6 essential types of content for a successful marketing strategy
What is content marketing? We get asked this question fairly often, so we decided to set the record straight on what our business entails and what content marketing is really made up of. When it comes to the definition of content marketing, we feel that the Content Marketing Institute really hit the nail on the head when they proclaimed that:
“Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.”
The emphasis here is on the value provided through relevant content posted on a regular basis. The aim of content marketing is not as direct as traditional advertising, where the main goal is to sell and sell big. Instead, it strives to generate a response by communicating in a helpful and useful way.
Content marketing enables you to engage in conversation with your audience by leveraging the proper words in order to get responses and drive action. Attention-grabbing, truly engaging content will then open the door to sell your product. The entire process is done in a subtle, informative manner, where you, as a brand, answer the question or solve the problems of your audience.
Wondering how you can actually achieve that? By cleverly and consistently making good use of the core elements of content marketing! Read on to find out all about the most useful tools that can help you increase audience engagement:
Website – your online business card
When someone is interested in your business, the first thing they usually do is go online and check your website. As you’re probably well aware by now, first impressions are extremely important, not only in real life, but also in the business world. Thus, your brand needs a site that has a well-structured, clean appearance, is easy to navigate and loads fast. And while the basics mostly depend on your tech team, the content you load it with falls upon you.
Make sure audiences get a clear picture of who you are and what your mission statement is by crafting an insightful and fun-to-read about section. If you decide to collect their data, give them something of value in exchange instead of posting a simple call-to-action pop-up, and they’ll most likely return to your brand in the future.
Blog – your brand’s unique asset
Fresh, consistent, useful content is held in high regard by search engines. Blogs give you a chance to engage with followers in a unique and fun way. Since it’s your platform, you can present your products in a fun and memorable manner, approach different topics from a unique angle and just have fun with it.
The goal here is to make your articles useful and shareable, as great blog posts perform well on all channels, can be shared across various social platforms and have a tendency to go viral, if they’re witty and informative enough. Don’t forget to spice up your content with SEO and watch your website rise in the ranks of search engine results.
Email marketing is alive and well
While newsletters receive a lot of flak for being outdated and old-fashioned, when used correctly, they can still have quite an impact on your followers and have excellent potential in turning them into customers. The trick is to target your followers in a personalized matter, as they wish to hear from you and not from an automated machine. Keep the text to a minimum, let the images speak for themselves and don’t forget a call-to-action sign to entice readers to visit your website.
Getting social on social platforms
People access social media in their spare time, so do your best to stay social instead of overflowing your feed with salesy posts. Aim to entertain with the help of visually-engaging posts that are full of personality, are informative or helpful. Do a thorough analysis and see where your target audience spends time and communicate via their chosen social platforms to reach them. Take some time to respond to their individual requests and comments to keep the communication flowing and don’t forget that consistency is key in social media marketing.
Design and visuals – at the center of it all
Written text is merely a shell of the entire content and has little impact when it’s not accompanied by striking visuals to attract viewers. Adding graphics, photos and visual elements helps you send your message across in a more effective way, can generate social shares and, if executed correctly, has the potential to go viral.
How you deliver content matters and great design can make your product more visible whilst driving conversions. By creating a strong visual presence for your brand, you can differentiate yourself from competitors and become instantly recognizable to your audience.
Videos can help increase engagement
Video marketing is a powerful tool that has enormous potential, since it’s so versatile and can be both efficient and effective. The audience loves it because it’s entertaining, insightful and easy to digest. It’s a great tool that can result in a huge return of investment and it’s also quite shareable through all platforms.
This extremely popular form of content needs a different strategy for each platform. Polished, pre-recorded videos are great for Facebook and Youtube, while livestreams and real-time video content is a fantastic way to engage with followers in IG TV, Instagram Stories or Tik-Tok. Choose the platforms your audience prefers and accommodate your video-making process to the specific requirements of the respective channel. Just remember to plan ahead regardless of the type of video you choose to shoot. Be clear on what your message is and focus on being as entertaining and concise as possible.
Lastly, as master marketer Seth Godin put it,
“Content marketing is the only marketing left.”
And the fact of the matter is, although this quote is 12 years old, it’s still relevant today. When addressing customers, you should always create useful, appealing content that lures the audience in and keeps them engaged. Once you’ve achieved this, they will become the biggest promoters of your brand and will surely turn in to long-term, recurring clients.
A content marketing agency can help you get on the right track by setting up a marketing strategy tailored to your business, using the appropriate tools to engage your audience and by establishing your place as a leader within your domain. Contact the Onlike Content Marketing Agency for more details!