Content marketing is one of the most important forms of marketing that exists.
The thing that might surprise you most about content marketing is that it’s not new. Content marketing has existed since marketing existed, which has been around since people sold goods or services.
Content marketing is used to grab attention, qualify an audience, and build a customer base and drive brand advocates, and then some. When it comes to marketing, almost anything you want to accomplish can be done with content marketing.
There are several types of effective content that you’ll want to incorporate into your marketing efforts. Many of you are probably doing a lot of this already. You may not have even realized that it’s content marketing. Of course, to use content marketing successfully, it’s important to figure out your goals, understand your audience (as we always mention) and your products or services, and act consistently.
Types of content marketing
- Blogging – Your website needs a blog so that you can add updated information and posts regularly. In fact, most of your content should originate on your website/blog and be shared from there to other platforms because the point is to bring people to your website and landing pages. (We’ll talk about beginning from Facebook Live or YouTube in another post.)
- Email Autoresponder Messages – These are messages you send to your email list subscribers to encourage them to check out the products they haven’t purchased, help them use the products they have purchased, and even improve customer satisfaction post-purchase.
- Videos and Webinars – People love video, and if it is live or feels live, that’s even better. The awesome thing about creating videos and webinars is that you can easily repurpose them into other creations. Plus, they help impart more difficult concepts in a more understandable way.
- Case Studies and Interviews – This is a great way to come up with convincing and persuasive content. Case studies help to show that you can back up your statements. Interviews show real-world scenarios that help people put themselves in the place of the person receiving the solution.
- eBooks, eReports, and White Papers – When you have more information to impart, using longer types of content is very helpful. eBooks and eReports can consist of many types of information. White papers are more specific in terms of what they cover, but many consider them interchangeable. These can also often be added to Kindle or Gumroad.
- Checklists and Cheat Sheets – Anytime you want to provide helpful content to your audience, these are always great additions to get someone on your list or to use as after-purchase bonus material to help delight your customers.
- Social Media Posts and Updates – Ideally, what you post on social media will help to bring people back to what you created for your blog or website. Consider it the bus that brings people to your storefront. But social media also includes other types of content such as teachings, inspirational messages, questions and behind the scenes photos. (Look for our email this month for a checklist!)
- Infographics, GIFs, Memes, and Images – Naturally, every single image is helpful to tell your story and explain different concepts. Infographics help explain data-centric posts, eBooks, eReports, and white papers too.
Get ready for a great series because we’ll be adding more about content marketing each week on the blog! Without using content marketing effectively, you’re truly missing out on an amazing aspect of marketing your business that simply cannot be ignored due to how effective it is.