The Ultimate Content Offering Guide and Their Benefits

We can agree that content is the new language of inbound marketing. The vast majority of consumers engage in your content before deciding to do business with you. With such a huge emphasis placed on publishing content, it’s important that you’re leveraging different types of content to effectively connect with your audience and generate the outcomes you desire.

In this guide, the goal is to present various content offerings and how to best use them in your content marketing strategy. You’ll gain clarity on how each of them works, their benefits, and ways to authentically connect with your market through content.

Literary

#1 Blog Posts

Blogging is a premier strategy to increase brand awareness, educate your market, and be viewed as a reliable source in the industry. By optimising your blog for SEO, you’ll drive traffic from search engines and position yourself for leads and sales. The focus is sharing valuable content that solves problems and is useful for your readers.

#2 eBooks

eBooks are time-tested tools for lead generation. They’re ideal for expanding on different facets of your business or topics in your industry that you believe people will benefit from understanding. Invest the time to produce a great eBook and use as a lead magnet to growing your email subscribers.

#3 Checklists

Simply put, checklists are easy content tools that assist users in achieving a specific goal or outcome. Many find them simple to digest and follow, making them a wonderful asset to your content marketing strategy. Bait your social followers and website visitors by presenting a checklist for opt-ins.

#4 Case Studies

Case studies help you close the deal. It increases your credibility and especially builds trust with those who are in the decision stage of the buyer’s journey. They show that what you do works and creates results for others. Highlight case studies on your sales pages, presentations, and email content to move people to the purchasing decision.

Imagery

#5 Infographics

Did you know infographics are liked and shared on social media 3 times more than any other content type? These visual, highly-detailed content pieces are perfect for increasing brand awareness on social and complementing your blog content. Easily create your own on platforms like Canva.

#6 Slideshows

Slideshows keep people on your website longer, improving bounce rates (dwell time) and user experience. They’re highly effective for reaching those who are less inclined to read a long-form post. Presenting content in small chunks helps you appeal to different preferences. Slideshows are best for how-to content with each slide building upon the last and discussing the next step in a process.

#7 Screenshots

Screenshots are multifaceted, allowing you to provide your audience with a glimpse of the inner workings of your product or service. You can illustrate what services and functions you offer from a more direct perspective and even combine your screenshot with marketing copy or testimonials to boost your credibility. Use them to help back up claims you make in your sales content.

#8 Quote Images

Everyone enjoys inspiration. Sharing quotes highlight your brand in a positive way and show what you value. Quote images perform well on social networks like Facebook and Instagram in getting followers engaged in your content and attracting new ones.

Video

#9 Webinar

Webinars are excellent ways to position your brand as an expert in the industry. You can delve deeper into content topics, extending amazing value to your audience. Webinars can be used to build awareness for new prospects and leads getting to know your company. They’re also perfect for product demonstrations in helping move your leads closer to the buying decision.

When it’s over, repurpose your content by uploading the slides to SlideShare to extend your reach.

#10 Video Series

Videos are powerful content tools that easily captures attention and builds a connection with your audience. A big benefit to videos is that they move people to action. In fact, including a video on your landing page can increase conversions by 80% (Source: Hubspot).

With that said, videos are most effective in capturing leads and growing your sales funnel. Offering a video series as a lead magnet is a compelling way to gain new subscribers and deliver great content. But don’t just limit them to lead generation. How-to’s and product demonstrations are also terrific on video.

#11 Live Video

People are spending 3 times longer watching live video versus those that have already been recorded. Apps like Facebook Live, Instagram Stories, and Periscope are generating massive engagement on social media…and brands are taking notice. Leverage these tools to genuinely connect with your followers and foster relationships. You can take viewers behind-the-scenes, report breaking news, or host live Q&A sessions to truly engage your networks.

Interactive

#12 Podcasts

The popularity of podcasting is undeniable, with monthly listeners increasing from 21% to 24% year over year. It reveals a desire of consumers listening to content “on-the-go” or while engaging in other activities. Podcasts are great additions to blog articles or simply having a channel to reach new people. They build awareness, bolster thought-leadership, and drives traffic to your website.

#13 Quizzes

Quizzes are fun and engaging. People have a chance to discover new things about themselves that add value or gives inspiration. These interactive pieces make your content worthwhile and memorable. You can easily amplify your lead generation by offering quizzes and giving users an opportunity to get their results by giving their name and email.

#14 Surveys and Polls

A huge element of inbound marketing is delighting your customers in a way that converts them into loyal, raving fans of your brand. Knowing what they want is a sure way of publishing content that meets their needs. Simply asking your audience through surveys and polls work well in achieving this goal.

In-person

#15 Workshop or Trade Show Event

In-person events rank amongst the top five B2B content marketing tactics. Even in an ever-evolving digital era, they’re one of the most effective methods in building relationships with your target market. People remember face-to-face encounters more than social media posts, blog articles, and videos. In your marketing strategy, it’s important to have a strong presence both online and offline. You can leverage these events by getting your market to try your products (for sales or leads) or gain feedback to use for fresh customer initiatives.

Each content type serves a different purpose in your content marketing strategy. Armed with this content offering guide, you can now effectively use content to attract, capture, and engage your buyer personas. The key is testing your results to discover what resonates with your audience best so you can continue giving more of what they want.