Content Creation

How and Why to Add Variety to Your Content Marketing Strategy

CopyPress

September 18, 2018 (Updated: March 2, 2020)

When people think about content, they tend to focus on the copy. Website and social media copy is easy to create, doesn’t cost a lot, and follows a tried-and-true method that most brands have followed for years. However, there are so many other types of content out there to explore. If the copy is your bread and butter, then the infographics, videos, images, memes, games, and other content types make up all the other food groups and items in the grocery store. Bread and butter are great, but no one wants to eat them exclusively.

Diverse content creation and curation need to be part of your marketing strategy. You’ve mastered the art of engaging copy; now it’s time to spread your wings and see what else is out there.

All Industries Prefer Diversity in Their Content

Image via Flickr by jstimp

One of the main arguments that people make when presented with the idea of creating video content, infographics, and other content forms is that audiences don’t want it. Many business owners think their brand is too professional or targets an audience that’s not internet-friendly enough for something digitally splashy. It’s 2018, and it’s time to bust this myth that certain demographics just want text.

B2B Decision Makers Want Video

The B2B world is a prime example of a serious industry that needs to embrace content. The fact is that 60 percent of business decision makers prefer their content delivered as video. Furthermore, more than half of all B2B decision makers look for video content when they’re researching a product or service. From a two-minute product video to a lengthy onboarding seminar, the majority of your audiences want video along with their written explanations.

Also, you can’t say that your brand is too “professional” to share visual content like images or infographics. Look at Tom Fishburne and his Marketoonist comics, which poke fun at the marketing industry, to see how a lighthearted comic can engage audiences and bring them to a blog post.

Video Helps Older Internet Users

Elderly Americans are also typically swept into the “too old for video” and other forms of content category. However, senior citizens are significantly more adroit at navigating the web than you might think. In 2014, only 59 percent of Americans older than 65 confidently used the internet. In four years, this grew more than 10 percent to 71 percent of Americans older than 65.

Social network adoption has followed similar trends, growing from 34 percent in 2014 to 52 percent in 2018.

Older citizens don’t want to be treated like retired, outdated dinosaurs. They use the internet regularly and are keeping up with modern trends. In fact, 54 percent of older Americans watch video content online, and 82 percent watch videos on YouTube.

If you have been avoiding diverse content choices because you don’t think the generation or industry has demand for it, then you’re abandoning your customers to receive marketing messages from someone else.

People Consume Information in Different Ways

You can also help your audiences digest the information you’re trying to convey by presenting it in different ways. While most people know there are differences between auditory and visual learners, there actually multiple learning styles, and each person learns through a combination of all of them. These include:

• Visual
• Auditory
• Physical
• Verbal
• Logical
• Social
• Solitary

It isn’t enough to give a visual learner a cool chart. They may want to review that chart on their own or discuss it with other people. Someone who is an auditory learner might want to ask questions and give examples to understand the content.

Your diverse content strategy addresses audience concerns in a variety of ways. This is your chance to create engaging content that connects with multiple learning styles and brings people in.

Part of your audience is going to scroll past your video content or infographic in favor of a blog post. But if you only cater to the people who want written content, then you’re ignoring the rest of your audience who want visuals and videos and engaging pieces to help them learn.

Different Content Types Serve Different Purposes

Aside from considering who is consuming your content and why they choose particular content options, your brand also has to consider its own sales and marketing goals with the content you create.

We all want to believe that every blog post moves customers from the introduction phase through the sales process by the time they reach the last paragraph, but the truth is grayer than that. In reality, the average brand needs six to eight customer touches before a purchase is made. Are you going to show your customers the same blog post eight times and expect them to convert?

Content diversity moves customers through the buying process by giving them the information they need when they need it. Here is an example of what one brand’s content flow would look like:

• Awareness: A customer learns about your brand through a keynote speaker at a conference or attends an online webinar.
• Interest: The customer follows your page on social media and checks out a few of your blog posts.
• Decision: The customer visits your product pages and compares them to your competitors. They bring in their manager for a second opinion.
• Action: The customer contacts your company or recommends your company to an industry peer.

Throughout this process, the customer likely engaged with video content, slideshows, images, infographics, white papers, blog posts, and product pages, long before speaking with one of your sales reps. Your content, in all of its diversity, can sell your brand for you.

Test Out Different Content Types To See What Works

You don’t have to hire a brand new content team to use all of the creative resources on the web, but you should take steps to expand your brand by testing new options to see what works. Contact an agency that specializes in creating great content and see how your audiences respond to a video, infographic, or captivating image campaign that gets people to click and pay attention. We’re ready for your call.

Amanda Dodge

CopyPress writer

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