Strategizing and planning your marketing content requires a careful selection of platforms as well as the type of content you need to create. Content planning allows you to discuss or assess which type of content or platform you need to make your brand visible and create engagements and buzz.
Before you decide on which specific types of content to use, you have to know who your audience is. You can go back to your target personas and see what exactly they are looking for.
You can also do some research on the preferences of these personas as to how they consume content and which types of content they like.
Human beings are naturally visual learners. American educator Edgar Dale proposed the Cone of Experience model, which says that a person would retain only 0 to 20% of written or spoken information after 3 days but almost 65% of visual information.
According to education consultant Dr. Lynell Burmark:
“… unless our words, concepts, ideas are hooked onto an image, they will go in one ear, sail through the brain, and go out the other ear. Words are processed by our short-term memory where we can only retain about seven bits of information (plus or minus 2) […]. Images, on the other hand, go directly into long-term memory where they are indelibly etched.”
If you add infographics into your content, your audience will likely remember them and the information contained in them. They are fun, visually appealing, and easy to digest.
Infographics will come in handy if you use them on your blog or for your brand messaging. Infographics are ideal when you want to present heavy data, numbers and statistics which can be very boring.
Lists are pretty common in women's magazines and have become popular formats in blogs, too.
Marketing scholars Mathew S. Isaac of Seattle University and Robert M. Schindler published an article in the Journal of Consumer Research, and they found that people commonly exhibited what they call a “top 10 effect” which is the tendency to group things together into round-number groups and viewing anything outside the group as inferior.
Hence, they view items listed within a "Top 10" list as significant even if the real number is minimal or unknown.
A good example would be a list of resources and tools, which can act as a reference for users who are seeking ways on how manage various tasks.
People just love stories, especially if they know that they are true.
Case studies and success stories position the subjects as representatives of the people. Classic underdog stories about highs and lows and the struggles one had to overcome to achieve success resonates well with an audience.
Case studies and success stories approach the audience as protagonists of their own stories, and if they hear about the exciting features of your product or service, they will most likely remember them and try them for themselves.
Make your case studies about the journey of a person and not so much about your product. The most successful case studies make the audience feel that the story is about them.
"How to" articles offer topical, helpful, and interesting information to readers. Because of this, these types of articles are among the easiest types of articles to write since usually the majority of the content is based on steps that have been proven to work.
Aside from being educational, how-to guides can also position you as an expert and your readers will most likely believe you.
When writing how-to guides for your website, go for as long as 1,500 words and make it more in-depth and “meatier.” If your readers feel that your article is reliable, they will likely finish the entire read and share your article.
But again, do not forget the visual aspect. Make sure these types of articles are filled with pictures so that your readers can easily follow them and help them break up the text for easier reading.
In this age of social media, it can be easy to appeal to emotion. If you get your audiences to engage with your content on an emotional level, they will unconsciously form a connection with you.
The secret to a good personal story is to be vulnerable. Open yourself up to your audience and do not be afraid of criticism.
Personal stories can either be personal essays, opinions, or inspirational tales. When sharing personal stories, remember to only inspire but not bait them into doing things for you. Readers can be intuitive, and misleading content just for the sake of garnering clicks or selling your product can dissuade them from trusting your brand.
We at BizScale are experts when it comes to content and content marketing. Talk to us by completing this form, emailing sales@bizscale.com, calling 833-722-5310, or booking time on Calendly. Take your business to the next level today.
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