the a-z of content
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A to Z of Content
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A to Z of Content
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Is your content output starting to feel a bit stale? Don’t worry – there are plenty
of different types of content for you to throw in the marketing mix, and all of
them can be highly effective.
There’s no need to keep doing the same old things; for new ideas, just work through the A-Z of content types…
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Articles
Blogs
Great content adopts a magazine mindset. We all have our favourite magazines and websites, and the reason we keep coming back is because of the consistent quality of the articles. These could include topical features, interviews, and evergreens (i.e. content that won’t age easily, remaining useful and relevant long after it’s been published).
Similarly, a blog is your chance to really get the personality of your business across. A blog can be anything from a couple of paragraphs welcoming a new member of staff, to a 600-word look into an interesting subject in your sector. Ultimately, you have complete freedom with your blog, so if appropriate, have fun with it!
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Case Studies
Data/Stats
Customers visiting your website will want to see what you’re capable of, so case studies are bits of content that essentially show off your skills. Break down the objectives, what you did, and what results you achieved. Also, a quote from the happy customer is a nice touch.
Journalists, customers, heck – even your competitors; all of them will be interested in reading some fresh data or statistics relating to the industry in which you work. If you produce your own independent research, your website can become the ‘go to’ place for all the latest industry insights (just make sure people credit your business as the source).
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E-books
FAQs
E-books are visually attractive, easy-to-consume, well-designed pieces of content that are highly sharable. Readers can flick through an E-book like a slideshare. You’ll know this, after all, as you’re reading one right now!
One of the main content marketing goals is to have your work show up in search engine results, so having a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page can be highly effective, as these questions will be what people are searching for. Do a little research and make sure you cover all bases.
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Guides
How-to
A guide might be content that outlines a location, product, or service – whatever you can think of! It could be presented as an article, a blog, an E-book, or a ‘How to’ guide. Speaking of which…
Having ‘How to’ content in your blog is invaluable to your website, as it essentially answers the FAQs that your potential customers are searching for. In order to discover what queries they need answered, you could conduct surveys, or use a data intelligence tool like Vertical Leap’s Apollo Insights, which collates this info and makes effective content ideas easier to find.
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Infographics
Jokes
Content doesn’t have to be just words on a page; it can also be led by design. Infographics are highly-sharable pieces of content that can be simultaneously informative and fun. A great infographic can perform very well on social platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.
Who doesn’t love a good one-liner, tall tale, great gag or a ripping good yarn? Funny content is great for social media and can help visitors to your website get to know your business’ personality. You might want to avoid making a joke at someone else’s expense, though!
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Kick-off
Listicles
Got a new product ready to launch? Perhaps the start of your winter sale is about to begin? Maybe the conference you’ve organised is coming up in a few days? Plan ahead and line up some content to help kick off the big event. This could include blogs giving readers ‘everything you need to know’, or a listicle on ’10 things you need to check out at [insert event name here]’.
Not sure what a listicle is? Chances are you’ve read two today already. Buzzfeed have turned the listicle into one of the most popular forms of content online today, and with good reason. It’s easy for readers to digest, and they know roughly how long it’s going to take them to read from the title alone. Like infographics, listicles can perform very well on social media, especially Facebook.
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Memes
News
Along the same lines as a good joke, a great meme can end up being seen by millions if you’re lucky enough for it to go viral on social media. How’s that for visibility?
Industry news works in the same way that presenting original data and statistics does; it presents your business as an industry leader, and your website as a valued information hub. Gripping headlines can draw people into your website, and great stories can steer people towards your products and services.
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Opinions
Product Reviews
Think of your favourite newspaper – it will likely have a section where the editor writes an opinion column on a recent happening. You could do this on your blog too, although it’s recommended you stick to opinions on things in your industry, rather than world events.
When shopping online, do you read the reviews left by other customers? So do we, and so will your customers. That’s why encouraging your visitors to leave product reviews is a highly-effective form of user-generated content.
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Quizzes
Reviews
Great content can be fun, interactive, and downright silly. Quizzes are perfect for this! A great quiz can get people sharing your content around their offices or with friends, and if there’s a nudge towards your product or service at the end, even better!
We’ve already covered your own product reviews, but you could also create your own reviews of industry-related things like trade shows, conferences or new releases from other companies.
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Surveys
Testimonials
Another great way of creating user-generated content is to generate surveys that are interesting to your potential customers. Sure, you might have to give away a prize in order to lure people to fill it out, but if you get good results you can then turn the survey results into a number of different blogs and articles.
Working alongside your case studies, testimonials from customers will leave a very positive note with visitors. Quotes can be short – even just a sentence or two – but if your customers are happy and kind enough to give you one, a quality testimonial is worth its weight in gold.
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User-generated
Videos
We’ve mentioned a few types of user-generated content already in this E-book (product reviews and surveys), but we can’t stress enough how useful these forms of content are. User-generated content engages people, it makes them feel part of a community, and most importantly of all, it keeps people coming back.
When it comes to explaining products and services, video is arguably the best way. Your video content needn’t stop there, though. You could include interviews, create video case studies, make event documentaries, and generally just have some fun. YouTube is very popular, as you’ll no doubt know; have some success there and you’re on your way.
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Whitepapers
X-rated
When it’s time to get serious and present customers with important information, whitepapers are a must. Whitepapers are authoritative reports that your customers can download and keep; they’re usually quite bulky documents, and usually help someone solve a problem (the solution being your product!)
Now, we’re not talking about producing anything NSFW (not suitable for work), but if your company has a playful side you could produce some content that’s a little controversial, just to get some buzz going.
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Yearly round-ups
Zombies
They’re an institution in almost every industry, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t produce your own yearly round-ups. Find something that will make yours stand out and they can be hugely beneficial.
Create content about zombies.
Y’know…because people love zombies.
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