Complete guide to content marketing

Content marketing is a strategy. It’s a plan for how you’re going to use the content you create to market your company’s product or service.

Furthermore, content marketing also provides additional benefits in that it supports other digital marketing channels. It provides additional content for social media marketing and contributes to SEO efforts by generating natural inbound links and building up good content on your website that gets found in search engines.

Let’s have a look in detail at what is content marketing all about.

What is content?

To understand content, understand one thing that content is not just the written word.

Content is just about anything that displays on the page. It is the stuff that packs the internet and what the entire social media world is built on. Moreover, it’s informational; it’s entertaining, it’s even sometimes shareable. But it is not always what we think of as traditional marketing.

The importance of content creation

Content doesn’t magically spring to life on its own. It requires a virtual army of creatives and organized types to make sure that everything goes off without a hitch. The truth is that content creation is the most powerful tool in your content marketing arsenal. 

It is really the only tool if you think about it. After all, you have nothing for your social media outlets without content, you have nothing for your site, your blogs, your YouTube channels, your podcasts. Because digital marketing is so incredibly important to businesses today, you can’t very well fight the battle with an empty arsenal. You may as well close up shop if you try because no one will find you as you drift out of sight across the great digital sea.

Different types of content for different types of audience

Content is the currency of your marketing strategy, and there are hundreds of types of content that your business can use to attract customers, expand your audience reach, and convert leads to sales.

You already know that different brands use content across the internet, and you can build a winning content strategy to build an online presence. But do you know how to build content to connect with your audience?

So before starting ask yourself these questions whenever you build content to fill your marketing mix:

• Who: Who are your customers and what do they look like? also, What is their age, gender, location, and demographic?
• What: What questions are your customers asking? What are their pain points, and what solutions are they looking for?
• Where: Where do your customers look for answers and solutions? Do they ask Google, or do they look on YouTube, Facebook, or LinkedIn?
• How: How do your customers search for answers and solutions online? Do they use a laptop or phone, and do they look for text answers or images?

You will see that some forms of content take longer to produce and you will have to pay more to outsource. Instead of struggling to think of different content types, we put together a comprehensive list of content types and how to use each one throughout the Content Mapping Process.

Each type of content should be used in different online platforms, and each type of content should be used to engage with customers at different stages of the customer journey.

What are the types of content marketing?

Content is, arguably, anything you create that doesn’t contain an overt sales message; it is really that simple. Let’s break it down into the most common categories you are likely to encounter. Those are:

• Infographics
• Blog content
• Podcasts
• Videos
• Social media.

Let’s explore each of these and see how to get the best results from them. 

1. Blog content marketing

Blogging is one of the most popular types of content marketing for small businesses because you can create, optimize, and publish blog posts quickly and without fancy tools. Well-written and optimized blog posts are a great way to get found in Google as people search for specific questions and needs that you address in individual blog posts.

Since blogging is easy to get into, many companies produce lots of blog content for their brand. Rather than blogging about how your newest product will change lives, you should be writing about topics related to your products or services.

Moreover, Blogging is a quick and easy way to get in front of qualified leads and build an online presence. Whereas, it isn’t easy to stand out from loads of content already out there, but you can use some tips to write great blog posts to get found in Google and engage with potential customers:

• Focus on the needs of your target audience. Use blog posts as a way to answer common questions and point back to your brand.
• Use a cluster model to build content silos. This approach will help you stand out on Google and drive more qualified traffic to your site.
• Optimize your content for SEO. You will want to power-up your blog content by linking to other pieces of content, include valuable keywords, and try to write 800-1,000 words for each blog post

2. Infographic content marketing

Another great example of content marketing is infographic. A good infographic can get a lot of attention in the form of shares and inbound links. Infographic is an easy to consume and understand format of content marketing. This type of content uses simple graphics and a minimalist design to explain a process and concept related to your business.

