ROI.
Do You Need to Use Different Types of Content Marketing in Your Strategies?
While including different types of content marketing tactics in your approach is not required, it can make a difference in your numbers. Because the internet is such a dynamic environment, seeing only one type of content all the time might become tedious.
The more your brand invests in diversifying its content, the better. In this manner, you may investigate the differences in each style and ensure that it is appropriate for the type of information you are attempting to present.
Another advantage of diversifying your content is that it keeps your viewers from being bored. Using the correct channels and types of content marketing, your firm will achieve far more interaction than if it merely conducted blog posts or social media regularly.
Types Of Content Marketing
So, here are some of the most types of content marketing:
1. Blog Post
Blog content can take many forms—how to, list, question, why, and so on—and is typically used to educate prospective customers. In addition, blog posts assist your audience in resolving a problem on their own, empowering them to become exceptional at what they do (and giving them more reasons to purchase the product or service you’re marketing).
According to studies, people who blog regularly are more likely to achieve their goals. In addition, although the typical blog post is 1.142 words long, long-form material (more than 3.000 words) has a greater chance of answering a user’s search intent.
2. Infographics
Many complicated thoughts that your brand would wish to convey to its clients are far too difficult to articulate in a blog post. Sometimes you need images to go along with it to express your answers adequately. This is where infographics come in.
Infographics are visual representations of concepts. As you’d find in blog entries, they usually stress bullet points and stats over long-form content. An infographic is an excellent approach to explaining a complex notion to your customer without using as many words.
3. Videos
Who doesn’t enjoy watching short videos on intriguing topics? The internet has never been the same since the widespread adoption of broadband connections and the rise of the YouTube age. That’s because, over the last few years, more and more material has gravitated toward video.
Videos are difficult to create, but they yield the best results. After all, recent studies have shown that consumers spend at least 100 minutes every day watching videos, and 48% of customers rely on videos to reflect their interests. Therefore, your brand is more likely to convert and nurture a lead if it can generate good video content than if it solely invests in written content currently.
4. Email
Email’s demise has been foretold for more than a decade, yet this ubiquitous form of content marketing is not going away anytime soon.
Beyond the fundamentals, such as a newsletter, today’s e-marketing automation tools provide many options. For example, you may set up drip campaigns, use intelligent messaging to warm up cold leads, and even tailor and customize messages based on segments.
While there are numerous applications for email automation, a simple one, to begin with, is a track for fresh new content subscribers. Send a welcome email after signup, then test the waters with additional emails based on the first email’s opens and link clicks.
5. Case Studies
A case study describes a customer’s success story when using your product or service. These can be in various formats, such as video or written word, and are a strong testimonial that encourages prospective clients to consider your company as they seek to fix similar issues.
A standard case study formula includes the problem before executing a change, how the customer changed, and what the results were following the change.
6. eBooks
eBooks are also a viable option for creating information for the internet. They are long-form texts that accomplish more than blog postings for one crucial reason. Customers must supply your company with personal information such as an email address and a name to download an eBook.
With that knowledge, your organization can easily navigate the nurturing process, offering customers additional content likely to engage them. eBooks on popular topics can generate a lot of interest in your company’s products and services, so you should invest in this type of content.
7. Podcasts
Podcasts are an excellent method to reach out to someone whether they are on the go, commuting, or showering. More than 117 million Americans tune into podcasts monthly, and the number is growing.
Consider this content type to be an instructive or fun approach to reach your audience through audio, disseminated through sources such as iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud, Google Play, and even Spotify.
Recommended Reading: How To Start A Podcast (Authentic Advice From Someone Who’s Done It)
8. White Papers and Reports
White papers and reports might assist you in engaging your audience. According to Forbes, 79% of B2B customers share white papers with their coworkers. This adds up to a significant chance for you to win more business. The best white papers aren’t sales pitches. Instead, they intend to assist the intended audience. They’re effective even without the complex sale.
