Strategy Bytes: Choosing the Right Content

Episode Content

As much as Andrew and Lisette love the written word, the definition of ‘content’ goes beyond just writing. Nearly everything on your website’s page(s) constitutes content — ranging from infographics, video and of course, podcasts. The takeaway: create what your team is best at. The higher the quality of content; the higher the quantity of conversions.

Podcast Transcript

LISETTE

Blogs. Whitepapers. eBooks.

ANDREW

Videos. Webinars. Live-streaming.

LISETTE

Stock images. Custom images. Infographics. Statistics.

ANDREW

Quizzes. Tools. Resources. Podcasts.

LISETTE

And what do they all have in common?

ANDREW

Everyone underestimates how hard it is to make them?

LISETTE

Yes. Yes, that’s true too. But they are also all types of content organizations use to showcase who they are and what they do. They can be part of any content marketing strategy. The big question, to your point, is how do you choose what to make? This is StrategyBytes. I’m here with my cohost…

ANDREW

Andrew. And I’m here with my cohost…

LISETTE

Lisette. So how do you leverage any of these types of content? Which ones are important? Which ones will your audiences actually want to consume?

ANDREW

Ugh, there’s another one of those tech cliches. “Consume”. I just want to watch a decent viral video, not eat it.

LISETTE

Fair. But what makes you want to watch a video, instead of reading a whitepaper or an eBook you can read on the metro? Is it because you like visuals? Or is the company just better at making videos than writing long-form content?

ANDREW

It’s Buzzfeed. They’re good with videos and those fun little quizzes about which midwestern sandwich I am.

LISETTE

See? Even though Buzzfeed is a massive publication, it is still specialized! They understand their audience and what kind of content they prefer or expect to watch or read.

ANDREW

It’s a Smoky Brisket Sandwich. Just FYI.

LISETTE

We all have our strengths. When creating content, it’s important to not just go with the flow–with what’s getting popular–but also understand where your content creators’ strengths are and what your audiences are more willing to engage with. Who makes up your content team? Are they great writers? Are they savvy graphic designers? Do they make great insta posts or interview videos? Even more specifically, what kind of content do they excel at that engages audiences?  Do your audiences want long-form writing, or short snippets of information? One of the great things here at WDG is that we were encouraged to dive into our strengths in creating content for our own website and social media. Like this podcast.

ANDREW

Right. And people forget that in order to make good content, you don’t just have to write blogs. I mean, write blogs if that’s what you’re good at, but remember that content isn’t just blogs. When someone comes to your website, you have a chance to showcase your strengths. That can be in the form of really well-written case studies.

LISETTE

That gets to another point. Think of content not just as writing, but the images, infographics, statistics, and videos that make up the story you are trying to tell. A case study is the perfect example of the type of content that can have a powerful impact on your user. Humans are storytelling animals. We love a good story. Every piece of content you make should contain a part of the story you want to tell.

ANDREW

For example, a case study about your work saving the pandas, showcasing quotes from your on-the-ground team, videos of cute pandas, big statistics of how many pandas you saved, and a short blurb on the challenges and successes of the project altogether on the same page can be way more impactful than a short blog. Aw, now I want to see a panda video.

LISETTE

Content is storytelling. Good stories have a hook, and that hook often hinges on what your team is good at. You don’t want to force your content team to make content that doesn’t convert and that they aren’t exceptional at making. Get creative. In order to break through the millions of blog posts, videos, webinars, and more, you need to find what kind of content works best for you. So here are some insights on some of the more popular types of content. Consider what resonates most with you.  

ANDREW

First, let’s talk about blogs. Blogs are best used as short-form content, but short doesn’t mean fluff. I enjoy writing blogs because they are a good way to introduce people to complex topics, and then present users with an option to dig really deep if they contact us.

LISETTE

Next, video. Video is, admittedly, much more difficult depending on what you plan to do. However, you can record really impactful, short videos on a smartphone, with minimal editing if your team thinks creatively about where the stories are in your organization. Social media is a really important platform for video, so tying the social media team with the video team is crucial here.

ANDREW

Long-form content, like whitepapers and eBooks, is really good if you have experts on staff who are excellent writers. This stuff is meant to be used as big inbound marketing pulls because you can encourage interested users to submit their email before downloading. And! Whitepapers and eBooks help users dive deep into your capabilities and give you credibility.

LISETTE

Webinars and live-streaming are a lot like video in that they are visual, but this is more of an interactive type of content. Both encourage direct, live engagement with your audiences. This is great if you don’t quite have professional video capabilities but your audiences care more about that personable one-to-one conversation. We’ll actually be talking more about video later this year with a live-streaming expert. So keep an ear out for that!

ANDREW

Resources like infographics, quizzes, interactive tools, and how-to content are really useful for organizations that have a strong graphic designer and an audience that prefers shareable, interactive, easily digestible content. These can be campaign specific as well. Honestly, any of these kinds of content can be anything you make of it.

LISETTE

Podcasts are a whole other beast. Speaking from experience, it takes good writing, strong voices, a decent hand at audio engineering, and some journalistic instincts. The good thing is that we enjoy it, and that translates to our audiences.

ANDREW

Podcasts are one of those things that are getting super popular right now across industries. So if you or your content team is thinking about making a podcast, hit us up! We’ve got some pointers.  

LISETTE

Focus on content that play to your strengths. You can create all of the content you want, but testing it will help give you an idea of what your particular audiences are responding to. We’ll talk about content testing during next week’s StrategyBytes about planning content.

And now, some more Ab-stractions.