Of course, you can’t use an infographic for everything, nor should you. But choosing the right time and graphic can elevate this content format to the sublime. Successful infographics are simple, impactful, and meaningful.

Unlike text-based content or video content, infographics are the best content type to visualize data like statistics, charts, and graphs. Infographics are a great way to catch your customers’ attention and expand their knowledge about a specific topic.

Furthermore, infographics are easy to understand when conveying complex information. This type of content can also attract your target audience with simple graphics that show your products or services’ value.

3. Podcast content marketing

This popular content is convenient because it can be enjoyed while taking a break or while on the go. Use a podcast to give the audience useful, thought-provoking information. You can also improve brand awareness, build relationships with audience members, and promote products, services, and partners. Remember it’s not a sales pitch, it’s offering valuable content to the audience.

High-quality podcasts have been extremely profitable for some digital marketers, though they are far from a universal solution for your content needs. Once you have the right equipment, they can be simple to produce and, if distributed through a podcast network, can have massive reach.

Use your professionally composed podcast to bring more awareness to your brand from difficult to penetrate markets with specialty niches, and also as a way to showcase your brand’s personality in a very big way.

4. Video content marketing

Video content can be expensive and time consuming too, but it is hot and in demand among many consumers. It is a great way to connect with your audience because videos allow you to share complex information through an interactive medium. People love watching videos because video content is easy to consume, and you can share information quickly compared to a blog post or other types of content.

Besides sharing information, video content is a great way to rank in search engines for competitive terms. You can also use videos to build a brand and connect with your audience on a deeper level than traditional text-based content types.

Additionally, Video content is more accessible as people begin consuming video content on smartphones, and people have access to faster Internet connections to stream higher-resolution videos with ease. You can use videos to get found for a variety of valuable search terms. Here are a few types of videos that you can make for your products and services:

• Interviews & Expert Roundups
• Special Guest Showcase
• Service & Product Reviews
• Tutorials & Demo Videos
• Live Video Q & A

5. Social media content marketing

Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram help businesses reach new audiences and nurture relationships with customers. A well-produced video spot shows a whole different side of your business and can give you a better way to create content that demonstrates how to do something or how something works.

Unlike other digital marketing content listed above, social media marketing is all about getting people to look AND respond directly. You want engagement that is palpable.

By watching your social media analytics, you will be able to figure out pretty quickly if your audience is the type that prefers videos or blogs, serious posts from your CEO, or funny posts from your staff writers. Plus, you will be able to gauge how much traffic social media is generating to your site.

Why you need content marketing?

Because the Internet is like a vast sea filled with everything imaginable, it can be difficult for anyone to find your little light on the water. Everyone is competing for attention from a limited number of people who are desperately looking for a product, a service, or an answer to some question. 

Content marketing makes it possible for the two of you to find one another against what may seem like impossible odds. But that is not the only reason you need content marketing, not remotely.

1. Content marketing helps customers bond with your brand

Your story is more than an advertisement, and you should make sure people know it. Sure, some people will buy a generic product from a faceless company, but those who want a relationship they can count on for years to come will be looking for a lot more.

Your content marketing tells the customer who your company is, what it stands for, and keeps them engaged over time.

2. You build trust with good content

Your content marketing can also help to build an emotional bridge. If a potential customer is in dire need of answers and you happen to provide the information they are seeking on your blog or YouTube channel, they are going to respond favorably.

They may even come to trust you for your clearly demonstrated knowledge of your field, which is really the goal of content marketing.

3. More and better customers cost less

The ROI on a well-executed content marketing is staggering. Depending on how well you develop content to match your audience’s needs, you could see website conversion rates of up to six times higher than if you had no content marketing plan in place at all.

Not only does that mean a lot of leads, but you also have a chance to do some qualifying of potential customers before they even send their first inquiry.

For example, if you make an effort to answer common questions as a part of your content strategy, you can explain the details of your product. It saves you both time, and your company spends less on each pre-qualified lead that comes through the door.

