4 types of content marketing for your business

There are SO many different types of content marketing out there. Everything from written content, to audio, to video, to anything in between. But, how do you know what types of content marketing are best for your business? Here's how to find the best types of content for your business – not anyone else's. 

 

 

The best types of content marketing for your business

Because, you don't have to do every type of content marketing in order to find success.

In fact, I don't want you to do them all. If you try to create all the different types of content, you'll only burn yourself out and wind up doing nothing at all. The key is to have a content marketing strategy in place, and part of this is deciding what types of content you'll use – and sticking to it.

This isn't an exhaustive list of all content types out there, but they are a few of the easier ones if you're just starting out with content marketing.

Content marketing type #1: Blog posts

Blog posts are typically the default type of content marketing that business owners turn to when they first start with content marketing. All the experts say that you should be blogging, and so most business owners do.

Except, the problem is they tend to write a few blog posts and then leave their blog looking neglected and sad.

The key theme you'll see in this blog post is that whatever type of content marketing you choose to do, you need to do it consistently and it needs to be aligned with your marketing strategy. For example, there's no point blogging about crystals when you sell car tyres.

The benefits of blogging are mainly around SEO. SEO warrants a whole series of blog posts in itself, so I'm not going to dig too deeply into it today. Basically, blogging helps you get found by Google. But, you need to think about what your ideal customer or client will be searching for. What do they need help with?

Content marketing type #2: Video content

Now, this might be YouTube, Facebook, IGTV – whatever video platforms take your fancy. You could even be super savvy about it and repurpose your video content across a few different ones. And that's a great way to do it because you're really getting the most value out of your content marketing.

You don't need to have a fancy camera or fancy lighting or fancy backdrops to create good video content. The key to success with video content is to just create videos that add value to your ideal customer or client. Maybe it's a step-by-step tutorial on YouTube or it's a 30-second video on Facebook sharing a daily or weekly tip.

YouTube has the added benefit that it's a search engine, just like Google. So, think about what your ideal customer or client might be searching for and use those keywords in the title and the description of your video.

You might find it easiest to batch your video content (so, record a whole month's or week's worth in one day) and maybe you look at outsourcing the editing because that's what takes up the most time.

If you're not keen to spend a lot of time on video content but you do want to create some, then Instagram Stories is a great place to start, as these videos tend to be unedited and unscripted and you can just be yourself.

Content marketing type #3: Live content

This type of content marketing is similar to video content in a way, but it's different as it's (usually) unscripted and unedited. Maybe you really enjoy the thrill of an Instagram or Facebook Live and you can commit to doing these regularly – whether it's once a month, once a fortnight or once a week.

If you can do it, I totally recommend it as they tend to get a lot of views and a lot of engagement. But, for many, it's a huge mental hurdle and you really have to get over the fear of putting yourself out there. It took me so long to build my confidence up to do a Facebook Live. I was so afraid I would stuff up in front of a live audience. You know what? I did stuff up a little, but the world didn't end.

Live video tends to take a lot less preparation than normal video content. It allows your audience to interact and you don't need to edit it. So, it is a great alternative to normal video content.

Content marketing type #4: Podcast episodes

I might be a bit biased, but I think podcasts are the best thing since sliced bread. People can listen to them while commuting, driving, walking, cleaning – wherever! Podcasting does take a fair bit of commitment though and consistency is the key to successful podcasts.

If you promise your listeners a new episode every Tuesday, you'd better deliver it!

One of the good things about podcasts is that they can be repurposed into blog posts. Simply get the episode transcribed (I use SimonSays.ai for this) and then edit it a bit for legibility. Then, publish it and voila!

If you don't want to commit to a regular podcast show, you could look into an app like Anchor, where people host more impromptu shows and you can even get callers to dial in.

What are your favourite types of content marketing? Let me know below!

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