Blogging is an extremely effective marketing method, but you need the right mix of content on your blog. Detailed, original knowledge articles are always useful, but your blog might get too repetitive if this is the only kind of content you publish.
There's a vast range of tools available that allow you to create different content formats that reach your audience in different ways. A good variety of content formats can help you appeal to and connect with users in various stages of their buying journey.
This article is by no means a full list of all the content formats you can use, but starting with some of these will give you a good content foundation to build upon.
Blog articles
People now spend more time reading content online than ever before. You can take advantage of this to bring people to your website, increase their trust for your company, and hopefully get them to convert. Every article you write is an opportunity to be found, and there's a wide range of different articles you can write. Shorter posts answering your audience's fundamental questions are great, but you can also publish longer and more detailed articles, possibly ghostwritten after interviewing one of your company's in-house experts.
Content offers
A content offer is a very precious piece of content that your users can only access after giving you some of their information — for example, by filling in a short form on a landing page with their email address. Attracting users to your website and increasing traffic is essential, but it doesn't mean anything if you don't convert these website visitors into leads. By building up a substantial library of content offers that appeal to your target audience, you can nurture and develop your relationship with your audience and get new leads.
Pillar pages
A pillar page is a page on your website that covers one of your core topics in-depth. The pillar page then links to a cluster of related content — generally articles that focus more closely on particular areas within this topic. These related articles, in turn, should also link back to the pillar page. Working with pillar pages works very well from a search perspective. The pillar page acts as the authoritative page for the keyword you want to rank for, while the related content provides your users with additional answers and paths back to the pillar page. The pillar page should not be gated — the content on it shouldn't be hidden behind a form, as it is with your content offers. However, the pillar page should contain some ways for users to convert, such as a content offer or subscription form.
Video content
Video content may be a bit harder to create than a standard blog article, but you're missing a massive opportunity if you don't make use of it. Video is a familiar, fast and easy way for your audience to receive and digest a lot of information in a short time. It also gives you a way to convey values and emotions that is very difficult to achieve with text and images alone. You can dramatically improve your brand's image with video, if you do it right — to make this easier, we've collected some tips for creating video content here.
Infographics
Like videos, infographics can communicate large quantities of information more concisely than text. They may be about your company or your solutions, guides to the use of your products, or problem-solving content that is perfect for attracting visitors.
Podcasts
There's been a podcast boom in the last few years, but precursors to what we today know as podcasts were around even during the internet's early days. Today, podcasts are well and truly a part of the mainstream, and much of your target audience will be very familiar with the format. Trying out podcasts allows you to reach a wider audience and lets you show off your company's knowledge and expertise – for your first podcast, why not consider interviewing one of your company's experts about the state of your industry or what the future holds?
Social media content
Using social media allows your company to reach a large audience on platforms that they already regularly use in their personal and professional lives. Social media allows existing and potential customers to see you, boosts your brand awareness and communicates more about your company than you can with your .com/.xx. It's also a place where you can get in touch with customers and prospects and where they can get in touch with you. Marketing your products to specific audiences is also possible with social media. If you're looking for more information and guidance, you can get our in-depth guide to using social media for business here.
Creating content that will attract visitors and convert them into leads (and beyond) isn't easy. But by keeping a mixture of these formats in your content library, you'll reach a broad audience and inspire them to continue their buying journey with your company.
If you're looking for more guidance and information on content creation, take a look at our content creation guide — it covers how to create content, what types of content these formats can be used for, and tips for creating successful content. Good luck in your content journey — and don't hesitate to reach out to Zooma if you need help on the way.
