If you are at all familiar with content marketing, you already know all about the most common types of content you need to publish: blog posts, service or product pages, an “about” page. 

These are the staples of your branding strategy and will help you become more recognizable, rank better, and convert your target audience. 

In this post, we’ll show you seven other types of content you can use. They will help you generate interest, build relationships with your customers, and establish yourself as a trustworthy, knowledgeable brand. 

Roundup Posts

A roundup post, sometimes also called a listicle, is an article that lists numerous items on a specific topic. Its purpose is to give the reader plenty of choice and show them the different solutions available for their pain point. 

This list of the best B2B SEO agencies is a good example of this type of content. It introduces 15 agencies, provides a brief description for each, and explains why they have been included in the post. 

When writing this kind of content, your goal is to be honest and informative, especially if you are including yourself on the list. Provide useful information and help the reader choose the right solution for their specific issue. 

Ideally, you won’t create a roundup post about your exact line of work. For example, if you sell shoes, you might want to write a post about the best sock brands. This way, you’ll avoid having to mention your direct competition. 

An Infographic

Infographics used to be incredibly popular a couple of years ago, when they were mostly used for backlink-building purposes. Their popularity has since somewhat died down, but they remain an engaging piece of interactive content. 

They are likely to organically attract lots of shares on social media, and they are one of the best formats for presenting certain kinds of complex data. 

Check out this infographic on the best careers based on personality type. The brand could have chosen to write a simple blog post on the topic. However, the infographic makes the information easier to scan through and much easier to digest. You don’t have to endlessly scroll until you find your own personality type. 

Infographics are best used for presenting figures and timelines. They are also a good option if there is a lot of information to get through. You can accompany them with text as well; they don’t have to be published as a standalone piece. 

A Checklist

Checklists are an immensely valuable content format, as they are inherently useful. They will help the reader accomplish a certain task with more ease, even if they are doing it for the first time. 

Checklists can be used to organize and simplify both very complex and rather straightforward processes. Anything from packing for a weekend getaway to migrating a website from WordPress to Shopify can be accompanied by one. 

Check out this checklist for writing a blog post. It can be used both by beginners and experienced bloggers to ensure they don’t inadvertently miss a step. 

Checklists also tend to do well on social media, so don’t forget to share yours multiple times.  

Original Research

Publishing original research is one of the best ways to demonstrate your expertise. However, it is not the easiest content to produce, and you may need to put your thinking hat on to come up with a topic. 

Certain industries, like SEO or marketing, are rife with eligible research opportunities. This study on search traffic is a great example of how you can leverage your own product to generate a valuable piece of content. It both provides interesting insight and demonstrates the power of the tool itself. 

If you aren’t able to produce something similar, think about a fun topic you can cover. For example, if you are a retailer, you can do a study on the most popular items and when and by whom they are purchased. You can turn the results into social media posts and round them up on your blog. They will generate plenty of engagement. 

User-Generated Content

User-generated content is an incredibly powerful way to establish trust. It shows that others have already worked with your brand and enjoyed the experience. It proves you are not a fictitious company. 

There are many kinds of UGC you can leverage, the most popular being reviews and testimonials. Both of them should be a part of your branding strategy. You can also use user-generated images on your website and social media, always correctly crediting the author.

UGC can also be used for storytelling purposes. The Dove Real Beauty Pledge is a prime example of how a brand can take user-generated content, i.e., customer stories, and incorporate them into a marketing campaign. 

These personal stories will help customers relate to your brand. You will become more human and approachable in their eyes, and they are much more likely to engage with you. 

A Quiz

Quizzes are a fun piece of interactive content you can use to generate engagement and interest in your brand. They can serve purely for fun, i.e., the results don’t have to have a specific benefit other than making the quiz taker laugh. They can also help them choose a product, learn something new, or solve a specific problem. 

Warby Parker has a great quiz that helps customers find the right frames for their face shape and personal style. It only takes a couple of minutes, and it is super helpful and useful. This kind of quiz ensures both personalization and high customer satisfaction. 

If you choose to create a quiz purely for fun, make sure the topic is still directly connected to your brand. You want the quiz takers to browse the website further or, at the very least, remember you in a positive light. 

Something Interesting

Our final piece of advice may sound a bit out of left field. Isn’t everything you’re creating supposed to be interesting? Well, yes and no. 

There will be pieces of content that are utilitarian in nature. They serve to solve a specific problem, and they are not meant to be enjoyable or particularly sharable. These topics form the core of your content marketing strategy. 

Every once in a while, you should also aim to write something with a twist. Something that will be educational and interesting, highly shareable, and fun to create. This article on Benjamin Franklin’s schedule is an example of such a post. 

It is still directly related to the brand’s core topic, productivity. It is not something many people search for. But it is a fun read that provides plenty of information in a non-boring way. It can be a great topic of conversation, and it certainly puts the brand on the map as someone who doesn’t just write about boring, cookie-cutter topics. 

Think of something along the same lines for your own brand, and make it as engaging as possible. 

Wrapping Up 

Which of these content types would fit your overarching content marketing and branding strategies best? Before you start creating anything new, take some time to consider what your audience is most likely to be interested in. Also consider which format will let you tell the best stories or share the most valuable information.