7 Main Types of Content and How to Use Them for Marketing!
Shane Barker
Founder @TraceFuse.ai | The Amazon Review Expert | E-commerce Strategist | Influencer Marketing Specialist | Keynote Speaker
If you want to grow your online business, content marketing is a sure-fire strategy to help you do so.
The Content Marketing Institute (CMI) found that content marketing generates over three times as many leads compared to outbound marketing. Not only that, it also costs 62% less.
Another report by Marketing Profs and CMI showed that the most successful B2B marketers dedicate 40% of their advertising budgets to content marketing.
Image via Content Marketing Institute
What this means is that top marketers understand the importance of content marketing as a strategy. Hence, they use it to grow their brands.
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In this post, I want to show you seven types of content marketing that you can use to grow your business.
If you include any or all of these popular types of content marketing in your strategy, you can expect to see great results.
Let’s dive in.
1. Blog Posts
A blog is one of the most popular types of content marketing you can use to grow your brand. This is why it’s becoming increasingly popular.
According to Growth Badger, there are over 600 million blogs today, out of the 1.7+ billion websites that currently exist. In fact, a report by Statista indicated that there are about 31.2 million blogs in the United States alone.
Image via Statista
With a blog on your website, you can attract potential customers who are actively looking for answers to the problems that your business solves. Not only that, this type of content marketing is also a good way to improve SEO and boost your organic traffic.
When you blog regularly, you’re able to build relationships with your customers and prospects. This is because by blogging, you’re providing value to your readers. The more you do so, the more they will know, like, and trust you. In the long run, they will want to buy from you.
To get the most out of this strategy, you must make sure that you write about what your potential customers are actively searching for online. One way to do this is through a Google search for the keywords you’re targeting.
Say your business is into influencer marketing. You can type the keyword “influencer marketing” into Google, and the results will give you an idea of what to write about. Similarly, you can use tools such as BuzzSumo to learn about the most popular blog posts related to your keyword.
Image via BuzzSumo
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2. Social Media Posts
If you want to reach your target audience faster, having a social media as a strategy is a must. With social media platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram, you can build relationships with your customers and reach new audiences.
The reason is simple.
Social media is one of the most popular online activities that people engage in. In fact, according to Emarsys, there are over 3.2 billion social media users in the world today.
Image via Emarsys
So using social media posts as one of the types of content marketing in your business can help you engage with new leads and existing customers.
One company that does this really well is General Electrics (GE). GE has used social media, especially Instagram, to promote their products such as locomotives, jet engines, wind turbines, and so on.
This has helped them bring to life what could be otherwise known as a dull business. The results have been tremendous for them. Take for instance the #GEInstawalk Instagram campaign. It generated 8 million views of the brand’s Instagram account, 3 million reach per tour, and 3,000 new followers.
Image via Instagram
To get the best out of social media, you must understand how each social media network works. Also, you should have a goal in mind before implementing this strategy. Not only that, make sure your content isn’t only promotional, but also provides value to your followers.
If you can use social media effectively, you can help more people discover your products. It can also be a strategy to provide more information about your products for your leads and customers.
3. Videos
If you want to engage your audience quickly and grab their attention, then you should use video content as a strategy. This is because more people now view video content online than ever before.
According to Cisco, by 2022, 82% of internet traffic will be video. Additionally, 90% of consumers state that videos help them make purchasing decisions.
What this means is that no matter the industry you operate in, video is one of the best types of content marketing to reach and engage your target customers.
With videos, you can create different types of content in your industry. This helps you to engage your target audience and leave them asking for more.
To get the best results from using video as a strategy, you need to understand your audience and the types of content that will appeal to them more. For example, if your audience are in the awareness stage, you can create short informational videos for them.
For example, Rand Fishkin of Moz used the Whiteboard Friday event as an entry point into the SEO industry. This helped to establish Moz as an authority in the field. Not only that, Moz has grown in leaps and bounds using this strategy alone.
Image via Moz
On the other hand, if they are in the decision stages, you can use how-to and product demos videos. The more targeted your video content is for your audience, the better for your conversion.
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4. Case Studies
When people want to learn more about your business, they want to hear from other customers who have used your products or services. This is why case studies are among the most valuable and powerful types of content marketing.
With case studies, you can let your prospects see the buyers’ journey from start to finish. You can do this by showing the exact steps you took to help specific clients to get excellent results from using your products or services. Also, you can use case studies to explain how to use some of your products and services.
People prefer case studies before making a purchase online because it helps them to understand your brand better. It also lets your consumers see if your product/service is something that will add value to their business.
In order to achieve great results from using one of these types of content marketing, you need to be strategic about it. Simply put, you must carefully select any of your existing customers that you believe have achieved tremendous results with your products or services.
Doing this will show your audience how valuable your offer is. And, they’ll want to work with you. You can use these case studies on your website or as an advertisement. It can also come in handy when trying to close new sales for your company.
Continue reading this article at ShaneBarker.com.