Thursday 4 June 2015

5 Alternatives To Infographics When Creating Your Content Marketing Mix

In your content marketing strategy, you probably realize that high-quality content is important. As a part of that, you probably use infographics regularly; after all, they are great for catching attention, sharing a lot of information in a small space and dressing up your pages. However, if you’re tired of infographics or are just looking to do something a little different, you should know that there are plenty of other options out there. These are a few other forms of content that you can try in your content marketing strategy.

1. Micrographics


thumbnail-13-568x277


Who says that you have to use a huge infographic to get your point across? You can tell the same story with micrographics, which are smaller, separate graphics that are used in a list form. They make it easy for you to dress up your pages with different colors and fonts, and you can mix in written content as well for SEO and educational purposes. You can see micrographics in use in an article found here.

2. Animated GIFs

Animated GIFs are becoming popular all over again. You can use them to add a bit of visual appeal to your pages, and they’re very shareable, which can help you bring in page views.

3. Vines

Who doesn’t love the funny little six-second Vine videos that are so popular nowadays? They’re a great way to perk up your pages and help prove your point without being too distracting. You can do a quick “how it’s made” type of video, show yourself and your employees while you’re working to help create a more personal feel, show how others react to your products and services or even show fun hacks or alternative uses for your products. These are a few examples of the many fun ways that you can use Vines to help promote your products.

4. User-Generated Content


chobani

Customers love to talk about themselves, and you can get all of the content that you need from your customer base if you ask for it. Ask for photographs, short stories, videos or other content on your big social media pages. You might be surprised by how much of a response that you’ll get, you’re sure to drive traffic to your website and your social media pages, and your customers and potential customers alike are sure to love seeing what others have shared.

There are a few ways that you can do this. You can simply ask for this content, and you’re sure to receive more of a response than you think. You can also turn it into a fun competition, where you can have people vote on the photos or videos that come in and offer some sort of prize. Get creative, and you might be surprised by how far user generated content can take you. These are a few examples of how it’s been done right in the past. If it works for big companies like Target, it’s sure to work for you as well.

5. Videos

Vines are definitely a big thing nowadays, but it’s worth mentioning that longer videos can be a very helpful part of your content marketing strategy as well. There are so many directions that you can go with videos; people love learning how to do things on their own, so providing how-to videos that are related tot your industry can be a smart decision. You can also use videos as a means of showing off your office or another part of your business, introducing customers to yourself and the other people who work for your company and more. Along with enjoying watching your videos on your website and social media profiles, people will often share videos if they are interesting, entertaining or helpful. This is a great way to expand your reach as much as possible while providing something useful to your audience.
Although there is certainly nothing wrong with infographics, you shouldn’t get stuck in a rut with them. Instead, try some of these helpful ideas as a part of your content marketing strategy as well.

Source