Top 10 Content Types to Attract More Traffic [Part 1]

Content marketing is more than filling a website or blog. Despite the form, content always addresses audiences. The audience, in its turn, perceives, reacts, shares what they’ve seen, and converts. Here lies the potential your business needs for further growth.

Successful content must be constantly updated and adapted to the interests of your target audience (TA). Effective marketing strategy usually consists of a combination of various types of content to engage maximum fresh traffic and target visitors and get higher conversion rates.

The types of content that can bring you the most traffic depend on many factors, including your target audience, niche, marketing strategy, and the platforms you use. However, some types of content typically have bigger potential.

The top 10 types of content listed below are not a mandatory checklist. They represent opportunities. Don’t be afraid to try new things and experiment. Start small: if it’s video, you don’t necessarily need to buy a green screen, professional software, and a video camera. Your smartphone, a good idea, and an account on TikTok or YouTube will suffice. Above all, it’s not just about the form but the content itself. Who knows, you might even come up with a unique format or a new type of content on your own. Let’s go!

1. Video

We are pretty familiar with the idea of the majority of people being visuals. People perceive soundly visualized things better. Despite the type, a catchy video must linger in mind and communicate your message succinctly. The majority of promo videos, for example, are no longer than 60 seconds. The optimal video length for social media is from 1 to 3–5 minutes.

Educational videos or webinars are from 30 minutes to an hour, and more. Remember: the content must be interesting and informative for your TA, otherwise, you will lose its attention, which for you is worth its weight in gold to you.

Video content creation is the entire industry, with directors, scriptwriters, actors, cameramen, editors, effects creators and animators, editors, musicians and sound engineers, choreographers, make-up artists, costume and set designers, producers… And God knows who else, depending on the budget. Needless to say about cameras, mics, lightning…

Cheer up, in 2023, you do not need to be a millionaire to make videos. A minimum basic understanding of video shooting is enough to become a video content creator. However, it implies video editing, storytelling, and social network engagement. Moreover, you will need a camera, light, and software for video editing — luckily, today there are lots of free programs.

Whatever video content you are planning to make, here is a range of general rules:

• Know your audience. Discover its interests, needs, and preferences. It will help you create catchy and relevant content.
• Choose relevant topics. Keep up with trends in your niche. Make your content reflect current events and discussions.
• Work on quality. Invest in quality equipment and specialists, or master the needed skills and tools on your own to create professional videos.
• Make your content engaging from the start. Intrigue your viewers with an introduction or a title that grabs attention right from the beginning of the video. Create titles and descriptions with consideration for hashtags, keywords, and phrases relevant to your target audience’s interests. This will also help you SEO optimize your video for search engines.
• Utilize cover images and thumbnails. Create eye-catching cover images and thumbnails for video previews to stand out and capture users’ attention.
• Maintain an optimal duration. Try to make your videos of moderate length suitable for the specific topic. Typically, this ranges from a few minutes, but the duration depends on the content.
• Sustain interactivity. Ask and answer questions, invite participation in polls and discussions. This will help maintain engagement and increase the number of likes, comments, and shares.
• Consistency is key. Release videos regularly to keep the interest alive and build a loyal audience.
• Ensure content distribution. Share your videos on social media, blogs, and various online channels. Consider collaborating with other content creators for mutual promotion and organic growth.
• Analyze data and feedback. Use analytics to track the effectiveness of your video content. Take into account viewer feedback and suggestions.

2. Data visualization

Infographics are yet another effective means of presenting information in a visual format. They are suitable for conveying almost any idea or concept, especially data, research, statistics, and conclusions. Infographics are often more shareable, viewable, and popular than many other types of content. It’s a surefire way to present your content in a format that spreads well and has the potential to go viral.

One study revealed that visualized data is liked and shared on social media three times more frequently than other types of content. Industry giants like Deloitte always utilize infographics in their reports. Professional data visualization can be expensive, but there are free online services that, with some effort and skill, allow you to create decent infographics on your own.

There are two primary approaches to creating infographics:

1. The first, based on the principles of Edward Tufte, can be described as minimalist or research-oriented. Its principle is to convey information with utmost precision and conciseness, ruthlessly eliminating anything extraneous. This approach is well-suited for business, statistics, and science.
2. The second, pioneered by Nigel Holmes, advocates a narrative approach, often referred to as storytelling. Here, it’s not just the information itself that matters but also the beauty of its presentation, its entertainment value, and its storytelling aspect. This approach works exceptionally well in marketing, advertising, and journalism.

There are various classifications of infographics based on categories, data source type, display methods, and more. However, they are often used in combination. In general, infographics can be categorized into five main types:

1. Instructions that teach or explain processes, demonstrating a sequence of actions using graphical and symbolic schemes.
2. Static Infographics display relationships and connections between numbers and facts. They are typically presented in the form of charts and graphs.
3. Dynamic Infographics illustrate dynamics and developmental processes. They are commonly used to visualize data in economics and sociology.
4. Interactive Infographics allow users to manipulate data in real time, making them an excellent engagement tool.
5. Video Infographics are the most effective way to convey and reinforce information. They are more likely to go viral compared to other formats.

When creating infographics, here are 10 important considerations:

1. Relevance of the Topic.
2. Conceptual Clarity and Utility.
3. Clarity and Simplicity.
4. Reliable and Authoritative Sources.
5. Interesting Facts and Stories, Speaking Numbers.
6. Attractive, Aesthetic Design and Quality Visualization.
7. Color Scheme that evokes the desired.
8. Audience Interests and Needs.
9. Brand/Business Specifics and Objectives.

