According to Hubspot, around 70% of marketers are actively investing in content marketing. Do you know why? Because content marketing is an approach that involves creating valuable, consistent and informative content to bring awareness about your brand, generate leads and above all, to provide value to the customers. When done in the right way, it helps you establish your brand as a trusted authority within your industry type. Plus, great content has the power to create a positive experience for your potential prospects and compel them to come back for more. It can help you cultivate brand advocates who will further help you market your brand.
However, to plan effective content marketing strategies, you need to know the different elements of content writing.
Blogs
Blogging is one of the most powerful and profitable forms of content marketing as it lets businesses receive 97% more inbound links to their website and in turn, have and 434% more indexed pages for the SERPs. However, it is important that you publish a blog that corresponds with your product or service. You literally don’t need to push your product or service in your blogs, but rather create content that answers certain questions related to your industry. Also, by optimizing your blogs according to SEO, you can rank higher in SERPs and increase visibility.
Infographics
Infographics organize and visualize information in a manner that lets you garner a lot of attention in the form of inbound links and shares. It is a great way to share data, processes or stats in a clear and well-understood manner. It makes it easier for clients to understand the information you are sharing and also helps them retain it. The thing that makes infographics different from other types of content is that their format makes use of written words and visual elements together to condense big ideas into a small space.
Videos
Videos are another type of content marketing that is a bit on the expensive side but quite in demand. According to Hubspot, video is the most preferred form of content and around 54% of people want to see videos from brands they follow. They possess the power to instantly capture your target audience’s attention. Using videos, you can provide relevant information and consequently promote your product or service. Moreover, you can also use them to present how-to’s, live-stream events, share behind-the-scenes or simply produce anything that is informative as well as entertaining.
E-books
E-books are extended pieces of content that lets you showcase your knowledge and experience on a subject in more depth than a blog post. They work as a lead generation tool as prospective customers can download them only after submitting a lead form with their contact information. Moreover, they can be used to strengthen your brand’s image as you can create an ebook on a subject that your audience cares about and answer their questions or address their concerns in a more meticulous manner.
Case-studies
Case studies give you the opportunity to tell the story of how you helped a customer achieve its goal or solve its problem. They allow the buyer to see the “customer journey from start to finish”. They provide people with tangible proof of your success which enhances your image and build trust and credibility. They further help consumers understand how your brand can add value to their business. Also, case studies are the most versatile form of content marketing as they can take any form – blog post, ebook, podcast or even as an infographic.
At the end of the day, when it comes to content marketing, choose the types that suit your business the best and don’t be scared to experiment a little. Also, don’t forget to research your potential prospects to understand their needs. By doing this, you will be able to build content strategies that reaches and resonates with them.
