Content is a great way to market your business over social media or blogging.
The ultimate goal is to convert leads into paying clients.
Unlike most forms of marketing, content marketing is much cheaper because you are either using free platforms for blogging on your website. Specifically, it costs 62% less than other forms of marketing.
70% of people would choose to learn about a company through a blog article than an advert.
So why aren’t you using it?
Here are 6 Types of Content To Get you started
Text Post
A text is a post made up of writing and doesn’t include any links. This can range between a few sentences and long forms of text up to three paragraphs. This is great for short updates and should include a photo to enhance what you are saying. Think about how you can add value to your audience. What do they want to read? It doesn’t have to be just sales marketing.
Your text content is what converts content into action. When it’s time to hit your audience with a sales message your text creates action. Think about what it is you want your audience to do, and the best way of telling them. A text post is a standard message to your audience, but the text will appear next to all your other forms of content. Whether it’s introducing your latest video, or a picture celebrating your team. Text appears everywhere, so make sure your content copywriter skills are up to the task.
Images
Images should always have a caption, so your audience understands what it is about. Preferably, adding more text will help bring out your brand. Images are a good way to visually get someone’s attention as they are scrolling through their social media feed. The best images are your own ones that communicate your personal branding. Simply using repetitive stock images isn’t going to work in the long run.
Make sure your images are also sized correctly for the platform you will be using. Social Media banners come in all shapes and sizes. The same goes for your content. Guides online will tell you the maximum image size, but more often than not the post will be cropped. So make sure the crux of your content is in the centre of the image, or in an area you know is safe to be viewed on the social platform you are using.
Articles
You can create an article on your own blog or through LinkedIn’s hosted blog. Articles are great as you can both inform your readers on a topic you are an expert in, which will build thought leadership. (This is because your audience will trust your voice.) Don’t bore people with your article, make sure they offer valuable information. This allows them to see you are a professional and know what you’re talking about.
If you are using an article to highlight a product or service ensure you discuss the problem that it is solving. If you simply write a piece about how great your company is, people will switch off. Highlight the reason the product or service exists in the first place. To help people with a problem they can’t possibly solve themselves.
Videos
Videos work so well on social media. People will watch videos and look at images more readily than skim read a long text post. It all depends on your audience though, so make sure you have them in mind when you are thinking about what type of content marketing to post. Have a variety of different formats to keep your audience interested in your content. LinkedIn prefers a variety of content posts for maximum impact, so you need to make sure to switch it up once and a while.
The best videos for social media posts are short 30 seconds to a maximum of 2 minutes. You will see a lot of people aren’t ready to dedicate their time to anything longer than this. Social media users will rather spend 10 minutes watching 5 videos than 10 minutes watching 1 video. The video also needs a caption to stop anyone from scrolling past it.
Shared Posts
This kind of post is when you share someone else’s post so it appears on your feed. It will include the original poster’s name and you should make sure you add a caption to also promote your own take on the post. However, understand you will be promoting other posts over your own when you share. You won’t see much engagement from a shared post, as most will link through to the original post. Giving that post all the engagement.
A shared post is more useful as a friendly gesture than a content marketing tool. Unless you are sharing from your company profiles or colleagues, but in this case, it’s preferable to use your own content to raise brand awareness.
Documents
Uploading a PDF is a great format for a recent press release or an example of your business’s work. Like the video upload, LinkedIn will tell you “success” when it has been uploaded to the platform. Think of your social media profile as an opportunity to showcase your work in a portfolio style.
You should also make sure that you use universally recognised formats when uploading any documents. If there is a password on your document or you are using 3rd party software it may frustrate people trying to open your files. Keep it simple. Anyone can view a PDF on google chrome or their default browser, but not everyone will use the same program for word documents.
If you are using a link to download a file make sure that your security is up to scratch, these landing pages could come under attack by hackers replicating you landing page and sending out malicious files or stealing data. It can be tough for an audience to trust a download from a platform they haven’t used before, so give plenty of options to your audience so they can use a service they are most familiar with.
How Often Should You Post?
It depends on your audience, but we suggest posting every day. This way you can build up your audience and increase your visibility. Make sure it is at a consistent time and day throughout the week. This is because your audience will start to look forward to and expect your content if it is done well.
A regular posting schedule will build:
- Attention and visibility to your profile/company page.
- Build engagement.
- Make you a voice of thought leadership, which will encourage trust in your network.
All three of these outcomes will result in more revenue for your business.
If you post at the same time, every day, soon enough you will become a part of your audience’s routine. moulding yourself into their daily lives helps establish trust and a relationship. Once they trust you and enjoy your content it’s more acceptable to post your sales content. Your audience will then be more likely to view those posts, follow calls-to-action and even purchase.
Why Content Marketing is Vital to Your Business…
Content marketing is a great way to convert people into clients. It’s a proven method of reaching new people, whilst engaging your current audience. Not only does it serve as a great tool for sales, but it plays a vital role in social selling.
Social Selling is the process of selling on social. Using content marketing strategies to generate leads and close sales. Content marketing alongside social selling is a proven method to grow business organically. Using these tools many small businesses have been established, grown and turned into large companies with massive amounts of revenue.
91% of B2B marketers and 86% of B2C marketers use it in their marketing strategy.
The marketing arena is growing and social media is the forerunner for businesses that want to access more work. If you are looking to scale your business, social media is a great way to keep in contact with your clients and grow visibility for your brand.
FAQ
What is content marketing?
Content marketing involves creating and sharing valuable content to attract and engage an audience, ultimately driving profitable customer actions.
Why is content marketing important?
It is cost-effective, builds trust, and helps convert leads into paying clients. Content marketing is also vital for social selling and increasing business visibility.
What types of content can I use?
- Text posts: Short updates with photos.
- Images: Captions and personal branding.
- Articles: Informative pieces building thought leadership.
- Videos: Short, engaging clips.
- Shared posts: Other’s content with your take.
- Documents: PDFs and business portfolios.
How often should I post content?
Posting daily at a consistent time helps build audience engagement, visibility, and trust.
What are the benefits of content marketing?
It boosts attention, engagement, thought leadership, and revenue.
