There’s no better way to get your website discovered by search engines and engage your target audience with subjects they care about than content marketing.

Content marketing has become one of the most powerful digital marketing strategies that can be applied in all businesses across every industry. The internet is constantly challenging us to adapt to the latest trends and keep up with the times.

Now that we’ve established how important a content marketing strategy is, how do we achieve it? This article shares more about the 10 highly effective types of content marketing you can use to achieve your business objectives – obtain leads, gain subscribers, and most importantly, boost sales.

1. Blog posts

Let’s start with blogs.

Blogs are at the top of the list as a cost-effective way to improve SEO and drive organic traffic to your site from search engines. Blogs allow you to include relevant keywords to particular topics and capture the interest of potential consumers who are looking for a solution.

Bear in mind that there should always still be a strategy behind what you post. You need to focus on topics that can enhance your brand, services or products, and optimise them with relevant and SEO-friendly keywords. The more valuable your content is, the more likely your target audience will consider your brand when they are ready to make a purchase.

2. Case studies

Case studies are one way to show how your business has helped a client or customer become successful. Businesses can use case studies as a way to highlight their strengths and expertise through their service and products. By illustrating a way of how it can be applied, it gives consumers an actual example of how your brand can add value to their business.

Besides uploading case studies on your company website, you can also consider including them in your blogs, social media, or eBooks to extend the reach of your efforts in content marketing. Your sales team can also use these relevant content pieces to provide the lead with a better understanding of the value your business can give them.

3. Whitepapers

Whitepapers are more commonly used in B2B marketing to build thought leadership. This is because it is a detailed report which includes insightful data and information on a complex subject.

Most businesses use this as a gated content that requires the lead to provide information about themselves before they can view the whole content. Always include a call to action at the end of your whitepaper so that you can keep the conversation going.

4. Social media

The power of social media is nothing new in this generation. Popular platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and the latest entry – TikTok, are all ways for businesses to reach new customers and grow existing relationships.

It remains a popular way for businesses to get their message across as it’s free for companies to run and for the public to follow. However, it’s important to plan your cards correctly and you can choose to engage with your followers through videos, live Q&As, photos, and more to quickly grab their attention and share your messages out to even more people.

5. Videos

Consumers are consuming more video content than ever before. According to a survey done by Social Media Today, 93% of businesses gain new customers as a result of branded video content. This is further supported by how 89% of video marketers who use video in their marketing strategy find that video gives them a good ROI.

The video content you want to produce depends on where your audience is in the customer journey. If you want to raise awareness, you can create informational videos to grab their attention and share what the brand/product/service is about in shorter videos. Whereas, longer videos like product demos, reviews, or how-to videos can help consumers during the purchase decision stage.

6. GIFs and memes

Not to be overlooked, GIFs and memes are an important part of content marketing. It’s one of the most attention-grabbing and shareable forms of content. It usually includes references to popular culture and links something relatable or entertaining in the caption.

It’s a fun way to resonate with your audience and communicate with them. You can either find relevant ones on the internet or create your own. You can cross-post them across social media or blog posts to generate conversation about a particular topic. This brings you greater visibility among your target market.

7. eBooks

You can make use of eBooks to provide your customers with useful and insightful information to solve their challenges. It should also come with a form to request for their email and help you generate new leads.

If they cover evergreen topics, they can remain as powerful lead magnets for however long you have it up on your site. A reminder that it should not be a 5 to 10 pages ad, but must provide value to your consumers and offer real solutions beyond boasting about your company.

8. Podcasts

Podcasts are gaining popularity as they can be easily accessed through a smartphone and allow listening on the go. Its on-demand nature lets consumers choose what they want to listen to so, every podcast has to be relevant to add value to trending topics.

Businesses can utilise this medium is to repurpose original content like videos to present as an audio format instead. Alternatively, if you’re interested in how podcast marketing works and extend brand loyalty, read up more about it here.

9. Infographics

Infographics are one of the most commonly viewed and shared online content. It helps content marketers educate their audience and provide useful information in an easy-to-understand manner. The visual content helps people to visualise data better and have a better understanding of why something works.

By including concrete facts in the infographics, also helps to make your brand and product seem more credible and relatable.

10. Email newsletters

Sending regular newsletters is one of the best ways to present your content in front of the right people. It is a way to demonstrate your writing skill and keep your brand on the top of your consumers’ minds. It also acts as a reminder that your brand is always present to help answer any questions they might have.

Furthermore, it establishes authority as a source of credible content. With fresher content up on the table, you will also appear better on Google search trends. Most importantly it’s a way to build relationships with your current clients and prospective clients too.

Final thoughts

A complete content marketing strategy can utilise a wide variety of types discussed above in your content marketing strategy. If done correctly, an effective content marketing strategy can help your business increase traffic, generate leads, and drive sales. It can also help your business stay relevant in the long run, generate positive results, and develop a good relationship with your consumers.