4. Content marketing supports other types of marketing

You can use the content you are generating to help support your social media campaigns and other efforts, like email campaigns, every page created, or blog you build can help improve your organic SEO.

After all, the more opportunities you have for Google to index your content, the more opportunities you have to be found in searches for a wide assortment of keywords. The more people see you pop up for their query, the more chances they will link to you in their own content.

What makes good content marketing?

The best content marketing is genuinely selfless. It does not overtly sell anything or promote a product. Good content marketing, simply delivers helpful information in an easy to understand format for an audience hungry for knowledge. It comes in many shapes and sizes, including:

Blogs

Blogs are by and large one of the most popular forms of content marketing. Not only do they allow you to truly connect to your customer and demonstrate your knowledge on a given subject, but blogs live on SERPs for a long time (if you play your cards right). Blogs give you several ways to keep your business visible, including collecting inbound links and being excellent fodder for social media platforms.

Newsletters

Both paper and digital newsletters serve as regular reminders that your company still exists and that you are not just a well of knowledge, but the well of knowledge. After all, why would someone go out of their way to do a lot of research on a subject when they know they can trust you to deliver everything they need in a tidy package? Whether you offer a service or a product, well-designed and executed newsletters are a highly effective way to stay top of mind (and inbox).

Videos

Videos can grab a lot of attention in a short time, but their usefulness will depend mainly on your audience and the topic. Some people detest video content, either because they tend to surf the internet from work, or because they just hate the noise coming from their phones. Other people love video content and seek it out. In other words, you can think of it as a medium of extremes. If your brand is well-served by video, use it liberally, but make sure to provide captions and a summary so people can fully appreciate the glory that is your video content no matter where they are. Transcripts can help some users, too.

Apps

Apps are not talked about as content marketing nearly enough, but they should. Although they can be a mixed bag for search, they have the potential to create significant brand recognition. Imagine that your widget factory has decided to put out an app that contains lots of plans for building amazing projects with Widget-brand widgets. Widget fans everywhere would rejoice; they would look to your app for new and exciting ways to use their favorite product, and you would see an increase in sales as people challenged themselves to be better and more inventive with the product.

Almost anything can be content – as long as you are not forcing a sale on someone immediately. Content marketing is the subtle sale that gradually warms a visitor. It is a ninja marketing technique that politely asks them if they would like to know more about your product/service.

Design your marketing strategy around your customers

Marketers like to make content marketing sound more complex than it really is. You may hear different terms like “content marketing” and “content marketing plan,” but just know that these types of terms just refer to using different types of content to engage with different types of customers.

You will also likely hear people talking about creating lots of content to get found on all marketing channels. While these people want you to feel overwhelmed, we are here to tell you that the goal is not how much you make but the quality of your content based on the needs of your customers.

Be sure to do your research to understand your target audience, their needs, and where they are in the Customer Journey. You’ll be able to build great content once you know who you are talking to and how to address their questions with online content.

Think like a marketer as you think through your market and customers to build the best content forms to grow your online presence.

Tip to have a successful content marketing strategy

When you are doing content marketing, don’t just copy someone else content. As creating content is not the only thing you need to do. For example: There are thousands of people writing about fashion, so your content has to be special to stand up against those kinds of odds.

It does not have to be huge; it can merely be writing in a way that is more entertaining and thorough, going out of your way to thoroughly research your topic before writing on it so that what you have to say has real power for your reader or viewer. In short your content should be exciting and fresh.

Wrap up

Content marketing is absolutely vital, but if you don’t have a plan and some way to gauge your potential customers’ feedback, you are really just wasting your time. Despite the open nature of content marketing, you cannot just go about it haphazardly. There is a particular order to things. 

Also, you have to deliver content in a way that makes sense and is consistent with the other content you have created in the past and will create in the future. Be sure to do you research to figure out what kind of content your target audience is most likely to consume, and where they are most likely to consume it.