Content and the marketing opportunities that come with it is a powerful way to engage with your customers. But, in an ever-growing world of content types, it can be tricky to decide which types of content you should produce for your business.

From audio to e-zines, this comprehensive A-Z list of content formats covers each of the main content bases, with tips on how to use these as a part of your content strategy.

For help with developing content for your business, get in touch with the FINALLY team.

A is for… Audio

Whether it’s a podcast, an audio guide or even a brand song, audio content is a highly effective way to reach your audience. Podcast listeners have doubled in the past 5 years, with more than six million of us tuning in each week, to more than more than 700,000 active podcasts. It’s safe to say that this trend isn’t going to go away any time soon.

B is for… Blog

This content format is probably the best known – and for good reason. Blogging platforms, like those offered by WordPress are free, effective and pretty easy to master.

C is for… Case Studies

Case studies offer your audience a useful insight into your business. Who have you worked with and what did you do for them? You never know, by shouting about your success via the medium of case studies, you could score a new client.

D is for… Dictionary

…like this very article. And our Glossary of Social Media Terms. It’s a given that short chunks of content are always better for the online reader, especially one who prefers to do all their reading on their phone.

E is for… Ebooks

Ebooks are a terrific format for your longer-form content. Along with white papers, they’re the go-to set-up for gated content, offering your audience something tangible and informative which will only make them love you more.

F is for… FAQs

Great for hitting those longer-tail keywords and great for inbound marketing, a frequently asked questions page is an asset to every website. Need some inspiration to populate your FAQs? Here’s a tip: Google your specific industry type and scroll down to the bottom of a search results page and you’ll find a ‘People also asked’ section which contains actual questions, related to your industry, which potential customers are searching for.

G is for… Gated Content

Typically, an ebook, guide or other type of longer-form content, gated content can be a great way of gathering leads. Put simply, this is content which is protected by a kind of paywall which requires readers to submit their email address in order to access it. Who said that the best things in life are free, eh?

H is for… How-to Guides

Want to create content which will index on search engines, provide a steady stream of visits to your website and will probably never go out of date? How-to guides are the answer. As with FAQs, How-to guides are designed to answer the questions that your customers are asking. They form the very heart of inbound marketing and should have a place in every content strategy.

I is for… Infographics

Want to convey something difficult in the easiest possible way? Infographics are designed to educate readers or provide a fully-branded, educational graphic for your social media followers to like, learn from and share.

J is for… Journalism

Informed, relevant and impartial content will never go out of fashion, which is why you should devote some of your efforts into good ol’ fashioned journalism. From interviews and opinion pieces to news and exposés, journalism can bring integrity to your brand and its content.

K is for… Keynote Presentations

Whether you use Keynote, PowerPoint or something fancy from your Adobe Suite, SlideShare presentations can be a great way of conveying your content – and you don’t have to be a designer to create them (cue eye-roll from designers everywhere).

L is for… List Content

Ahhh… who doesn’t love a list? As with dictionary content, lists are by their very nature, easily-scannable for an online reader. By popping a number in the title (like: 5 quick tricks to improve your SEO rankings today) you can help to manage your readers expectations about what they’re in for.

M is for… Meme

If you set aside any worries about the EU copywriting directive, memes can be a great way to engage with your audience, expand your reach on social media and show your company’s fun side – like this one which we created for a client.

N is for… News

Whether it’s brand news or your take on something happening in the world-at-large, news helps you to keep relevant. News articles allow you to ride on the coat-tails of trending topics, bringing your content to the feeds of millions of Twitter users worldwide.

Don’t be afraid to comment on something in the news if it’s relevant to your business. An expert opinion on a news story is always a useful thing to have – and may even get picked up by the nationals. Which brings us on to…

O is for… Opinion Pieces

If you feel strongly about something, write about it. After all, this is what blogging was made for! Company blogs are a platform for your thoughts and opinions, as long as they’re shared by your team at large. With so much content online, it pays to stand out from the crowd.

P is for… Predictions

Predictions are far more engaging than retrospectives. Your readers want to learn about the new, not dwell on the old. Your clients will respect you more for having your finger on the pulse of the latest trends.

Q is for… Quizzes

Quizzes are a great way to engage with your audience. Easily and readily shareable on social media, they can improve dwell time on your site, up return visits and expand your reach. Light-hearted, engaging and just plain fun, quizzes should have a place in any content calendar.

R is for… Reviews

It’s no exaggeration to say that reviews are the single most important piece of content on your product pages. How many times have you bought something online without a cursory glance at the reviews section? Answer: never.

S is for… Surveys

Readers love statistics. They give your brand credibility, are pretty great for link-building and are quick and easy to compile through surveys.

Use free survey websites, such as Survey Monkey, to design and send your campaign. Decide which questions would be useful to include and don’t forget to add an incentive for completing the questionnaire. You’ll be surprised at how effective a free prize draw or a 10% voucher code for your website can be.

T is for… Templates

Who said content formats actually need… well, content? Templates are fully-designed (usually) single-page outlines which your readers can print off and add to. This could be a checklist or a calendar or something more technical. Whatever you create, a template can provide legitimate added value to your readers – something which they’d be only too happy to exchange their email address for.

U is for… User-generated Content

User-generated content can be the magic bullet to your marketing strategy. By inviting your existing customers to submit articles, posts, or even reviews of your products and services, you’re adding a wealth of useful content to your landing pages, making your customer-base feel valued… and best of all, it won’t cost you a penny.

V is for… Video Content

Video content is a sure-fire way of delivering on your KPIs. It can maximise the success of your Facebook ads, improve conversions on your product pages and bring your brand to millions of YouTube users around the world.

One in three millennials have claimed they’ve bought a product after watching an educational video about it. To maximise success, keep your video to under 60 seconds and don’t skimp on its production. Whatever your business, FINALLY can help you to create video content for your brand.

W is for… White Papers

The term ‘white paper’ might seem a bit old hat now, but this type of downloadable guide is still a widely-used route to market, especially in the B2B world.

X is for… eXchanging Content

As its name suggests, exchanging content simply means swapping content with another website as a part of a mutually-beneficial arrangement. As all SEO-heads will know, link-building should be at the heart of every content strategy, and by exchanging content, you can ensure another website is linking to you using exactly the right keywords because you wrote it yourself.

Y is for… Youth Influencers

Influencer content is a social post which features a company’s product, in some way, shape or form. Sort of like a recommendation that the influencer is paid for.

Z is for…e-Zine

An e-zine is an online magazine which looks and behaves almost exactly like its offline equivalent. Like e-newsletters, readers can subscribe to e-zines, making them a useful way to reach out to your client-base.

For help with creating any of these content formats to market your brand, get in touch.