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One of the most common mistakes people make when producing online content is to fall under the illusion that they can only do one type of online content.
Diversifying your content allows you to not only reach a diverse audience, but it protects you if platforms change. We have seen businesses invest all of their energy in a single platform only to see that platform die off and leave them going back to square one.
A blogger will stick to their blog posts, generally in the same old format, and never try his hand and podcasting, or a podcaster will never try making a video.
This mentality severely dampens your content's potential and reach. It can undermine your business as a result. To make sure you are getting the most out of your online content, here are some genres you can try today.
The best part? Having a plan ahead of time can often help you create multiple forms of content simultaneously without working that much harder.
Although they might be the most traditional form of online content, blog posts are a fantastic way to grow your brand and business.
Blogging used to be something that your aunt did about her cat. But today, blogging is a popular and useful SEO tool.
Blog Posts are relatively fast and straightforward to produce and don't demand as many support media like images or videos, although they are undoubtedly helpful.
They can also help you build your brand as an industry authority, improve your results in search engine optimization, and are highly customizable, being able to take the form of almost any article genre.
Marketers often call longer blog posts articles.
Data indicates that long-form articles have a greater chance of getting shared on social media.
Long-Form articles require a lot more research and treat subjects in greater depth, and you stand to gain a lot from using your expertise in such content.
This kind of content is an excellent example of how spending more time and effort on more complex forms of content can yield fantastic results.
You'll often be able to write multiple social media posts about a single long-form article.
Another content form known for being highly shareable and useful in building authority is original research.
As diginomica shows, content made out of your research findings is incredible for generating brand awareness and increases social shares by 63% and leads by 50%.
This is also a fantastic strategy for coming up with new content and editorial ideas, focusing more on quality while also learning more about your customers.
As you can imagine, they are also highly quotable, which is great for generating more backlinks to your URL and increasing online traffic.
As YouTube and other social media have shown, videos are a great way to get people's attention online. They are watched by virtually all age-groups, making it one of the most popular content formats out there, especially for mobile users.
Google has released data which shows that videos are used as a trusted source of information by 40% of Millennials.
Not only that, through advertising, videos can also become a secondary source of revenue for your business while also supporting your primary source of income.
Did you know that 84% of all people who use infographics to promote their business recommend this format as highly effective?
Infographics are great because they allow your audience to get the information they need much quicker and in a way that makes it much easier to remember.
For an infographic to be useful, it's essential to get all of its components just right to make it attractive and not too tiring on the eyes. Remember that the idea is to make the information easily digestible to the reader.
An Infographic must be balanced with trustworthy information to create a resource that people will want to use as sources and share with others.
Of course, we could never talk about infographics without mentioning pictures as a whole. Did you know that 15 thousand GIFs are sent through messenger, and 46,200 posts are uploaded on Instagram every minute on the internet?
Images, much like videos, are great for catching people's attention and makes it more likely for the content to which they are attached to be shared on social media.
There is no better example of this than the ever-present memes that populate social media and online communities of all kinds. You don't have to share existing memes either. If you have a community following you, they can help in creating your own.
If you are looking to win over new businesses, case studies might be the most effective tool you have at your disposal.
They are essentially an opportunity for potential customers to learn what you can do for them from your previous customers' experience and testimony.
When done correctly, case studies will show what you and your business can do, reinforce the customer's trust in your brand, and highlight your company's virtues.
This is also an excellent strategy for businesses that are just now lifting off and haven't had many customers. Case Studies allow for a greater emphasis on results than on experience.
A white paper, or report, is a form of content made to advocate a particular position or solution to a specific issue.
When done correctly, white papers and reports are a great way to engage your audience and add value to your content as a whole by providing useful information.
Forbes has revealed that 79% of buyers will share white papers with their colleagues, showcasing the potential influence this format can provide to your business.
When generating leads and earning your customer's trust and loyalty by solving their problems, there are few content formats better than the e-book.
As you may already know, an e-book is essentially a digital book that can be sent and shared as a file on the internet and can be read from any device.
Many companies send e-books to potential customers as a part of email campaigns. These e-books tend to cover a few chapters topics regarding problems that an individual has, proposing solutions that point towards the company.
This is a great way to win over customers and establish your brand's expertise in a given niche. E-books are also very cost-effective since there are no expenses beyond its production process.
Remember that long-form blog/article we spoke about earlier? Using popular editing software like Adobe or Canva, you can quickly turn it into a downloadable e-book.
Online content in the form of presentations is a great way to promote your business by exponentially increasing your website's traffic.
They are also incredibly easy to put online and integrate into other platforms, without further requirements than a Slideshare account.
They are also a great way to gain more Facebook fans and increase your engagement on Slideshare itself.
However, it's a good idea to ensure that your presentation is not too tiring and encourages engagement on the part of those watching.
The numbers have repeatedly proven webinars' efficiency to promote a business and win over leads. Most sources indicate that between 20% and 40% of all webinar attendees become leads, while only 2% to 5% of them make a purchase.
These might not seem like good numbers at first, but in terms of the overall lead generation, they can improve your ROI drastically.
Most webinars comprise a brief presentation, followed by a Q&A session, both of which help demonstrate your expertise and your services’ validity.
Quizzes are not only one of the most engaging forms of content on the internet, but they are also an excellent, non-intrusive way to gather data on your audience.
The same thing goes for polls, which significantly boost engagement by making the participants curious about what the results are going to be.
Besides, they are entertaining to participate in and easy to make with specialized sites.
If you want your business to gain greater online relevancy fast, a fun quiz is a great way to do it at a minimum cost.
Grand View Research has recently released a report that shows that the podcast market's overall size grows at a rate of 27,5% per year.
Combine this with the ever-growing audience the medium has been receiving, and you will understand why podcasts are becoming inescapable.
So, why not capitalize on this success by making a podcast of your very own?
Podcasts are great because your audience can access them at their convenience, and the fact that they are listening to your voice breaks the "faceless corporation" spell.
With so many content creation options, the excuses for sticking to the same old bread-and-butter online strategy are gone.
However, it's normal to feel like you don't have time to start or time to reinvent your brand's content creation process.
Small Business Mentor can guide you on your content creation journey or create content for you! We help your business develop a winning online marketing strategy from the ground up.
Not only that, you will come out of the experience equipped with all the necessary tools to navigate the murky waters of the internet yourself.
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