When it comes to the world of content marketing, audience engagement and ROI is what separates the brilliant ideas from thundering duds and can mean the difference between rising to the top of any industry and lagging behind. With that said, here are the five best content formats to connect to your target readers and drive them to making purchase decisions.
- Blog Posts
Let’s start with blog posts. This is the most common content format that people spend their marketing budgets in and for good reason. They are easy to produce, can answer consumer questions pretty quickly, and provide additional insight on complex topics.
Done right, blog posts create a killer content bank in your niche, build up inbound link profile, and lead to higher citations from other authoritative sources. The result is better search engine rankings, lead generation efforts, and customer acquisition.
2. Infographics
Did you know that the brain processes visual content 60,000 times faster than any other type of content? It’s no secret that infographics are an effective content format to strengthen online presence and market any brand to any consumer group.
Need to convey complicated but important information to target readers? Combine the factual, straightforward nature of text with the compelling, visually engaging features of images! Combining the best of both worlds guarantees higher audience engagement and ROI.
3. Long-Form Articles
Long-form articles usually exceed 700 words although some content marketers argue that word count shouldn’t be less than 2000 words. Despite differences in opinion, readers crave meatier content because it offers genuine value and a rewarding experience.
Given readers’ supposedly miniscule attention spans, long-form articles can be quite a gamble – but statistics prove that comprehensive content builds brand authority and visibility to potential B2C and B2B stakeholders.
4. Original Research Pieces
Content comes in all styles, shapes, and sizes. However, nothing compares to original research when it comes to delivering higher click through, conversion, and customer retention rates simply because it offers new and unique data, and it makes your site the primary source of that particular set of information.
Survey says readers are always looking for original research pieces that is thorough, credible, and easily understood. And 9 out of 10 companies who do this content format experience success in their content marketing strategies.
5. Videos
Observe these video statistics:
- 75 million people watch videos every day.
- 6 out of 10 people would rather watch online videos than television.
- There is 95% information retention rate when watching videos.
- Mobile video consumption rises by 100% every year.
- Product explainer videos help 90% of consumers complete the purchase cycle.
- Video marketing on Facebook is a top choice for at least 80% of businesses.
- Videos result to 157% increase in organic search traffic and 300% increase in click through rates.
- 73% of B2B marketers say videos lead to higher business ROI.
With all these in mind, it’s clear that videos are a relevant, lucrative, and essential content format to invest in today.
To sum it up
Constant change in customer-buying patterns as well as the dynamic nature of digital marketing make these content formats very effective for boosting audience engagement and ROI. There are plenty to choose from but make sure to focus on content types that will deliver real results for business.
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