Valeria Publications

What does every business have, whether they are traditional or online?

Content.

Whether it’s a business website, a social media page, or a YouTube channel, every business has an online trail of content. If they didn’t, you would question whether they’re even a business.

Whether you’re a small business owner or a corporation, the content you create for your business is crucial. But you may not know where to begin.

Even worse, you may not know the best way to market that content.

Read on to learn more about the 4 pillars of content marketing.

The 4 Pillars of Content Marketing

The best thing about content marketing is that there are many options to choose from. Unfortunately, it’s also the most frustrating thing.

It can be hard to decide what type of content you can create for your business. Fortunately, there are 4 types of content that you can choose from.

Text

One of the most common forms of online content is through text.

Some of the most popular pieces of written content are:

• Blogs
• Case studies
• Newsletters
• Emails
• Landing pages
• Articles
• eBooks
• White papers.

One of the benefits of written content is that it can be as short or as long as you would like.

Some content creators treat their written content as if they’re essays. They focus too much on the word count instead of the value being added into the piece.

While there are some recommendations for the length of written content like blogs (the average word count is at least 1,000 words and up), it’s not a requirement.

Some content creators create blog posts with less than 1,000 words that are still marketed well across other platforms.

Recommended Tip for 2024: When creating different types of written content, don’t stress too much about the length of the piece. Focus on the amount of value you want to add for your readers.

As long as you get to the point and convey a certain message to your readers, that is all that matters.

Even though written content is one of the main types of content, there are people with different learning styles all over the Internet. Which leads into the next pillar of content: audio.

Audio

As a writer, I’ll always have a love for the written word. But not every one of my readers feels the same.

There are some readers who are auditory learners. Instead of sitting down and reading a blog post, they would rather listen and retain the same information.

And that’s where audio content comes into play.

Some of the most popular audio content include:

• Podcasts
• Audiobooks
• Audio blogs
• Audio campaigns.

While people are used to content that’s written or visual, audio content is on the rise.

According to wiredclip.com, the number of people listening to podcasts in 2023 rose to 464.7 million. The interest for audio content is only going to keep rising from there.

Recommended Tip for 2024: Audio content is no different than other types of content. You want to focus on captivating your readers and giving the best quality possible.

If you want to create audio content for 2024, decide why you want to create audio content. Do you want to create audio content that’s persuasive, educational, or entertaining?

Next, research the best types of technology to use. You want to make sure that you’re using the best high-quality equipment for your audience.

Visual

Following audio, another popular form of content for businesses is visual content.

There are some businesses that thrive off of using visual content. Think about hairstylists, nail technicians, graphic designers, tattoo artists, and so on.

Visual content includes:

• GIFs
• Graphics
• Photos
• Videos
• Infographics
• Comic strips.

Making your content more visual can benefit your business in many ways. Just like auditory learners, there are readers who are visual learners. They prefer to learn and retain information that is presented in a visual format.

Even the most avid readers respond well to beautiful visuals in their content.

Recommended Tip for 2024: Think about the little visual details when trying to create visual content.

Think about the color schemes that your audience would like. The little things that capture your audience’s attention. The platforms that work best with visual content.

A great place to start is adding graphics to your written content. If you’re creating graphics for your blog post, for example, create visually appealing content that can enhance the message in your blog.

It’s not a competition. You don’t have to take away the text in your content to compete with your visuals, and vice versa.

And last but not least, the last pillar of content includes a form of content known as multimedia.

Multimedia

Multimedia content is content that includes every type of format: text, audio, and visual.

Do all of these formats have to be used within the same piece of content? Not necessarily.

If you have a social media post that includes visuals and text, that would be considered multimedia content.

A blog post that includes a clip from a podcast would also be considered multimedia content.

Compared to the other types of content, multimedia content gives your readers the best of all worlds.

People who prefer written content aren’t going to stop reading a blog post just because there are video or audio clips included. And the same applies to auditory and visual learners.

Mixing all of these formats together enhances the piece of content, leading to greater engagement with your readers.

Recommended Tip for 2024:  Start with your preferred format for content. Once you’re done creating it, see what other type of format you can include in your content.

Let’s say that you create a podcast. To help promote your podcast across your social media channels, you can include a written summary of what it’s about. This can help you appeal to readers who want to actually read about your podcast is about before listening.

Final Thoughts

As we enter 2024, keep these 4 pillars of content marketing in mind.

Think about the different types of content that you can create for your clients, customers, and your business overall.

If you need more information on how to market your copy in general, purchase the book The Adweek Copywriting Handbook by Joseph Sugarman: https://bookshop.org/a/85810/9780470051245

Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Sources:

Podcast Statistics: Key Insights from 2023’s Metric (wiredclip.com)