Guide to the Main Types of Content

Round mini-video, detailed case study, or illustration - how to determine what will work best on social media? We explore the types, formats, objectives, and rules for creating content.

Content types on social media and the internet at large can be classified on various grounds. In terms of content formats, the following varieties are distinguished:

• Text content - everything related to text: interviews, licenses, case studies, notes, posts - any material in text form.
• Video content - everything related to webinars, live broadcasts, Tik-Tok, interviews, reviews and tutorials, video blogs, promotional videos.
• It's not enough to just prepare video content; it needs to be promoted in a way that makes users want to spend two hours watching it.
• Audio content - everything related to playing audio tracks: recordings of webinars, podcasts, notes, voice messages.
• Graphic content - everything related to illustrations or graphics in general. This can include pictures, photos, memes, infographics, maps and diagrams, animations.
• Graphic content in a post complements the text and attracts the attention of followers.
• User-generated content (UGC) - a popular direction, what users create themselves. This content can also be text, graphic, audio, or video: presented in the form of reviews, comments, stories, video reviews, photographs, or podcasts.
• Photo contests are a popular way to generate creative user-generated content.

There are several options for classifying the main types of content, one of the most common being by its content:

• Entertainment or game-based content — the main goal is to entertain the user. Forms include quizzes, games, pranks, and humorous tests like "Which pie are you?".
• Educational or expert content — the company shares expertise that is useful to customers, including tips, case studies, and guides.
• Sales-oriented content — motivates the customer to potentially take a target action: leave their contact information or application, request a commercial proposal, contact a manager, receive consultation or demo access, or purchase a product or service.
• Informational content — communicates important information from the company's perspective.

A company knows well how to entertain its audience: jokes about bears are among the most popular among hikers. In practice, different types of content by content are rarely used in their pure form, more often they are combined — for example, entertainment and sales, informational and expert.

Another common option is classifying content by the main task that the content manager is pursuing:

• Increase loyalty or attract attention;
• Inform;
• Induce the user to take a target action;
• Sell a product or service;
• Entertain;
• Educate or increase the reader's expertise.

Regardless of the content and the main task, the format of the information presentation can be anything, ranging from text to video or even illustration. For example, a case study would be partly educational, partly sales-oriented content. It all depends on the packaging and the structure of the narrative.

A travel company provides expert advice on how to apply for a visa, buy airline tickets, or book a hotel. These can be in the form of short videos, instructions, or checklists, which incorporate information about the company's products and useful options. Thus, elements of sales content are integrated into educational content, but it's not direct selling.

Besides the obvious benefit in the form of advice, readers in the article are also offered to subscribe to newsletters or directly book a hotel.

To determine which type of content will work best in a specific case, you need to:

• Analyze the potential target audience.
• Establish the goals and objectives of the content.
• Decide on the method of presenting information: through videos, reviews, case studies, posts, or other options.

In reality, the specific type of content used is not crucial: users consume information differently. Some prefer watching videos, while others like reading text. All types of content are integrated into our lives: in different situations, the same user may read a text, look at a picture, listen to audio, or spend 20 minutes watching a video. It's not that a user only perceives one format.

When choosing a content type, consider that it should be convenient for the user to engage with it at different life moments. For example, in the evening, a person might comfortably spend half an hour on a video, reading a long read, or scrolling through social media feeds. At work, during a coffee break, they might only have time to quickly skim through headlines or watch a 10-second video.

Let's explore two rules that enable the creation of quality and useful content:

1)Know and Continuously Study Your Audience: This is often overlooked even by experienced content managers and marketers. It's not enough to study the potential audience at the product launch and then never revisit this issue. Constant interaction with your audience, collecting feedback, testing how they perceive different formats, and knowing the real state of affairs at the current moment are crucial.

It's important not just to sell, but to meet the needs of users through content. Currently, there's a trend in marketing towards content that delivers benefits or helps customers through expertise and educational mechanisms. To do this, you need to understand what your audience cares about and what concerns them.

For example, inside an article, readers are immediately offered to proceed to purchases with expert text content.

2)Know the Technical Limitations of Each Platform: Understand where the content will be used, how it will be distributed across different channels and platforms, and their limitations. Content managers first consider what information they want to convey, to whom, and how, and then align their idea with the capabilities of the platforms and user habits.

For instance, a classic 16:9 video will not be popular on social networks designed for short vertical videos and stories. Therefore, it's essential to know the technical requirements for platforms, limitations, recommended volumes, formats, and resolutions.

Contact the manager of our advertising agency in Dubai to learn more about social media promotion.