How to Decide Which Formats You Should Use for Your Content Marketing

Most people think of articles and blog posts when they hear the term content marketing.

There's more to content marketing that just writing articles. Although written content can be more cost-effective and less expensive, it is not the best way to get the most from your content marketing strategy.

Some types of content are better suited to certain industries than others. You might also find it easier to reach certain segments of your audience with one type of content than another.

It is essential to determine which content formats will have the greatest ROI and resonate best with your audience in order to maximize your content marketing budget.

Quick Takeaways

• 
  It's important to consider multiple content formats when developing your content strategy.
  
• 
  Get to know your audience and the content they share.
  
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  Repurpose content in multiple formats to reach the largest audience and get the most out of your budget.
  

You should consider the following content formats

What exactly is “content” really referring to? There are many forms of online content, including:

• Blog posts
• Articles published in other places than your blog
• Videos
• Podcasts
• Infographics
• Images
• Webinars
• Slide presentations
• Ebooks
• White papers
• Subscribe to our email newsletter
• Case studies
• Press releases
• Checklists
• Interviews
• Posts on social media
• Interactive calculators, quizzes and other tools.

(Image Source: G2)

Many of these formats fall under the heading of written content. However, some of them such as video do not require any writing. You might also find other types of content, such as a longer-form article or case study with infographics and video.

It can be overwhelming to choose from so many options for content marketing, especially if you are limited in resources or have a tight budget. How do you choose the right format for your content marketing strategy, and how can you make it easier?

What Content Types Should You Use?

Each content type has its pros and cons. Video, for example, can be very engaging and shared, but it can also be costly and time-consuming to produce. Before you decide on the content format for your content marketing campaigns, there are many things to think about. These are:

• Your target audience (does your intended audience like to read articles, or watch videos?
• You can choose the type of information that you wish to include. Statistics and figures work best in a chart or infographic. However, “how-to” content may be easier to follow in a video than in written instructions.
• Budget and time commitments
• Are you able to provide the necessary skills and equipment to produce the content you desire? Or would you need to hire outside help?

Mixing up content and creating different formats will give your business the best results. This not only keeps your audience engaged, but also allows you to determine the content that converts best.

Written content is often the most cost-effective to produce. Many marketers opt to concentrate on the core blog posts, along with some infographics and videos.

Written content may not be the best option for every brand. GoPro, an action camera manufacturer, uses video as a natural content format. Their content marketing is dominated by video.

You can also repurpose your content in multiple formats to get more ROI and reach a wider audience. One blog post can be made into a podcast, video or infographic.

How to choose the right content format for your audience

Content marketing can be difficult for many businesses.

It is crucial that your content be engaging and that it has the highest chance of being shared and consumed.

This is why it is important to do thorough research about your audience. You can create a content strategy that will be successful with your specific audience by understanding their preferences and online habits.

Review your audience intelligence and analytics software. Segment your audience to target content marketing campaigns. Consider these things:

• Your audience's age and demographics. Short-form video is a great format if you are marketing primarily to Millennials. However, older demographics prefer long-form text.
• Which content formats do they like?
• What are they sharing?
• They are spending their online time where?
• Which are their favorite social networks? A content strategy that targets a Snapchat audience would be very different from one targeted at LinkedIn.
• You should also consider the goals of each piece. For lead generation, ebooks, whitepapers and webinars are more effective than blog posts or videos. It might be very different to share a lot of content on social media than content that leads to conversions.

Although your initial research should guide you, it is important to test and experiment to improve your content strategy. Although statistics might indicate that Millennials prefer video short-form, your audience may be more open to podcasts and ebooks.

The pros and cons of popular content formats

It's crucial to have a balanced approach when deciding on the formats you will use for your content campaigns. You should consider your budget, your goals, and what you can publish with unlimited resources.

(Image Source: G2)

Blog Posts

• It is relatively inexpensive and simple to make
• SEO optimization is a powerful tool for increasing SEO
• For maximum effectiveness, publications must be made on a regular basis
• Flexible – Can be either short- or long-form. It can be used to achieve many goals, including adding value to existing customers, converting new leads into customers or building brand awareness.
• Attracts guest posts and comments

Video

• Video is one of most engaging online content forms and is growing in popularity
• Although it's more difficult and costly to create videos than text content, it is possible to make simple videos with a limited budget.
• It is time-consuming and requires a lot of resources
• Videos that engage viewers can be hard to make.
• YouTube is the second-largest search engine in the world and offers over 1 billion hours of video per day to its users
• Video is one of the most popular content on social media.
• Highly effective in branding and authority boosting

Podcasts

• It is effective in building relationships with the audience and loyalty
• Chance to connect with a captive audience
• Podcasts are becoming a popular trend. More than 30% of Americans listen to podcasts at least once per month.
• Equipment for recording high-quality sounds is required to lower the barrier of entry
• To maintain an audience, consistency is key.
• It is difficult to measure ROI

Infographics

• This format is great for presenting data in an easy to understand format
• Social media sharing: Popular content formats
• You can link to other blogs that are likely to use your site. This is great for branding and SEO.
• Only for certain topics
• It can take time to collect data and produce graphics.
• Engagement potential is low

Our Content Builder Service can help you get more visitors to your website by providing quality content that is consistently published. Contact me for a quick consultation and I will send you a PDF copy of my books. Get started today to generate more leads and traffic for your business.