In this digital era, one thing is clear. Content is king and content marketing is important for any business or brand strategy.

From Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, TV, we are always consuming content. Content has become an integral part of every single business. Not just those involved in entertainment.

From Nando’s and Chicken Inn creating funny catchy memes and graphics that feed off each other. Businesses have moved away from creating ads that are inserted into engaging content to creating content that engages the audience directly.

People didn’t normally enjoy commercials on TV but viewed them because they were included in the content that really engaged them, such as TV series, documentaries, or even news broadcasts. 

Now advertisers and marketers have started to take the interesting content itself and making it a part of their marketing strategy.

After all, why spend time creating content only kind-of related to your business, when you can make ads that are already a topic of interest? 

A great thing to remember is; Great content is not about reinventing the wheel but being able to know what people are already looking at or talking about and how that can relate to your business. 

So why Content Marketing? 

Content Marketing is a big part of Email Marketing, which has the highest ROI or Return On Investment when it comes to Digital Marketing. It is also a big part of SEO and improving your search ranking. Content is also a great way to build trust and authority within your industry.

There are many types of content including:

1. Blogs

According, to Forbes, websites that include a blog typically have 434% more indexed pages than those that don’t and 94% more inbound links which helps with SEO.

Basically, websites with blogs have a greater chance of ending up on the first page of Google and we all know no one looks on the second page of Google.

2. Videos

Consumers today are viewing more video content than any other type of content. This is why companies like Facebook are investing more in Facebook Watch and IGTV. It is estimated that 80% of all internet content will be video by 2020. This makes video one of the best types of content marketing for reaching and engaging your target consumers, no matter what industry you are in

According to BrightCove, brands that use video can expect to see an average increase of 157% in organic traffic from search engines. Video also helps increase time spent on site by 105%. The more time your customers spend on your website, the greater your company’s chances of making a sale.

3. Infographics 

This visual content marketing format helps viewers better visualize data such as statistics so that they can have a better idea of why something is valuable or how something works

4. Case Studies

Case studies are basically the business testimonial of the future. Customer stories that show how your business has helped a specific client or customer. Businesses can use case studies to highlight special applications or uses for their services and products.

Consumers like case studies because this type of content helps them better understand how your brand can add value to their lives or businesses. 

5. Ebooks and White Papers

eBooks are one of the best types of content marketing for collecting lead information. That’s because visitors usually have to provide some type of information about themselves in exchange for the eBook download.

For example; name and email

The main difference between eBooks and white papers is that white papers usually contain more information, data and are detail-focused.

When trying to figure what type of content do use for your business it is essential to do a lot of keyword research. Trial and error will also assist you in figuring out what works for your audience and what doesn’t. 

There’s really no loss in content marketing. So you can try the same piece of content with different wording and see how people react to it.

Sometimes it does come down to the use of a statement so always continue to experiment.

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