Different Types of Content to Consider
Writing by Brick Marketing in Content Marketing
When we think about online marketing content we tend to primarily think about the written word; blog posts, articles, press releases, social media updates, white papers, eBooks, etc. Since the search engine spiders crawl text, isn’t this the best kind of content to create? For SEO, yes. However, the primary purpose of creating content is to help your target audience members. You want to create something that is useful, interesting, and engaging to them and it might not always be a 400 word blog post. Varying your content can help increase your reach and visibility to target audience members that prefer different content formats. In addition, it provides an opportunity to stand out from the competition. If everyone is blogging or sharing white papers, creating content in different formats allows you to be unique. Here are 3 types to consider:
Videos
The huge success of YouTube is proof that people are watching videos online. And they aren’t just watching videos of cute babies either. People are watching videos that cover a variety of topics and search for videos that help them with a problem or question that they have. Some people are visual learners and prefer to see a demonstration on how to assemble something instead of reading a manual. Video provides lots of opportunities. You can publish them on video sharing sites and on pages of your own site. Since the search engine spiders can’t see the video, you need to tell them what it’s about in other ways by including keyword tags and a description. If you post a video to your website or blog, include a transcription. In addition to improving the SEO of the video, it offers the best of both worlds to people that prefer to watch a video or to read the written content.
Infographics
People like to receive information quickly and typically browse to find a point that best relates to their needs when reading a blog post, article, etc. Infographics are popular because they are easy to understand. Remember, an infographic is an image and it needs to be visually appealing. Not everyone has the means to create an infographic. You can’t just slap something together using stock photos. It takes a lot of work to research, design and promote an infographic, but it is worth it in the end because a good infographic will be shared at a higher rate than many other content options and can help generate traffic to your website.
Podcasts
We live in a fast paced society and everyone is a multi-tasker. Think about how many people you see walking or commuting on the train with their ear buds in. They may be listening to music, audio books, or podcasts on topics that interest them. Capture this “on the go” audience by creating a podcast of your own. In order to get SEO benefit, be sure to include a transcript where it is posted online like you would for a video.
