7 Types of Content That Help You Drive More Leads

Content is one of the most powerful tools a business can use to drive more leads and increase sales. However, not every content marketing strategy fits every kind of business. In this article, we’ll look at the top seven types of content and how you can generate leads with content marketing.

Types of content

Landing pages and emails are the most popular types of lead generation content almost every business should have. High-converting landing pages have relevant content that drives traffic. They’re packed with complete information on products and services, your company’s experience and contact information, meaning that your potential customers have all the information they need to make a purchase or get a quote for your services.

Meanwhile, email marketing is a tool used by companies of all sizes across the globe to nurture those leads you drive. By adding value to your emails and adopting a personalized approach, you can increase customers’ loyalty and trust for your brand.

There are some types of content that are less obvious to many business owners. However, they can become a very powerful tool when used under certain circumstances.

1. Case studies

Case studies are one of the best ways to show your expertise to potential customers. They can tell customers about your company’s success stories and present a personalized approach applied to each individual customer, as well as show different challenges met by clients and your exceptional solutions.

A good case study is a convincing story of your real client who once came with a problem and solved it by using your services/products. Just like any other story, a case study has a setting, character and conflict. You need to describe everything, from your client’s industry and current business state to the solutions you applied and the results you achieved. Don’t try to make it a long story - provide your future clients with relevant and powerful data such as reached KPIs and customer benefits.

2. Pitch decks

Pitch decks are normally used by startups for attracting investors. However, this type of content can go way beyond its usual purpose and be useful for enterprises, too. Pitch decks can help you deliver your key business message and present your products and services to future clients in the best way possible. Keep it short but informative.

3. Gated content

This type of content requires users to fill out a form on your website to access it. These online materials, such as whitepapers, catalogs or reports, are stored online and can be accessed multiple times by readers. eBooks are one of the most interesting types of online content a company can offer to its customers. This content should deliver a certain value to its users. For instance, if you take a look at HubSpot, one of the leading marketers in customer services, marketing and sales, you’ll see that they’re constantly updating their free ebook section with new materials. It includes everything from the best SEO and marketing practices to email marketing lifehacks and much more.

4. Blog posts

According to SemRush, 86% of content marketers use blog articles as one of the main tools in their marketing strategies, yet many businesses ignore this type of content. A consistent blog strategy with articles high in value can bring you more leads, but make sure your content is unique and of good quality. You also need to pay attention to the size of each article. According to Orbitmedia, an average blog post should be about 1200 words long to keep your readers interested and not overloaded with information.

5. Demos

Whether your company is developing health and fitness applications or provides SaaS services for the banking industry, give your potential customers a chance to check out your product and service before they make a purchase. A sneak peek at your product/service will provide users with more information about what they are about to spend their money on.

6. Guides

Make your product or service as understandable as possible. Guide your customers through your product's main features or make it clear how easy it’ll be to implement and use your software. The same product and service guides can be also used by your content marketing and sales team to help them deliver concise information to your customers.

7. Training and selling guides

This isn’t the type of content your customers will see but it will help you attrct more of them to your services. Training and selling guides are supplementary materials that teach your sales team how it's best to reach out to customers. These detailed instructions and product sheets help to streamline the sales process and communication with clients by growing the expertise of your sales representatives.

How to generate high-quality content

The number of generated leads depends on the type of content you choose to add value to your business. There are a few simple but very important steps to take when you plan to start generating your own content:

1. Analyze your market and customer demand, know your competitors to identify your weaker points in content marketing and conduct extensive market research to see what your customers need now.
2. Find a professional content creator who knows how to write good website content and create powerful online materials.
3. Keep your customers engaged and entertained to make them remember your company. An email newsletter every six months won’t be sufficient, so it’s important to carefully think through every step of your content marketing and email marketing strategies.
4. Promote your content on social media, video, podcasts and other online resources.