DIGITAL MARKETING - CONTENT TYPES

- Narendran TS

BLOGS The blog offers an easy way to present brief

chunks of frequently refreshed web content. Backed with easy-to-use technologies for syndication and commenting, blogs are often the centers of social media solar systems that can incorporate sophisticated SEO strategies and community-building campaigns

Key Points: Encourage conversations: even “bad” comments

can be an opportunity for developing good customer relations.

Be a good “netizen”: participate on other blogs as well as your own.

Loosen up: Authenticity trumps perfection when connecting with readers.

E-NEWSLETTER An e-newsletter is a permission-based means

of regular communication with current and future customers, usualy distributed monthly or weekly. Available electronically via text-based or HTML pages, e-newsletters can include complete articles or brief descriptions with links or articles on your website.

Key Points: Don’t spam your e-newsletter. Get permission

and offer opt-out links at the bottom of every e-newsletter you send out.

It can be a good vehicle for promoting other content: webinars, e-books, white-papers, live events, and so on.

Try a weekly or monthly e-newsletter review.

ARTICLE A flexible medium, both in length and

format, the article opens opportunities for companies to address issues, trends, concerns, and topics of immediate interest to their intended audiences.

Key Points: Once isn’t enough; plan on a series of

articles to create impact. Look for opportunities to place your articles

in print media and on the web, on your website as others in need of great content.

Always think from the editor’s point of view; your article must conform to the publication’s requirements and be of immediate interest to its readers.

E-BOOK Generally more in length than the white

paper, which presents complex information in a visually attractive, reader-friendly format. The content is both informative and entertaining; the tone, collegial; the format, “chunky” rather than linear, to facilitate skimming and scanning.

Key Points: Develop your distribution strategy early: how

will you get your e-book into readers’ hands? Think visually: make liberal use of bullets,

callouts, sidebars, graphs, and so on. Conclude with solid call to action: like what

should readers do next?

TESTIMONIALS A testimonial is a quote fro customer’s

mouth. When praise comes from a trustworthy source – a client or customer – it acquires a credibility that helps overcome scepticism and purchasing hesitation.

Key Points: Create a process for consistently requesting

testimonials from your customers. Good testimonials offer specifics: the what,

why, and how of your work with or for the customer.

Don’t bury testimonials on a separate “Testimonials” web page; spread them throughout the site.

VIDEO Sites such as YouTube and Vimeo have greatly

simplified a once difficult task of sharing and uploading videos. With these tools we can embed or link video code easily. And the video sites provide social media options for conversing and sharing that can help your content go viral.

Key Points: Inexpensive editing tools such as iMovie or Final

cut make it easy to assemble professional looking video content.

Instead of taking a one-shot approach, consider a video series that builds interest, and an audience, over time.

Most important part of the video is the audio, so more focus should be emphasized on audio equipments.

DIGITAL MAGAZINE A hybrid between the traditional magazine

and sounded-up PDF, a digital magazine offers self-contained, visually compelling periodical content that doesn’t require special software to open and read. Issues are generally distributed by e-mail via brand websites.

Key Points: If you don’t like the confinement of digital

replica, consider repurposing print magazine content on your blog.

Digital magazines are great for integrating print content with a web presence.

Consider adding video and podcasts to your magazine content.

MOBILE APPLICATION Known familiarly as a “apps”, mobile

applications come in two broad flavours: as native apps developed for specific devices or as web apps that can be distributed without depending on specific marketplace.

Key Points: Effective applications must have a regular

reason for use. They should have easy interfaces with social

networks such as Facebook or Twitter. A survey function needs to be included to

gauge satisfaction and collect intelligence for the nest release.

PODCAST A podcast is simply an audio file you

can listen to on a computer or MP3-type player, often distributed via RSS or iTunes. Podcasts are generally 5-30 minutes long, but longer podcast downloads are becoming popular.

Key points: Define a podcast theme, and stick to it. Establish a release schedule listeners

can expect: weekly, biweekly, monthly and so on. Be consistent.

Integrate podcast content with your blog to gain listener insights.

INFOGRAPHIC An infographic represents information or data

visually, in a chart, graph, or other form of illustration. But the power of an infographic goes beyond its immediate visual appeal; unlike a mere list, an infographic can expose the relationships among desperate pieces of information, delivering insights, and not just raw data

Key Points: Everyone’s confusion can become your

opportunity- where can you deliver value by providing clarity?

Think metaphorically to find a guiding image or idea that frames your information.

Make your resulting infographic easy to share online for maximum reach and distribution.

THANK YOU