The Four Different Forms of Content

There are four main kinds of content on the internet: text, graphics, audio and video. Each of these kinds of content has its own benefits and drawbacks, with each appealing most to different audiences.

Here's an overview of each of these four kinds of content and when they should be used.

==> Text-Based Content

This is by far the most common type of content on the internet. Just about every webpage you see is based on text content.

One of the biggest benefits of text-based content is that it's very search engine friendly. Search engines can't understand videos or audios, but they definitely can understand text.

In other words, if you're running text-based content you stand a good chance of ranking.

It also requires less preparation to create text content. You don't need microphones or videos, or expensive graphic editing programs. All you need to do is type.

==> Graphic-Based Content

The main type of graphic-based content online is infographics. These are essentially graphics that contain information in and of themselves.

One of the biggest benefits of infographics is that it's often more entertaining and informative than just text.

For example, if you're illustrating the history of a war, it's much more alive to actually have graphics than just to describe it in words.

==> Audio

Audio content has really taken off ever since the iPod became popular.

In the past, audio content had to be consumed in cassette or CD format. That was both expensive and quite a bit of hassle, and it just wasn't that popular as a format.

But today, people can listen to audios anywhere they go. In the car, on the bus, while walking, at lunch, etc. It saves time and is extremely convenient. Audio content works really well for many businesses.

==> Video

Video content is one of the most dynamic methods of distributing content on the internet. You can put funny content, informational content, interesting content, high tech content, personal content - just about anything you can think of.

Video content also has some of the strongest "share culture." It's very easy to share video content with friends on Facebook for example.

A video has a much higher chance of going viral than say an audio podcast.

The only downside to video content is that it does take more effort to produce. You need to shoot the video, edit the video and finally render the video. The whole process could take many hours, rather than just 30 minutes to write an article.

So which content format is right for you and your business? It really depends on what kind of content you're creating and who your market is. There's no harm in trying all four different kinds of content and seeing which one(s) your audience responds the best to.

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