Create a Killer Content Marketing Campaign by Going Beyond the Written Word
Content marketing is an essential consideration for any business hoping to build a robust online presence today. Chances are good that when you think of content marketing, you picture techniques like blogging, social media posts, creating reports and whitepapers, and the like.
There’s good reason for this, too – written content is essential and can provide you with a significant return on your investment. However, there’s more to content marketing than the written word. Utilizing non-written types of content in your online marketing efforts can drive significant traffic, result in ongoing growth, and support profitability.
A Look at the Statistics
While the statistics surrounding written content are impressive, those surrounding non-written content marketing metrics are just as remarkable. Here are a few of the most important takeaways, according to HubSpot:
- Podcast listening grew 23% between 2015 and 2016, and 21% of Americans 12 and older report listening to at least one podcast in the previous month.
- Of the content distribution channels most heavily used in digital marketing, five have nothing to do with written content (YouTube, Facebook Video, Instagram, podcasts and Snapchat).
- Visual content is 40x more likely to be shared on social platforms than other types of content.
- Infographics are liked/shared on Facebook 3x more than any other type of content.
Those are pretty impressive statistics, and they clearly illustrate the need to ensure you have non-written content in your marketing strategy. What types of content work best, though? There are quite a few that you should know, and we’ll outline them below.
Vital Non-Written Content Types for Content Marketing Campaigns
Many of the content types mentioned below should be evident from the statistics previously discussed, but there may be a few surprises.
Video: This should come as no surprise. Video has been, and will continue to be, the most frequently consumed type of content online. Consider the fact that YouTube is the second largest search engine globally and deals only with video content.
Three of the platforms mentioned in the statistics section also cater towards video to one extent or another, and there’s the fact that this type of content can be used virtually anywhere, from YouTube and Vimeo to Facebook and Instagram to your company’s blog.
Infographics: Infographics are exciting combinations of written text and illustrative graphics. While the text provides essential information, it’s the graphic elements that really capture your audience. These powerful tools do an incredible job of breaking down complex topics into manageable chunks, explaining convoluted subject areas and connections, and businesses can use more and them in virtually any industry. They can also be used as content on social networks like Facebook and Twitter, Instagram, your website or blog, guest posts on other sites, and more.
Livestreaming: This one wasn’t mentioned in the statistics section but bears a little scrutiny. While it should not be the cornerstone of your marketing, it can be an important addition. Livestreaming is being used by businesses and organizations in every industry, from Food Network to NASA, and everything in between.
Instagram has also now introduced similar capabilities for their users. It provides a dramatic, immediate connection between you and your audience, allows your audience to interact with you (or your presenters), and can be recorded and reused later. It can also be done on the most prominent social networks today, including Snapchat, Facebook Live, and YouTube Live.
Podcasts: For those not in the know, podcasts are essentially Internet radio shows. They’ve been around for a very long time but have really caught on in recent years. You can use a podcast to create a reputation as a thought leader in your industry, explore specific topics in-depth, provide entertainment, and more. They’re heavily used by creators today and by many others, including Fortune 500 companies and small businesses.
Other Visual Elements: There are quite a few other visual elements that can be used in your content marketing, either in addition to or in conjunction with written content. Memes are hugely popular and can help you tie into pop culture while remaining relevant, but they are not suitable for all companies.
You can (and should) be using images to pepper your written content, as well. Articles and blog posts with images outperform those without by a significant margin. Then there are things like presentations, slideshows (Slideshare is a trendy site), and concept visualizations, to name just a few.
As you can see, there are plenty of non-written options that can be vital inclusions in your content marketing plan. Perhaps the most crucial consideration is that you work with a partner who understands not just the importance of content marketing in today’s world but the wide range of content types that should play a role in building your online presence and sales funnel.
The strategists at Lucé Media can help with all types of content marketing. We do content marketing in McKinney, TX and Frisco, TX and Plano, TX. Click here to get a free analysis of your companies digital marketing and social media marketing efforts.
Source:
https://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics
https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/developing-a-strategy/