3. Memes

We’ve all seen memes: they are artistic, funny, viral. They are easy to create. Humor is a great benefit and driving force of memes. People like things that make them laugh, make jokes about, be the first to share, and get pleasure.

Creating memes usually does not require graphic design skills. Meme Generator and Quick Meme are websites that allow you to add your own text to popular memes. Memes are literally designed for social media. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Pinterest, Reddit, Tumblr and others will help them spread quickly.

The great thing is that memes can be adapted for use in almost any niche. Just don’t overuse them — if used incorrectly, they can devalue the message or brand you’re trying to promote. Memes need to fit into the archetype of your business and be relevant, so think with your head.

To make your memes go viral, follow these simple rules when creating and sharing them:

• Know your audience’s feelings and interests. Create memes that resonate with your followers and make them laugh.
• Create memes that reflect current events, trends, or hot topics. Timely memes have a better chance of going viral.
• Use Popular Formats. Instead of reinventing the wheel, surprise your followers with your unique twist on well-known meme formats.
• Play with emotions and aim to trigger laughter, nostalgia, sympathy, or empathy if you want your memes to spread fast.
• Be creative with your meme captions. Keep them concise and impactful. Choose words and phrases that add humor and enhance the funny elements in your meme.
• Make your memes a subject of discussion, debate, and comments to attract more attention and audience engagement.
• Utilize fonts and text styles that have become characteristic of memes to make your content more recognizable.
• Be Original. Offer something new and unique that sets your memes apart from hundreds of others.
• Monitor audience reactions, analyze comments, and a wide range of metrics to understand what works and what can be improved.
• Safety First: ensure your content adheres to the rules of social platforms and doesn’t offend anyone. It’s best to avoid memes related to politics, religion, racial slurs, and other sensitive topics.

4. Lists

Our brain is literally programmed to admire lists. Even now, you are reading the Top 10 types of content… article. Deal with it 😎

10 ancient commandments, 7 deadly sins, 7 wonders of the world, and so on and so forth. Lists are inherently appealing to our minds, making them a great choice for promoting your ideas. The key is to number your ideas — a favored technique of many popular glossy magazines.

Choose a topic, list your points, and provide a conclusion. Lists come in various forms — long, short, even, and odd — and all can be effective when they offer practical value.

To ensure your lists attract more traffic, here are the top 10 recommendations for creating them:

1. Define the Theme and Purpose. Start by clearly defining the theme and purpose of your list. What message or value do you want to convey to your audience?
2. Choose the Right Format. Decide on the format in which you will present your list. It can be an article, a social media post, a video, an infographic, a podcast, etc.
3. Headline. Create an attractive and informative headline. It should succinctly describe the content of your list and grab readers’ attention.
4. Structure and Numbering. Use numbering or bullet points to make your list more organized and reader-friendly.
5. Content. Ensure that each item on your list contains informative and high-quality content. They should be clear and valuable to your audience. Avoid creating shallow lists for the sake of it, as this is not effective.
6. Examples and Illustrations. Whenever possible, add examples, illustrations, or references to support the information in each list item.
7. Attribute Sources. If you’re using materials or information from other sources, always provide proper attribution and credit to the original authors.
8. Maintain Readability. Break your text into paragraphs and use headings and subheadings for better organization. Make the text scannable for readers.
9. Introduce and Conclude. Start your list with an introduction that explains its purpose and value to readers. Conclude with a summary and a call to action.
10. SEO Optimization. Incorporate relevant keywords and phrases related to the list’s theme to improve its visibility in search engines.

5. Podcasts

Podcasts are a highly convenient way to deliver information. On one hand, they are relatively easy to create from a technical standpoint, requiring only a decent microphone, minimal technical know-how, and clear diction. On the other hand, users can listen to podcasts on the go, during workouts, or at their convenience, making them an effective means to spread your content further and better than many other formats.

Here are key points to keep in mind when creating podcasts:

• Targeting. Narrow your focus on a specific niche or audience to attract your intended listeners more easily.
• Competition. Research existing podcasts in your niche to determine your unique approach and content.
• Planning. Create a plan for episodes, defining their format and structure in advance. Variety in content (interviews, discussions, investigations, monologues) will help maintain audience interest.
• Audio Quality. Invest in quality audio equipment to ensure your recordings sound professional. This includes a good microphone, headphones, acoustic treatment, recording, and editing software.
• Script and Preparation. Prepare for episodes by creating scripts and outlines for each episode. This preparation will help you sound more confident during recording.
• Voice and Style. Develop your diction and podcasting style to be clear, easy to understand, and pleasant for your listeners.
• Editing. Editing is crucial for removing extraneous information, noise, and pauses. Incorporate music and sound effects to make your podcast more engaging.
• Consistent Schedule. Maintain a regular release schedule to turn your audience into loyal listeners who know when to expect new episodes.
• Interaction. Engage with your audience through social media, comments, and email. Answer questions and provide feedback to strengthen your connection with listeners.
• Publishing. Share your podcast on podcast platforms like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and others to increase your reach.
• Promotion. Utilize proven marketing strategies, social media, email newsletters, and advertising to attract new listeners.
• Analytics. Track metrics and audience reactions to understand what works and continuously improve your podcast over time.

This was the first half of the top 10 types of content that brought the most traffic in 2023. Read the second part of the article to learn more!