In fact, the numbers back up the importance of content marketing. Research shows that 91% of all B2B companies use content marketing, and the same is true of 86% of B2C businesses. However, only 63% of companies have a dedicated content strategy.

You can see the issue at hand. Content marketing online is a must and yet doing it improperly – without a clear focus and without effective strategies – can result in a huge waste of time, money and effort.

Here are 8 types of great content marketing that you can implement as strategies to effectively grow your business:

#1: Blog Posts

Blog posts are hardly revolutionary in the world of content marketing, yet a lot of local businesses don’t do or have never done any blogging. Those who do reap rewards:

 Companies that blog get 97% more links to their websites than companies that don’t
 Companies with blogs have a 434% higher chance of receiving a high Google rank compared to companies without blogs
 10% of blog posts are compounding, which means that they attract more organic traffic over time

For best results, keep your blog posts tightly focused. Keyword-optimise them for localised online searches in order to be found in the internet search engine result pages and make sure to use a clear, easy-to-follow structure in each post you publish.

#2: Customer Testimonials

You probably already know that within the local business space, customer reviews and testimonials are essential forms of social proof to use in your online marketing. However, if you handle them properly, they can also be part of your content marketing strategies.

Using customer testimonials as part of your content marketing is truly results driven.

Why not consider shooting video testimonials that tell a compelling story and give people a reason to spend money on your product or use your service. Video testimonials can for instance be posted on your website, emailed to your list or shared on social media.

#3: Infographics

Many local businesses don’t bother with infographics and that’s a shame. They are increasingly popular these days and perfect should you need to present a lot of data in a way that is easy to understand.

In case you might be thinking you need to hire a professional graphic designer to make infographics for you, that is not true. Online tools like Canva and Venngage make it simple to produce beautiful, shareable infographics.

Infographics can help you build authority and gravitas. They are ideal for sharing on social media platforms such as Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook. If you have posted a data-heavy blog recently, consider transforming it into an infographic to share on social media.

#4: Case Studies

The term “case study” can be an intimidating one but think of them as in-depth customer testimonials. A testimonial will usually focus on how the customer feels about your business. A case study on the other hand shows how you or your product helped a customer.

Should you decide using case studies in your content marketing, make sure to:

 Tell a compelling story in an engaging way. Incorporating some suspense and emotion into the story will keep people interested and ensure they stick around until the end.
 Be as specific as possible. Don’t just say for example that you helped a customer get what they wanted – provide metrics, proof and numbers wherever this is possible.
 Show your customer’s journey from start to finish. Make sure to explain where they started, why they came searching for you, and what happened after they found you.

Case studies can be featured on your website. They can also be shared on social media.

#5: Online Videos

Online video marketing is still very popular. You can produce videos cheaply using your cell phone and a host of free online tools.

Videos are proven to highly boost conversions.

However, you don’t need to stop with traditional marketing videos. Here are some ideas:

 Create short videos (3 to 60 seconds) to share on Instagram
 Use the Boomerang app to string together a series of images into a short video
 Create GIFs using free tools such as Giphy or EZGif
 Try an animated or white board video

As there are many types of video formats, feel free to experiment and find out what resonates best with your target market.

#6: Memes

Memes are perennially popular and can be useful as a form of content marketing – but there are a few drawbacks you should be aware of.

It is not a great idea to share random memes that have absolutely nothing to do with your own business. Instead, it is your job to discover a way to take a meme that is popular and make it relevant to what you are selling as a business.

If you are unsure how to use memes, view the social media pages of Hulu. They use memes as part of their published contents, and very effectively. You can also do a search on the internet to find some sample memes and check out what your competitors are doing.

#7: Checklists or Cheat Sheets

Actionable solutions to common problems is something associated with some of the best content marketing. People don’t follow their favourite brands on social media for fun. They do it because they are expecting to get something in return.

Creating checklists for followers is another powerful form of content marketing.

One easy way of providing it is by creating checklists or cheat sheets for your followers to use. For instance, if you own a coffee shop, you could create a checklist for your followers to brew the perfect French Press coffee.

You can keep the checklists you create simple or design them to be downloaded and printed. Either way, you will be giving your followers something valuable.

#8: eBooks

It can seem like a daunting task writing an eBook and for that reason, a lot of local businesses stay away from them. However, a well-written short eBook can help you attract new subscribers to your customer list (such as your email customer list) and at the same time build authority.

Bear in mind that many of the eBooks sold on Amazon consist of 10,000 words or less. That amounts to about 40 pages of content at 250 words per page. You have the option to write the book yourself or hire a professional writer to do it for you.

Keep in mind that your eBook must be relevant to your business and very valuable to the target audience you want to attract. eBooks are best used as lead magnets. You can for instance advertise them on social media to get people to download them for free and in the process subscribe to your customer list (e.g. your email customer list). You will then be able to ethically be emailing your list periodically in the future with valuable new contents and exclusive special offers that drive in more sales revenue.

Conclusion…

The bottom line is content marketing is here to stay – and the 8 kinds of content marketing described here can really help you build followers and increase your sales and profits at the same time.

To find out about our Online Marketing Services that we are providing to help local businesses grow, visit our services website through the link here.

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