What are 10 Addictive Types of Content?

Are you having problems driving traffic to your blog? Are you finding that no one is retweeting your content or sharing it on Facebook?

When starting a blog the challenge for any blogger is providing content that will entice and delight your readers. You want them looking forward to your next article.

Developing an antenna for creative ideas for content is a skill that can be developed.

What I have found effective is to take notes when reading a book or after a meeting when customers provide insights into their business dilemmas. To capture these I sometimes enter it straight into my Apple iPhone with the “notes” feature or use Evernotes mobile app that saves the idea in  the  ”cloud” for future reference.

Everyone has Problems

One thing to keep in mind is that every business or reader has day to day challenges and problems that they want help solving. Helping customers find solutions and ideas for their pain points is an easy way to provide addictive content.

Ideally you want your blog to become the industry resource or Bible that becomes the “Go To Portal” for your subscribers.

Social Proof is Vital

Do you have clients saying to you “What are some of your customers finding what works for them?” or “Provide me with some case studies that verifies that strategy has worked in the past“.

Providing social proof and evidence is a very powerful content type that validates and confirms that they will not be reinventing the wheel or wasting time and money.

10 Addictive Content Types

These ten I have found to be very effective and will ensure that you are providing information that your readers will find worth sharing, “Tweetable” and Facebook “likeable”.

1. Reviews

Reviews of products , books or applications in your industry provide a shortcut that saves people and your subscribers time. Everyone has the problem of being “time poor“. The other advantage with this content is that the companies and people whose product or book you are reviewing will share your content with their networks accelerating its spread and improving its virality.

Example:

8 Great Twitter Tools That Will Get You Tweeting Like A Pro

This multiple review had the benefit of motivating the eight companies who developed them to tweet and share with their networks.

2. Mega Lists

A  long list of tips, tactics and answers that provide people with a resource that maps out many ideas that they can go back to as a reference have proven to work well. You can go a bit crazy here if you are not careful but give it a try .

Example

90 Tips to Make Your Blog Rock

3. How To’s

This content type maps out different solutions and answers to the everyday issues that your customers want answers to. This can be the simple basics of  ”How to get started” for the newbies to the industry or a more complex article that provides new insights to veterans.

Example

How To Write A Mind Blowing Headline For Twitter So People Will Read Your Blog

4. Experts and Thought Leader Interviews

Interviewing experts in your field will achieve two objectives.

1. Provide great content that will entice your readers with their insights
2. Promote and connect your blog to their networks.

You will not have to ask them to share it, they will “want” to share their interview with their followers and tribe whether it be a video or text in a Q&A format.

Examples

From Zero To 40,000 Facebook Fans: Interview With Mike Watkins

Social Media and The CEO – Video Interview With Greg Savage CEO of Firebrand Talent

5. Case Studies

Case studies provide the proof that a certain strategy will work if planned and applied correctly. Research and track down specific examples of how other companies have been successful.

Example

The 7 Secrets to Ford’s Social Media Marketing Success

How To Run A Successful Social Media Marketing Campaign: Case Study

6. Negative or Contratrian Stories

It never ceases to surprise me that a negative headline and position will drive more traffic than a positive slant on a story or article.

Example

30 Things You Should Not Share On Social Media

What is revealing is that the article 20 Things you should Share on Social Media only had half the traffic of the article with the negative headline!

7. Facts, Figures and Statistics

People love facts and figures and aggregating the latest data about your industry will provide a focus on your blog that will keep your readers coming back for more. Providing this regularly will assist you in positioning your blog and content as the hub to keep on top of the latest numbers. Statistics help businesses pick trends and opportunities in their sector.

Example

50 Fascinating Facebook Facts And Figures

This is in fact a hybrid content type that mixes the mega list format with the facts and figures

8. News Stories

Blogs are the digital worlds online magazines and newspapers and providing the latest news is always attractive and valuable content. Don’t hesitate to put your own slant on the news that displays your grasp of your industry.

Example

Apple makes Huge Announcement about Twitter

9. Research

The latest research provides signposts for future planning and validates and lends credibility to strategies. If managers can  provide proof of why something should be done then it helps them take action and obtain approval from their CEO. Research does need to be presented with well formatted articles that allow skimming and scanning for “time poor” excecutives! Bullet points, screen shots and subtitles are all important elements to provide easy reading.

Example

Harvard Study: 30 Key Findings on How The CEO Engages With Social Media

10. Infographics

Providing infographics that simplifies the presentation of complex data and facts and figures are proving to be extremely popular. This content type also lends itself to being embeded in other blogs and websites.

Example

20 Stunning Social Media Statistics Plus Infographic

Hybrids of these ten content types are also very effective and mixing these into mixed formats can provide creative variations that can drive traffic and sharing.

What content types have worked for you on your website and blog? Look forward to hearing your success stories!

Image by Thomas Hawk