.Businesses of all types and sizes need content. Content is what bridges the gap between your brand and your audience, and it plays a huge role in helping you develop the meaningful relationships that modern consumers expect and demand. It comes in many different forms, though, and developing a strong content strategy isn’t about simply pushing out as much content as possible. You have to create high-quality content that provides real value to your readers by helping them solve a problem or educating them.. The exact types of content you produce may vary depending on your industry and your target audience, but there are a few kinds that every small business needs.
Keep reading to find out what the most important types of content are!
Evergreen Website Content
Evergreen content is the content that never goes out of season, and it is one of the absolute most important types of content. It stays on your website for months (even years) at a time, and it is written in a manner that ensures that it is always relevant. Things like your about page, service pages, and home page should contain evergreen content for a few good reasons. It’s also a good idea to create evergreen blog posts on topics related to your business or industry from time to time.
For starters, it helps you establish your site’s authority. Well-written evergreen content establishes you as an authority. It also aids in the optimization of your website for search engines. High-quality evergreen content boosts your website’s rank and helps bring in more organic traffic.
When it comes to the content that will remain on your website for several months or years, focusing on quality is a must. Each page must be flawlessly written and optimized for search engines. In other words, it is worth investing in a pro to make sure it’s done right.
Current/Seasonal Content
Current and seasonal content falls on the opposite end of the spectrum from evergreen content. It is consumed “in the moment” and has a much shorter shelf life. Your blog and social media profiles are the perfect outlets for distributing current and seasonal content. While it will still be available on your site or profile for an extended period of time, it will get buried under fresher content.
If you think the shorter shelf life means this type of content doesn’t need to be good, think again. Quality is important no matter what type of content you are creating.
Long-Form Content
According to the Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs, 74% of B2B marketers and 57% of B2C marketers have created long-form written content in the past year, and for good reason. Things like eBooks and whitepapers help establish you as a leader and an expert in your industry. Providing them as incentives for opting-in to your newsletter also creates an opportunity to build your email list.
Long-form blog posts are beneficial, too. Long pieces of content rank higher on search engine results pages. They lead to more shares, too. All of your blog posts don’t need to be 2000+ words, but having a few that are can really boost your site’s rankings!
Visual Content
Written content is an important part of any content marketing strategy, but so is visual content. Things like photographs, videos, and infographics can be used to strengthen your brand and convey complex information in a manner that is easy to understand. Adding visual elements to your written content – such as adding an interesting photo to a blog post – also makes it more sharable.
Video, in particular, is extremely important. If you haven’t already embraced it as part of your brand’s marketing strategy, you are missing out. In the last two years, mobile video usage has increased by almost 10 million daily viewing minutes, and Cisco projects that, by 2021, 82% of all consumer internet traffic will be from videos. Currently, 70% of YouTube users report watching videos for help with a problem and 54% of consumers want to see more videos from businesses and brands they support, according to HubSpot.
Whether the thought of getting in front of the camera thrills you or terrifies you, those are some impressive statistics. As an introverted writer who doesn’t even particularly enjoy one-on-one video conferences, I definitely fall into the category of being terrified of being in a video. But alas, even I am working on coming up with a strategy to make videos a part of my business.
Conclusion
No matter what industry you are, the right content will help you attract new prospects, build relationships, and grow your brand. If you need help creating the right types of content for your website, blog, or social media profiles, contact me today! I would love to help you create a custom content strategy and develop written content that will help you meet your goals.