The top white papers include:
- Concentrate on a single major issue. They are relatively brief, ranging from 6 to 10 pages.
- Conduct extensive research.
- Statistics that can be verified should be used to back up any statements.
- Include graphs, charts, and pull quotes.
- Include a call to action so that readers will know what to do next.
9. Webinars
According to the statistics, webinars (online seminars) are an outstanding content marketing format. According to a recent report by ReadyTalk, between 20% and 40% of individuals who watch webinars convert into qualified leads.
Meanwhile, the Branded Solopreneur discovered that between 2% and 5% of registrants make a purchase. Aren’t those some impressive figures?
A webinar typically consists of a presentation followed by a brief Q&A session. They assist you in demonstrating your knowledge. You may also show off items and services so that guests desire to use them.
To get a feel for conducting a webinar, try Zoom, which allows you to host a free 40-minute online meeting with up to 100 guests.
10. Polls and Quizzes
Quizzes, according to CMI, are one of the most engaging content formats. They will undoubtedly capture the attention of your audience. Similarly, polls can increase participation by making people curious about the findings.
Shareable, entertaining material is an excellent asset to any content strategy. And the fact that they are usually simple to complete is an added plus for your viewers. Use a tool like Quizzr or Playbuzz to create online quizzes. Use the polling tools included in many social sites, or try WPForms.
11. Checklists
A checklist is one of the easiest types of content format to generate. As a result, they’re tremendously popular, garnering hundreds of thousands of shares in some instances.
Worksheets, tip sheets, and cheat sheets are examples of this type of content. They’re simple to create by extracting critical points from another form of content (like a blog post).
Then, in a Google Doc or Word document, create your cheat sheet and export it as a PDF. Alternatively, you can use tools like Canva to convert it to a graphic and then export it to PDF.
12. Email Newsletter
You probably don’t consider your email newsletter a content format, but it is. Email newsletters are an excellent method to highlight content published in other media. They can, however, be something altogether new.
Email, as previously demonstrated, has a high return on investment. That is why you must not overlook this content marketing format.
13. Original Research
Original research is another popular content genre that receives links and shares across multiple media. According to Buzzsumo, research findings-related content can garner millions of shares.
Original research is another excellent approach to obtaining inbound connections. This occurs when others quote your work, which is beneficial to your SEO. The CMI’s annual report on B2B content marketing is an example of original research.
There is only one problem: conducting in-depth research can be time-consuming and expensive. If you want to expedite the process, create a survey with WPForms. Then, using the built-in reporting dashboard, generate charts to assist you in visualizing the results.
14. Customer Testimonials And Internet Reviews
Testimonials and customer reviews are a type of content marketing that uses social proof. They’re especially beneficial in overcoming any objections from prospects and minimizing their sense of risk. Furthermore, online reviews on third-party sites such as Google, Angi, or Trustpilot are crucial off-page SEO indications.
When Google detects many positive reviews associated with your brand, it shows that your brand is trustworthy. As a result, your website may be positioned higher in search results than businesses with fewer positive reviews.
A powerful technique is to post testimonials and reviews where they are most contextually relevant to the content on a given page.
15. Memes
There’s no reason why your Content Marketing approach can’t be enjoyable. Memes are an excellent approach to engage your audience in your message if they are consistent with your brand and make sense for your plan.
In addition, memes are a fast way to communicate your objectives, which is why they function so effectively and are popular on the internet. This type of shareable approach to presenting information has the bonus of potentially getting viral. If your organization can include memes in its marketing approach, it should.
In Conclusion
So, what type of content marketing format will be helpful to your prospects and customers? What about regular blog posts? What about Snapchat videos? An educational podcast?
While the alternatives are numerous, it is preferable to use a combination of content marketing to serve your audience best.
And keep in mind that this is an ever-changing realm of digital marketing—what connects with your target group now may be old news tomorrow. So continue to fine-tune your plan as necessary.