[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”||0px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
As we explore <\/span>elsewhere on MarketingPlatform<\/span><\/a>, Content Marketing should form a vital part of your overall communication strategy.<\/span><\/p>\n You want to meet your customers where they live and so you are always looking to engage your audience and build their customer journey through as many relevant touchpoints as possible.<\/span><\/p>\n But what are those touchpoints and what is the kind of content that works with them?<\/span><\/p>\n To be honest, depending on how much of a \u201ccompletionist\u201d you are and how much you like to put things into boxes, this list could either be distilled down to around 4-8 key areas, or explode into dozens of individual specific examples.<\/span><\/p>\n In order to make things a little easier for ourselves then, let\u2019s start by putting a frame around the subject and group the types of content into three broader categories.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n And a huge variety of content can be placed into these overall categories.<\/span><\/p>\n This is material that has no audio or video content. Here words are the tools with which the engagement is created<\/a> in the mind of your audience. Graphics or photos may be used, but this only by way of supporting the overall written content rather than being the focus of it.\u00a0 Examples of text content include:<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”||2px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ min_height=”123px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n In this category we find a mix of media and materials, including video, audio, imagery, or a variety of combinations of these, such as:<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”||2px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ min_height=”75px” custom_padding=”||4px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”||3px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Diving into all of these individually here is not practical, so instead in this article we will highlight just a few key examples of the proven highest-performing types of content and explore a little background of why they could be effective for you in engaging your audience.<\/span><\/p>\n We will focus on:<\/span><\/p>\n And for the sake of clarity, we include <\/span>Webinars<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>Vlogs<\/span><\/i> under the overall umbrella of <\/span>Video<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n For many business blogs sit at the heart of their content marketing strategy<\/a>, and for small business especially it has become one of the most popular\u00a0and effective types of content marketing.<\/span><\/p>\n However, blogging<\/a> is not just for small businesses, because they are proven to be one of the best and most cost effective ways to improve SEO\/B2B SEO<\/a>, drive more organic traffic to your site from search engines, and especially with a tight marketing budget, supplement whatever advertising you can afford with highly effective inbound content.<\/span><\/p>\n The evidence in favour of blogging is overwhelming<\/a>, and Techgraphic has shared some highly illuminating research<\/a> on the effectiveness of blogging. It is well worth reviewing the entire infographic; however, the following extract sets the scene elegantly:<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/marketingplatform.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/image1-1.png” alt=”Infographic presenting the positive business impact of blogging.” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n From an SEO perspective alone, companies with blogs have 97% more inbound links, 97% more indexed links and websites with blogs have 434% more indexed pages.<\/span><\/p>\n Small businesses with blogs generate 126% more leads<\/a> and engaging and relevant content is shown to be one of the <\/span>top 3 reasons<\/span><\/i> why people follow brands on social media.<\/span><\/p>\n Blogs, therefore, not only improve your SEO<\/a>, they also:<\/span><\/p>\n As a result, maintaining a consistently and regularly updated blog with high-quality content can result in significant levels of traffic being driven to your site.<\/span><\/p>\n Blog posts also offer you a valid reason to communicate with your audience, making them a worthwhile feature of engaging email marketing<\/a> campaigns designed specifically to increase engagement with your brand.<\/span><\/p>\n Ultimately, the more valuable and relevant the content you share in your blog, the more likely your audience are to trust and choose you when the time comes for making a purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n And seeing as we\u2019ve introduced the subject of infographics<\/a> already, why not explore them in a little more detail as our next focus content type?<\/span><\/p>\n If you have clicked through to the Techgraphic hosted content we link to above, you will already have seen that they are a highly effective and engaging way of sharing complex concepts or information with an audience.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n They are useful for quickly and easily demonstrating <\/span>why<\/span><\/i> an idea or product is particularly good and can represent very clearly <\/span>how <\/span><\/i>something works.<\/span><\/p>\n The trick always with infographics is to let the imagery do the work, visualising the data you want to share and be understood, rather than merely creating a list or a more long-winded explanation.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/marketingplatform.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/image3-1.png” alt=”An example of using infographics as a type of content in communication strategy.” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n In this example, part of a collection of infographics available for your inspiration at the <\/span>Creative Bloq website<\/span><\/a>, the company <\/span>Ultimate Mats<\/span> is educating its audience about the importance of staying healthy at work while simultaneously seeding in the mind of the audience the impression of the brand being an expert in the field with a quality and effective product.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Using eye-catching visuals that are relevant to the topic, they make it very simple for the audience to understand the information being shared.<\/span><\/p>\n To do so effectively, a design needs to be simple and uncluttered, and the content broken up into distinct and easy to digest sections. It is also important to remember that <\/span>space<\/span><\/i> in a design is also vital in keeping the content appealing, so content should not be crowded.<\/span><\/p>\n The basic rule of thumb when creating an infographic is to consider if the information you want to convey would benefit from visualisation. If so, it makes for an excellent infographic topic, and even complicated subjects or dense statistics or data can be effectively shared and understood through infographics. In fact, infographics can be extremely useful in demystifying and explaining intricate concepts and information.<\/span><\/p>\n As such, infographics can also make for an excellent tool in email marketing<\/a> campaigns, and our creative team would be happy to help advise you on how to effectively use them.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n No article exploring types of content could possibly ignore video. Nowadays, people are viewing more <\/span>video content<\/span> than ever before, and at least one-third of ALL time online is spent in watching video content (and this <\/span>excludes<\/span><\/i> streaming services). The engagement that video creates with your audience is immensely powerful, and including video on your landing page can <\/span>increase conversion rates<\/span> by over 80%. That’s why you should take extra effort to edit your videos using a free online video editor<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n More than that, a handful of other, fairly mind-blowing, statistics from <\/span>Insivia<\/span><\/a> show that the impact of video content simply cannot be ignored.<\/span><\/p>\n Remember though, as always your video content needs to be relevant to the needs and wishes of your audience, as <\/span>20% of people<\/span><\/a> still close videos within 10 seconds of them starting, and according to <\/span>Cisco<\/span><\/a>, it would take more than 5 million years for one person to watch the likely amount of video that will cross global IP networks each month by 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n Bearing in mind what topics matter for your audience, and how using video can address these subjects sit at the core of your video content strategy. Depending on where your audience is in their journey with you these can be short engaging clips on a landing page, social media awareness raising content, or more in-depth \u201chow to\u201d content, demos, unboxing videos or webinars that explain not only your inherent value as a brand, but your nature as a marketplace expert.<\/span><\/p>\n We opened this article looking at the efficacy of blogs as a content tool, however, whilst blogs can be quite lengthy, strictly speaking they are not long-form content.<\/span><\/p>\n Why not?<\/span><\/p>\n Often blogs and articles will be between 1,000-2,000 words in length.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Long form content however will be much longer, anything between 4,000-15,000 words, and often will best sit separated from your main blog.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n By and large, <\/span>Google prefers content rich sites<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n
How long is a piece of string?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Long form Content<\/strong><\/h3>\n