‘Content’ doesn’t just have to mean writing. In fact, the most successful websites and brands tend to be those that provide various different types of media on various different platforms. This is ‘multimedia content’ and in this post, we’ll examine precisely what that means.
When you think of content as am internet marketer, you may well think specifically of blog posts and articles. This is after all, the primary form of content that most of us are familiar with. But it’s also just one of many options – and being blind to the others is a short-sightedness that could very well cost you achieving maximum exposure and impact.
To define precisely what multimedia content is, we can turn the definition of multimedia as a whole. The Five Multimedia Elements are generally considered to be:
- Text
- Image
- Audio
- Video
- Animation
Multimedia content is of course content that spans each of these different areas.
What This Means for Marketers
As a marketer, this means you need to consider the different combinations of this content and the way that it can reach different audiences.
It’s very rare for instance that content will be literally jut written. Most blog posts and articles will be accompanied by some form of image, and this is actually one of the most important aspects of the content.
The images on the page will not only serve to break up the text and make it easier to read and more visually impacting (this is a great way to reduce bounce rates), but it is also the image that will very often be shown when you share your posts on social media. Along with the title, this is one of the most important factors in increasing your clicks!
Video on the other hand is completely different. It is possible to embed a video in a web page of course (and this is common practice on business home pages as a video explainer or on sales pages), but it can also stand on its own.
Either way, video has several advantages. For one, video is harder to create and requires access to equipment such as high-quality cameras, lighting, sound recording and video editing. That means that – unlike a blog post – it effectively guarantees to the viewer that you aren’t a 13 year old living in their Mum’s basement but are instead a serious business. In short, it immediately elevates your content and creates more trust and professionalism.
Video can also tell a story (storytelling is a big part of effective marketing) and get the audience to emote. It is also highly engaging.
And then there are the last two options, which area slightly less common:
- Animation – Which can include such things as GIFs but also animations in your UI
- Audio – Which can include music but also podcasts. Of course most video has an audio element.
In internet marketing, there are actually other options too. You can market through:
- Live video
- Computer games
- Tests, surveys and quizzes
- And more!
So don’t be limited to a single type of content. Expand your skills and expand your reach.
