More consumer brands and business marketers are picking up the content marketing banner and displaying it loudly and proudly on their websites. In effect, they are creating their own online brands with their blogs, social networks, video feeds and more. A recent Marketing Profs and CMI (Content Marketing Institute) report showed that an overwhelming majority of companies and organizations (90%) use content marketing in their overall marketing makeup.
With all those content needs bubbling up on the web, that means there are exciting opportunities for web content services, freelance writers and content curators than ever before. And the key to being successful in this is knowing your intended audience. Writing specifically to a certain client’s needs and attributes can help your content to garner the kinds of page views that make your clients take notice.
To do that successfully, it’s important to have a variety of writing and content types to make your content sizzle. Let’s break it down below into the five types of content methods that sizzle.
Article Content
- 1st person: subjective, opinion content. Sometimes humorous, other times serious, written to express opinion or make a point.
- 2nd person: From Me to You advice stories. You see these frequently from writers. Here’s an example from Business Insider with a direct letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook.
- 3rd person: objective newsy content linked to current trends and happenings. What’s today’s news that’s relevant in some way to your client’s audience? Find it and write it.
Q&As
Use a question and answer format with influencers and leaders for upcoming blog posts. These can be quick exercises when using an email Q&A format.
Aggregated Lists
Using aggregated lists in blog posts and articles provides shareable, high-impact content. For examples, see the infamous Lists about Lists feed over at Buzzfeed.
Embedded Posts and Status Updates
Twitter and Facebook both provide embed codes for bloggers and website owners to use in posts and articles. And with Facebook owning Instagram and Twitter owning Vine, freelancers can start to embed these short form videos inside a tweet or Facebook status update for extra visual enhancement. Here’s an example below of an embedded Tweet:
We're in a summer daze! Aren't you? https://t.co/m8Svt0DsEg
— Gap (@Gap) May 31, 2013
Embedded video clips
Using video clips in your content makes for engaging, visual content. YouTube videos are the king here, but the short form videos via 15-second Instagram clips and 6-second Vine clips are making a run at livening up blogs and article sites.
Infographics
Using infographics in your blog posts, article writing, case studies and more can have a strong impact on your brand’s marketing efforts. In fact, just to prove a point, let’s share below this great infographic on the state of content marketing 2013 from social media agency Wishpond. It’s embedded below.
Explore more infographics like this one on the web’s largest information design community, Visually.
Dave M is a freelance writer available on WriterAccess, a marketplace where clients and expert writers connect for assignments.
