Content marketing is a powerful tool to help a brand connect with its customers. Content enables you to share your brand’s story, vision, and values. It also introduces your products or services to the customers in a way that helps them find a solution to their problems. The primary focus of a content marketing strategy is to build content that the ideal customers will find relevant, engaging, and valuable.
The proven success of content marketing has led many businesses to adopt this strategy. It can help marketers attract more potential leads, engage them, and build long-term relationships with them. According to an online survey by Statista, 30% to 40% of B2B and B2C businesses are planning to increase their content marketing budget in 2020. There is a rise in the number of marketers who are incorporating content marketing strategy as part of their overall marketing efforts.
The type of content you use forms a foundation of the entire strategy. It is important to choose the right content that your audience finds engaging. You can experiment with different types of content to examine which one is more successful for your business. To do this you need to be aware of all the different types of content you can utilize to connect with your audience and respond to their queries.
Here are different types of content that you can use to build a successful content marketing strategy.
Blogs
Blog posts on your website are a great way to attract target customers. With the right SEO techniques, it can get you more organic traffic on your website. Create blog content that is informative and educates your audience on various topics. They are also a great way to provide solutions to your customer’s problems. Blogs can also help you build credibility, as the audience will see your website as a trusted source of information.
When selecting blog topics, you need to research what your customers are looking for. Examine the different search queries related to your products or services that you can write about. The blog content should be relevant to your audience. Optimize your blog posts using relevant keywords and other SEO techniques to improve your ranking. Always keep your content focused on your products or services.
Infographics
Infographics are visual representations of the data or information you want to present to your audience. With infographics, the audience can read through all the information easily and quickly. It is a great way to break down and understand data that can be difficult to grasp. The graphic elements used can make it visually appealing and more engaging to the audience.
If your audience does not prefer lengthy content pieces, then infographics are a good way to convey your message. For infographics you do not need help from a graphic designer to create it, you can simply use tools that can help you build your infographic.
Planning to create a content marketing strategy? Take a look at our blog on How To Build A Strong Content Marketing Strategy.
Ebooks
Ebooks are informative pieces of content that visitors can download from your website after they submit a form with their contact information. It is a great tool for lead generation, as it helps you add new leads to your contact list that you can further nurture. Ebooks are in-depth content that is a few pages long. They are not as frequently published as blog posts. It is usually free to download in exchange for the user's contact information. You can place CTAs in your blog posts that direct users to download your eBook.
Case Studies
Case studies can help you share the story of your customer on how they found the solution to their problems by using your product or service. Case studies are flexible types of content. You can present your case studies through a blog, infographic, eBook, etc. The main goal of a case study is to show your audience that investing in your brand will get them the desired results. It can get your audience to trust you. This can encourage your potential customers to invest in your business.
Social Media Content
According to Statista’s online survey in 2019, social media content was the leading form of content used by B2B marketers in North America. This is expected as people rely on social media for their daily source of information. They follow pages that they are interested in, engaging with content that is relevant to them.
When you start creating content for your website you can share it on social media to engage more audiences. Research about which platform your target audience uses regularly. This can help you find your audience and distribute your content to them. You can post videos, photos, blogs, industry news, as well as other graphics that are compelling to your followers. Examine how they engage with your content or if they are sharing or commenting on it. This is a great way for you to discover what your audience prefers. Be sure to post regularly to keep your audience interested.
Templates
A template is another type of content that is a great lead generation tool and can provide value to your customers. You can give your audience various types of free template tools that can be useful to them. For example, a social media calendar template can be useful for clients in their digital marketing efforts. The goal of this is to make your customer’s life a little bit easier by providing these handy tools. In exchange for this, you can get their contact information.
Videos
Videos are highly engaging content. They can provide your audience with the necessary information in a few minutes or seconds and keep their attention. You can post videos on your website and also share it across social media. However, creating videos can involve spending more time and resources on it. If your business type needs videos, then investing in this will definitely be worth it as people prefer this type of content.
Customer Testimonials
A customer testimonial is a form of content that comes directly from your customers. You can have reviews and testimonial sections on your website to build credibility. This content will encourage new visitors to spend more time on your website to check out what you are offering. It allows your audience to trust your business.
There are many forms of content out there that you can use to build your content marketing strategy. The types of contents we discussed above are basic yet effective. They are inexpensive and easy to create. If you are new to content marketing, then these will help you get started in the right direction. To make a content strategy successful it is very important to understand the preferences of your audience. Once you start experimenting with different types of content you will slowly find out what truly interests your customers.
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