Content Marketing

Mix it Up With Different Kinds of Content (Memes, Quizzes, Infographics Oh My!)

It’s not easy to break through the clutter of all the content your audience sees everyday. It takes a lot to catch the eyes of your audience and you need a hook…

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Different Types of Content Marketing

It’s not easy to break through the clutter of all the content your audience sees everyday.

It takes a lot to catch the eyes of your audience and you need a hook to keep them reading and coming back for more. While certainly your blogs are informational and useful to your audience, sometimes you need to add a little something-something to spice your content up.

That’s where content like memes and infographics come into play. Think of these types of content as the tabasco to your burrito. They’ll help improve your engagement and add some fun and levity to your content strategies.

Quizzes

Just like how Wayne Gretzky revolutionized hockey, Buzzfeed changed the quiz game forever.

Now, I’m not gonna sit here and tell you that all the quizzes are great (some are horribly disguised as ads for products and upcoming movies), but if you’re new to creating quizzes for your content, you can learn a lot from content creators like Buzzfeed. Even their most ludicrous of quizzes gain a lot of engagement and shares on social media.

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All hail Buzzfeed, the king of ludicrous quizzes.

The key to a good quiz is to make sure it helps solve a problem or address an interest that you’re consumers are facing. While we certainly hope that they won’t use the results from the quiz as a means of making a decision on this problem, it will keep the content relevant and meaningful to your audience.

For example, if you’re a  watch company, you could create a, “Which Type of Watch Are You?” and having them answer questions revolved around their daily activities, their style, and favorite colors to help come up with result at the end. The quiz addresses a problem, what type of watch to buy, and does so in a fun, laid back manner. Here at Hook, we’re no strangers to creating quizzes. Check out our “Where to Eat in Minneapolis” quiz and “What Home Style is Right for You?”  if you need some inspiration.

Online Quiz Creator, FlexiQuiz, Quiz Revolution, and Survey Monkey are all great resources you can utilize to help you create your next viral quiz.

Infographics

I love infographics. They’re informative, visually appealing, and they’re just downright cool. Infographics are a great option for content when you have a topic that is data oriented, but you can still tell a story with it. That’s the key, you still need to tell a compelling narrative with your infographic, as you would with any other piece of content marketing.

Take a look at this “Boulder is For Startups” infographic. It looks a great and conveys a lot of useful information about the topic, offering insight into what exactly makes Boulder a great location for new businesses. The colors scheme is modern and fun to look at without being distracting. Here is another example of an infographic that we worked on with North Face Construction that illustrates the top siding color trends for 2018.

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Northface Construction’s infographic illustrates the top siding trends visually.

If you want to create an infographic, the first step is to make sure your topic is suitable to be turned into one. The key is to look at the subject with data in your mind. If you’re stuck, look to Daily Infographic for some ideas and see how t turn any topic into an infographic.

Once you decide on your subject matter, you’ll work with your market research or data-minded team to compile the data, figure out which numbers are relevant, and what order they should be placed on the infographic to tell the story properly. If you don’t have a data-driven team, you can still find plenty of information online yourself by yourself.

Next you’ll work with a graphic designer create the actual content. A lot of infographics tend to be more narrow and longer as opposed to wider and shorter, but you have creative liberty as to what format best suites the story you’re telling. If you don’t have a graphic designer on your team, don’t fret, you can easy to use infographic templates at sites like Canva and Piktochart.

Memes

If there is one internet trend that has survived the test of time, it’s memes. They’ve evolved from simple captions on images to being much more nuanced in that you can look at a meme today and be totally lost if you haven’t followed it’s evolution (or basically if you aren’t on Reddit).

But have no fear. If you still want to add some fun to your content by adding memes, check out Know Your Meme, the internet database for all your questions on memes.

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Learn about the ‘Doge’ meme, a personal favorite of mine, and others on Know Your Meme.

Memes are a great way to add some voice and expressiveness to your content and emphasize a point. The key to properly incorporating memes into your content is to make sure it fits well with the tone of your writing and the overall piece. You don’t want your readers to get the wrong idea if you try and make light of a serious topic with a poorly-timed meme. 

Memes are also extremely shareable. A well used meme will help generate laughs and shares. And, if you’re a novice to making memes, no worries! Imgflip, MemeBetter, and MakeAMeme all make it easy for you to create your hilarious meme.

An extension of the meme of course, is the gif. If you’re unfamiliar with gifs, think of them as memes that move. And, with an abundance of stock gifs, you’ll be sure to find the perfect one no matter the context.

Other Outside the Box Content

Podcasts – Here at Hook, we’ve embraced the latest podcast craze with our podcast, “It’s a Code World”

The benefits of a podcast range wide and far, with 63% of frequent podcast listeners said they had purchased a product or service that a podcast host was promoting.

Comics – Comics are another means of breaking through the clutter and making your content stand out. 

360 Degree Videos – This type of content can be great if you provide a service such as home renovation or remodeling. Rather than just showing potential prospects pictures of projects you’ve completed, give them a virtual reality experience by filming it with a 360 degree camera.

Cost Calculators – If you’re business model allows for varying prices, including a cost calculator will be beneficial to your consumers.

A List of Quotes – Compiling a list of relevant quotes can help inspire your audience.

Industry Related Tools – Any tools or app that can help your customers get a better understanding for your industry, like this U.S. Map Licensing tool that allows the audience to see the different types of criteria they need to meet for each state’s licensing requirements.

Question of the Week – Allow visitors of your site to submit a question they have about your business or the industry and then address it with a thoroughly written response.

Instagram Stories – What was once Snapchat’s domain, Instagram has now took over as the place to post stories on social media.

Guest Bloggers – Not enough business utilize guest bloggers when it comes to their content. Using a guest writer can help you reach their network, which can open you up to a larger audience and more potential customers.

Book Reviews – Read and write a review of an industry related book. Don’t just tell your audience if you liked the book or not, but tell them points you agreed with as well as where you disagreed and why.

Breaking Through the Clutter

When it comes to your content, you should always be looking to push the boundaries. To test the status quo. To be innovative in your industry and jump ahead of your competitors. If you truly want to get the most out of your content marketing strategies, you can’t be afraid of failure. Sure, some of these content ideas will not work for your business, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try.

Take risks, learn from your mistakes, and take note of what did work and what didn’t. That’s what content marketing is all about.

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