6 min read
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
The rise of social media over the past decade has dramatically changed the way business is conducted. When it comes to appealing to buyers, your social media presence should be your primary focus. Nearly three billion businesses are actively using social media, and on Instagram alone, 80% of users follow at least one business. In short, there’s simply no avoiding the wave of social media.
The key to winning the social media game hinges on a strong content marketing strategy — creating content that will motivate potential customers to interact with your business. Your goal is to showcase your brand and what it stands for in a way that attracts people.
The content you create helps create an interactive environment with your audience, resulting in a bridge to building trust and connecting with them. This directly impacts your brand’s reputation and how it’s perceived. According to Lyfe Marketing, 70% of consumers believe that businesses creating engaging content place an emphasis on building relationships with them.
But there are dozens of different stances you can take on digital content. Many factors have to be considered beforehand, such as target audience, what you’re selling, your brand voice, etc. For entrepreneurs, this means narrowing down the most engaging digital content type that best suits your brand.
Related: Four Ways to Create Content Your Digital Audience Can't Help But Consume
1. Using video to create quality content is sure to attract potential buyers
According to Wyzowl, 85% of marketers use video as a marketing tool. The rise of “stories” on Instagram and Facebook — and even TikTok — prove how beneficial video content can be for any business. Among Millennials, two-thirds of social media users reported engaging with a brand after watching a video posted on social media.
There’s even a scientific side to this. “Our brain loves video because it is programmed to retain visual content better than a page loaded with words," reports Slice Video via a Medium post. "ccording to studies, the average viewer remembers 95% of a message when it is watched, whereas only 10% when read."
A case study by BestTechie shows that by 2021, nearly 82% of all web traffic will be as a result of video. Many prefer it to be that way, as nearly 60% of users prefer video content over others.
But the question remains on how to create engaging video content without worrying about spending too much money. Among a host of other options, there’s Boosted, a tool that makes it easy for creators to produce a variety of video content using predesigned templates.
Simply put, all you have to do is pick a template, select videos — either your own or stock videos that Boosted provides — and choose from a library of free music. The rest is left up to Boosted to create a simple and engaging video ad for your brand.
Related: Video Is a Massively Powerful Marketing Tool. Here's How to Optimize It.
2. Interactive infographics appeal to users
According to Venngage, more than 40% of marketers say that infographics are the best visual format for audience engagement — more than videos, presentations and data visualizations.
Consider this case study by Stefan Debois on Adobe's blog: “When the Game of Thrones series was in full swing, it generated huge buzz online. Lawrence of Morocco, offering tailor-made holidays, took advantage of this, as much of the series was filmed in Morocco … Creating one flaming-hot piece of content that is extremely shareable … an infographic-style map, indicating every single real-life location where the popular TV show was filmed.”
But there’s more to it than just creating an infographic; hence, interactive infographics. Infographics are a great option for sharing large amounts of data in a creative and visually-appealing fashion. Using a well-designed interactive infographic, instead of a boring chart or graph, entices people to further explore your content.
Depending on how it's presented, interactive infographics can prove much more effective than a standard static infographic. Creating an interactive experience will often result in customers being more likely to stick with your brand.
Related: 6 Ways to Use Social Data for Targeted Marketing
3. It’s time to jump back onto the podcast bandwagon
Podcasts are an underrated form of digital content. Up until a few years ago, the overwhelming majority concluded that podcasts were outdated and irrelevant. However, many social media influencers and celebrities have brought podcasts back into the fold and have begun hosting their own.
One of the biggest perks of podcasting is that it’s a cheap and easy method of communication. Anyone can do it from anywhere, and you don’t necessarily need to worry about splurging on expensive equipment.
It’s also an efficient way to pepper in ads. A recent survey of 300,000 podcast listeners found that 63% of those polled bought something a host had promoted on their show, and 71% said they visited a sponsor’s website, while 62% said they considered buying that product or service.
4. Blog posts are more popular than you think
The number of people using blogs has increased dramatically over the years. According to a study in 2019, nearly 31 million online users are blogging in the U.S., with nearly 86% consisting of content marketing users — proving to be the most popular content marketing strategy.
To drive sales, bloggers will narrow down their focus on a particular niche and write blog posts about sponsored products. But many bloggers say the most important part of blogging is ensuring the quality of the content. This generally demands more time and effort put into each blog post, but it’s worth it in the end.
5. Create content that inspires
Whether it's through videos, images or quotes, sharing inspirational content can motivate your followers. Everyone has insecurities, so to become more relatable to your audience, it's important to tap in so you can build connections —connections that last.
Using inspirational content can stir your audience to become more successful. Providing solutions to their problems specific to your niche can help in growing your brand. These content types will improve the status of your brand and help establish long-term relationships between you and your potential buyers.
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