The development of content, internet and its users do not require standstill. Although blogs and posts on social networks do not lose their relevance, more and more new types of content appear that help to more effectively attract an audience, increase reach and stay in trend.
Below you will find the 6 most popular content formats that you should adopt in 2020.
1. Podcasts
Even though podcasts appeared a long time ago, only recently they began to gain popularity among marketers. Studies show that 32% of US adults today listen to podcasts every month, which is three times more than last year. Experts predict that by 2021, revenues from the podcast system will exceed $ 1 billion. All this is mainly due to the widespread use of smartphones, as shown in the figure below:
Smartphones increase the popularity of podcasts. Which device have you watched, listened to, or downloaded a podcast in the last 30 days? Violet graph – smartphone; blue – computer; green – tablet; yellow is another device.
Podcasts offer many opportunities for promotion. For example, you can use podcasts to tell listeners exactly how your product can close their “pain” based on the success stories of your customers. Another option is to attract experts and industry leaders to discuss with you the latest news and trends related to your business.
If everything is fine with your audio recording settings, make podcasts a regular part of your content strategy. Let them be as useful as blog posts. Podcasts can include industry news, how-tos, tips, and customer interviews. All this is a great way to attract the attention of the target audience. If you don’t have the resources to create your podcasts, you can post ads or paid content to authors of similar podcasts.
Carefully choose partners for cooperation, as this is a great way to show that it is your company that owns relevant information.
2. Online courses
Many people are now interested in learning a new profession or useful skills. And you, as a business owner, are an expert in the field in which you work. This means that you and your colleagues have information that can be very useful to others.
If you combine all the useful information that you have in one online course, you can become a leader in your industry and attract a new audience. Also, online courses are a great way to share with people what you are passionate about and turn your passion into an additional source of profit for your business.
To create a successful online course, you will not need anything except essential audio and video equipment for recording, as well as a landing page on which you will need to place something like a curriculum, where the topics of the lessons will be described in detail. It will be seen by potential students who have heard about your course on a podcast, clicked on targeted ads on Facebook, or clicked on an affiliate link to email.
3. Knowledge Base
Content is not always marketing materials. When customers interact with you and your product, online store or platform, they naturally have problems and questions that they will need to answer.
However, most users do not like to communicate with the support service directly and prefer to search for answers to their questions on their own using special tools, of which the knowledge base is the most optimal. It is a complete version of the FAQ page. But the knowledge base allows solving customer problems much faster and more efficiently.
You can also read: How to write prefect FAQ’s
4. Webinars and online video
Online courses are usually prepared in advance so that the user can watch them at a convenient time for themselves, as well as to interrupt at any time. However, webinars and online broadcasts are other popular forms of content today. Cisco predicts that by 2021, video streaming will account for 80% of all web traffic, and live content plays a huge role here.
The demand for real-time video is not limited to sports and computer games. Many brands managed to attract the target audience by making regular broadcasts on social networks and conducting online webinars on their websites.
Well-known entrepreneur Neil Patel notes that people watch live broadcasts three times more often than videos recorded in advance. Also, real-time video generates more comments and other activities than standard videos. One example of a brand that benefits from this is Benefit Cosmetics. This company attracts over 25,000 viewers per week through online streaming on Facebook.
5. E-books
Depending on your area of business, e-books can be a great way to provide your customers with useful information and attract new audiences. For example, in B2B, various guides and infographics can become especially attractive to users.
MonsterInsights co-founder Chris Kristoff in one of his articles explains:
“The easiest way is to increase the list of email addresses and attract the attention of new users by offering them valuable information for free. Show people that you want to teach them new things so that they can succeed in their endeavours. Even if they don’t have to pay to read your e-books, they still move around the sales funnel and get acquainted with your brand and its content. But remember that it is important to coordinate the information that you provide to potential customers with the stage of the buying process. ”
To create an e-book, it is not necessary to re-write the content. One of the easiest ways is to combine several articles from your blog. The main thing is that the topics of publications are connected, and from them, chapters of one book quickly turn out.
6. Checklists
Checklists may seem unusual to your customers. However, if used correctly, they can be beneficial, as well as help you increase the number of subscribers.
The checklist is a list that often relies on previous content (for example, a blog post). An example is steps to prepare a car for winter or tips for maintaining a heating system:
The checklist is usually visually appealing, so the user is likely to save it or repost it on the wall in a social network. Thus, he will always remind him of your brand and motivate you to make a purchase.
Also, a checklist is an ideal content for placement on a landing page that can hold users on your page for a long time. Another idea is to offer a list in the form of a lead magnet.
Conclusion
When it comes to reaching out to your audience and promoting your business with content, your options are almost endless today. By adapting your materials to the interests of your users, you can not only give them useful information but also achieve your marketing goals.
Your high conversions!
