7 Main Types of Content and How to Use Them for Marketing

If you want to grow your online business, content marketing is a sure-fire strategy to help you do so.

The Content Marketing Institute (CMI) found that content marketing generates over three times as many leads compared to outbound marketing. Not only that, it also costs 62% less.

Another report by Marketing Profs and CMI showed that the most successful B2B marketers dedicate 40% of their advertising budgets to content marketing.

Image via Content Marketing Institute

What this means is that top marketers understand the importance of content marketing as a strategy. Hence, they use it to grow their brands.

In this post, I want to show you seven types of content marketing that you can use to grow your business.

If you include any or all of these popular types of content marketing in your strategy, you can expect to see great results.

Let’s dive in.

1. Blog Posts

A blog is one of the most popular types of content marketing you can use to grow your brand. This is why it’s becoming increasingly popular.

According to Growth Badger, there are over 600 million blogs today, out of the 1.7+ billion websites that currently exist. In fact, a report by Statista indicated that there are about 31.2 million blogs in the United States alone.

Image via Statista 

With a blog on your website, you can attract potential customers who are actively looking for answers to the problems that your business solves. Not only that, this type of content marketing is also a good way to improve SEO and boost your organic traffic.

When you blog regularly, you’re able to build relationships with your customers and prospects. This is because by blogging, you’re providing value to your readers. The more you do so, the more they will know, like, and trust you. In the long run, they will want to buy from you.

To get the most out of this strategy, you must make sure that you write about what your potential customers are actively searching for online. One way to do this is through a Google search for the keywords you’re targeting.

Say your business is into influencer marketing. You can type the keyword “influencer marketing” into Google, and the results will give you an idea of what to write about. Similarly, you can use tools such as BuzzSumo to learn about the most popular blog posts related to your keyword.

Image via BuzzSumo 

2. Social Media Posts

If you want to reach your target audience faster, having a social media as a strategy is a must. With social media platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram, you can build relationships with your customers and reach new audiences.

The reason is simple.

Social media is one of the most popular online activities that people engage in. In fact, according to Emarsys, there are over 3.2 billion social media users in the world today.

Image via Emarsys

So using social media posts as one of the types of content marketing in your business can help you engage with new leads and existing customers.

One company that does this really well is General Electrics (GE). GE has used social media, especially Instagram, to promote their products such as locomotives, jet engines, wind turbines, and so on.

This has helped them bring to life what could be otherwise known as a dull business. The results have been tremendous for them. Take for instance the #GEInstawalk Instagram campaign. It generated 8 million views of the brand’s Instagram account, 3 million reach per tour, and 3,000 new followers.

Image via Instagram 

To get the best out of social media, you must understand how each social media network works. Also, you should have a goal in mind before implementing this strategy. Not only that, make sure your content isn’t only promotional, but also provides value to your followers.

If you can use social media effectively, you can help more people discover your products. It can also be a strategy to provide more information about your products for your leads and customers.

3. Videos

If you want to engage your audience quickly and grab their attention, then you should use video content as a strategy. This is because more people now view video content online than ever before.

According to Cisco, by 2022, 82% of internet traffic will be video. Additionally, 90% of consumers state that videos help them make purchasing decisions.

What this means is that no matter the industry you operate in, video is one of the best types of content marketing to reach and engage your target customers.

With videos, you can create different types of content in your industry. This helps you to engage your target audience and leave them asking for more.

To get the best results from using video as a strategy, you need to understand your audience and the types of content that will appeal to them more. For example, if your audience are in the awareness stage, you can create short informational videos for them.

For example, Rand Fishkin of Moz used the Whiteboard Friday event as an entry point into the SEO industry. This helped to establish Moz as an authority in the field. Not only that, Moz has grown in leaps and bounds using this strategy alone.

Image via Moz

On the other hand, if they are in the decision stages, you can use how-to and product demos videos. The more targeted your video content is for your audience, the better for your conversion.

4. Case Studies

When people want to learn more about your business, they want to hear from other customers who have used your products or services. This is why case studies are among the most valuable and powerful types of content marketing.

With case studies, you can let your prospects see the buyers’ journey from start to finish. You can do this by showing the exact steps you took to help specific clients to get excellent results from using your products or services. Also, you can use case studies to explain how to use some of your products and services.

People prefer case studies before making a purchase online because it helps them to understand your brand better. It also lets your consumers see if your product/service is something that will add value to their business.

In order to achieve great results from using one of these types of content marketing, you need to be strategic about it. Simply put, you must carefully select any of your existing customers that you believe have achieved tremendous results with your products or services.

Doing this will show your audience how valuable your offer is. And, they’ll want to work with you. You can use these case studies on your website or as an advertisement. It can also come in handy when trying to close new sales for your company.

5. Infographics

Infographics are also one of the most popular types of content marketing. This is because they’re a visual content marketing format that can help your audience understand visual data better.

Infographics are usually eye-catching, so anyone who sees them processes and understands the information faster and better. With infographics, you can provide useful information to your target audience. Also, you can educate your leads and customers more effectively.

To make the best use of infographics, you need to figure out the type of topics that’ll work well with it. Statistics, research, studies, complicated subjects, and so on are some of the popular formats that work really well with infographics.

6. Ebooks

Ebooks are also effective when providing value to your audience. It can be likened to a long-form blog content that gives potential customers valuable information.

It’s similar to other types of content marketing because the essence of an ebook is to build a relationship with your prospects. That way, they can know your brand better, and build their trust.

Apart from building a relationship with your audience, ebooks are one of the best types of content marketing to generate leads for your business. This is because, you typically request that prospects provide their information, like name and email address, before they can access it.

The Experience Optimization Playbook by Optimizely is a great example of content marketing using a free ebook. The ebook provides readers with optimization strategies from Fortune 500 companies. So it is a good starting point for anyone looking to make the most of their marketing channels.

Image via Optimizely 

This helps them to capture the details they need from their target audience. Likewise, they can follow up with them easily as well.

Unlike other types of content marketing, creating ebooks requires more time and investment. They are longer and more detailed, and you need to be more involved in order to create one.

7. Checklists

One of the best types of content marketing you can use to provide value to potential customers is a checklist. A checklist shows a step-by-step method that your audience can take to solve a particular problem. Also, it provides them with a list of things they can do to achieve a desired outcome.

When creating a checklist, you must ensure that it’s easy to read and follow. Likewise, it should provide valuable information to your target audience when making specific decisions.

For example, this daily social media checklist by Buffer will add a lot of value to their audience. Anyone who reads it will easily understand what to do.

Image via Buffer 

If done correctly, checklists are great content assets for you as a business owner. That’s because they are easy to create and they provide lots of value to your target audience.

Aside from creating these checklists for your business, you should consider sharing them on social media. If necessary, you can even repurpose them into other content formats.

Conclusion

In this post, I have shared with you seven types of content marketing you can use to grow your online business. While these strategies are essential for growing a business through content marketing, it isn’t an exhaustive list.

If you can use any or all of these types of content marketing, you can witness a dramatic increase in your conversion rate. You can get started with any of these strategies, and scale them with other types of content marketing over time.

Have you utilized any of these types of content marketing for your business? Kindly share your experience in the comment box.