Which Content Marketing Solutions Are Right for You?

The biggest difference between content marketing and marketing? Content marketing’s focus on storytelling to connect, educate, and motivate through value, education, and inspiration. So if your content is feeling forced or “sales-y,” chances are you haven’t yet embraced all that content marketing services can provide.

What Problems Does Content Marketing Solve?

When governed by a content marketing strategy, content marketing involves thoughtfully and strategically creating, publishing, and distributing content for your target audience. Your content should be less about promoting products and services and more about delivering valuable information to help your audience find solutions to their problems.

“Organizations that invest in content marketing services are able to complement and maximize their marketing efforts in areas like paid media and advertising,” says Michelle Jackson, Chief Strategy Officer at BackPocket Agency. “They’re also able to connect with their audience in meaningful ways beyond simply promoting products or services directly. Content marketing empowers organizations to deliver true value to their audience, build trust, and drive long-term loyalty.” 

Effective content marketing can:

• Establish thought leadership: Consistently publishing high-value content featuring experts in your industry can help build your credibility, in turn establishing trust with your audience. They will look to you to explore problems and issues, find new perspectives, and even share your content as they have discussions with their peers.
• Build trust: Content marketing is more than just self-promotion. Consumers increasingly research whether a brand’s values align with their own. Creating authentic, empathetic content will show your audience that they can trust you and your products or services.
• Increase brand awareness: Whatever your industry, you’re likely to have competitors vying for your audience’s attention and business. Producing content that highlights your company’s expertise and provides valuable information will help you stand out and drive brand awareness.
• Generate and nurture leads: Content marketing provides the necessary touchpoints to not only generate leads but also nurture them. At each stage of the sales journey, you can provide targeted, personalized content that impacts buyers’ decision-making.

10 Types of Content Marketing Solutions

Your content marketing strategy should identify the types of content marketing solutions that are best for your organization. Consider these questions as you determine your content marketing mix:

Here are 10 effective content marketing solutions you might consider:

1. Blog posts

Long-form blog posts are some of the best-performing types of content. When optimized for search, they can boost your search engine optimization (SEO) rankings, attract leads through organic search, and nurture leads by providing quality information.

2. Email

While email isn’t dead, bad email is. Through newsletters, promotions and offers, and other personalized messages, brands can nurture leads, drive conversions, and build customer loyalty. A mix of engaging subject lines, easy-to-read text, visuals, and bold calls-to-action can increase engagement and click rates. “By segmenting your email lists into targeted groups according to common traits, needs, and habits, you can increase engagement, open rates, and click rates even more,” says Janet Celosia, Vice President, Marketing, BackPocket Agency.  

3. Infographics

Infographics are effective content marketing solutions because they can present complex information in a way that’s easy for users to digest. They’re also highly shareable, which can boost engagement and drive traffic to your website.

4. Videos

Videos are another highly shareable content type — and one of the most engaging, helping you share a lot of information in a short amount of time. Videos can be how-to and demonstrations of your products, customer or member testimonials, expert interviews, personalized messages, and live takes on social media. Make your video content accessible for people with disabilities by including closed captioning and transcripts.

5. Podcasts

Podcasts are great on-the-go content for connecting with your audience. Hosting podcasts on industry-specific topics can showcase your expertise and build thought leadership. By featuring experts and influencers as guests, you can also expand your reach and credibility. Including transcripts of your podcast episodes ensures they’re accessible.

6. Social media content

Social media content can include text, images, videos, interactive content, and even custom memes. You can also engage with your audience through commenting and sharing.

7. Educational content

Particularly for B2B brands, educational content like e-books, white papers, courses, and webinars offer your audience deep-dives on specific topics with information backed by research and data. They help establish your organization as a trusted thought leader in your industry.

8. Case studies and testimonials

Case studies are in-depth examples of how your products or services helped real-life clients solve their problems and reach their goals, focusing on measurable outcomes. Similarly, testimonials are reviews from customers in their own words, usually shorter than case studies. Both content types can boost trust in your brand and be implemented as text or videos.

9. User-generated content (UGC)

An organic form of content marketing, UGC provides honest assessments of your products and services through people using them, which builds brand recognition, reach, and trust. A common form of UGC is working with influencers on social media for reviews, testimonials, and features.

10. Interactive content

Interactive content is a dynamic form of content that your audience actively engages with. This type of content can include quizzes, polls, interactive videos, and calculators. Interactivity can increase the time people spend with your content, in turn increasing brand awareness.

Best Content Marketing Solution Examples

No matter the industry, there are myriad examples of creative and successful content marketing solutions that you can refer to for inspiration. Here are a few examples:

Duolingo

Duolingo turned its mascot, Duo, into an influencer, centering him in their social media posts and other marketing. Duolingo attracted a huge TikTok following by utilizing Duo in fun ways and engaging with their audience on the platform — including recently announcing the murder of the green owl, only to reveal two weeks later that Duo orchestrated the whole thing.

Spotify Wrapped

Spotify Wrapped provides millions of users with end-of-year summaries of their top songs, artists, and listening habits in an interactive and shareable way. Each time a user shares their list on social media, Spotify’s brand awareness increases.

HubSpot

Through e-newsletters, blog posts, a podcast, and more, HubSpot provides its audience with valuable information, all while promoting its customer relationship management (CRM) software.

Apple’s “Shot On iPhone” campaign

Apple created the #ShotOniPhone hashtag, which reached a global community of iPhone users and became a popular video marketing campaign. Apple shared customers’ photos and videos (aka user-generated content) via social media, print, and digital ads. 

Your Partner for Content Marketing Solutions 

At BackPocket Agency, we’re not just content creators; we develop comprehensive content strategies that align with your business goals. Our team will guide you through every step of the process, ensuring that your content not only tells your story but also drives measurable results. Partner with BackPocket and let’s create a content strategy that fuels your business growth. Contact us today to get started!