A Goldmine of Content Resources

Ladies & Gentlemen of the SEOmoz community, let’s talk a little bit more about content shall we? It is truly phenomenal the shift our industry has seen over the past 12 months. While I must be honest and admit that I still know of individuals and businesses alike that are maintaining rankings with creative paid linking schemes, this is no longer a practice than can be tolerated in our world. Developing links now revolves around building relationships, and building relationships can be strongly influenced by providing useful content that helps your brand become a major player in its niche.

Over the past couple of weeks, I have been conducting detailed research in order to generate a comprehensive list of content-related resources from around the web. While a majority of the work & research I do is for the clients of a Portland-based digital agency, I felt it was only appropriate to share the following post as a snapshot of that research. My belief is that this post should prove useful to those who are focusing on not just creating content, but creating compelling content.

Before we get started there are a couple of things I need to point out. First, goldmines do not contain all of the gold in the world. They contain a valuable resource that if used wisely, can be the key to a prosperous future. If there is anything that I missed (and I am sure there is) please share in the comments section so this post can act as an open-sourced collaboration for all of us to use for years to come.

I also must give a shout out to Jon Cooper of Point Blank SEO, which to me has become the premiere link building blog on the planet. His post on data visualization inspired me to create this list and you will see some of the resources he listed in his post in this same article. As a member of the SEO community, I feel it is my duty to build upon the great work others have conducted over time.

Now on to the good stuff:

Types of Content

Primary Categories Followed By Examples of Some Unique Sub Categories Within Each

1) Text – Text is the godfather of content and is still very very powerful. As Google begins to implement co-citation these words are becoming more and more important, as we start to realize that robots we once could manipulate are now interpreting advanced language and word associations. Text content is the root of blogging, and the primary for of content across the web. One of my favorite uses of text content is combing a series of blog posts in to an e-book. Megan Brown from iAcquire did a great job of this by combing her knowledge of baseball and SEO in to a series of blog posts that is now a full blown e-book.

The following is a list of the content pure text can create. Keep in mind that nearly all text can be enhanced with images and video, but we must never forget the roots of content, and how sticking to the basics can drive some of today’s best ideas.

• Lists – Lists can act as great ego bait. Come up with a top ten for a relevant topic in your industry and reach out to the included sites.
• Articles – Research trends and be the first to write about the latest developments. Also research your competition, see what they have done well, and do it better!
• Quizzes – These can be very enticing especially if you can come up with a creative way to incentivize participation.
• White Papers – Think conversions when you create your white papers. What kind of audience are you targeting? How can this kind of content generate leads? Are you answering questions for the correct audience? These are all important questions that need to be answered to maximize the effectiveness of White Papers.
• Case Studies – Prove that you are good at what you do. Case studies need to be updated often to prove that as the world turns, you are continuously killing it and putting your expertise to work. Case studies can be presented in many ways, including decks that can be posted to SlideShare.

2) Video – Video is reaching a point where it accessible from more devices every day. What used to be limited to the television is now becoming easily consumable via mobile making video a major part of the content marketing mix. The following list looks first at some alternative forms of video, and then at some genres for all of your other video content.

• Kinetic Typography – Use video and audio to give your words more meaning. When your words are simple and easy to understand, kinetic typography can be a great resources. Check out the Vimeo channel for more ideas.
• Live Stream – Do you have an event worthy of being live streamed? Customer service initiatives can always benefit from a Google Hangout or two, as the term live stream has now become more interactive than ever.
• Webinars – If you are interested in becoming a thought leader and driving leads, webinars can be incredibly useful. It is important to produce high quality content that can be used by many. There is a great opportunity to host webinars as a future resource for users looking for the information you created.

Video Content Genres – These can apply to all kinds of content, not just video. This is a list I first heard in class at Indiana University and can be applied to nearly any piece of communication you create.

• Instructional – How many times have you turned to YouTube to learn how to do something? Now think about how many times you have been asked about what you do? Why not use your expertise to create how-to videos, I mean who wouldn’t want to know how to make an inside out grilled cheese sandwich?
• Inspirational – Inspirational video can evoke emotion, which is a very very powerful trigger. Research your audience and know what kind of content would motivate them. Do you own a fitness blog? Then why not share an inspiring tale of achievement. This video on inspiration itself is one of my favorite examples.
• Educational – It is easy to get educational and instructional content confused. Instructional content teaches you step by step how to accomplish something or learn a new skill. Educational content helps you learn and become more knowledgeable overall. Educational content can be very useful when you audience needs more information before they make a connection or purchase decision. Content like this could be very useful for a company trying to sell Gluten Free foods.
• Informational – Think of informational content as CNN presenting the news. Here is the information, how you choose to digest it is up to you. CenturyLink tries to use informational content to sell IT Services.
• Humorous – We all like to laugh. Lighthearted videos can make your audience comfortable with your brand. This classic example from John West Salmon should make you giggle (and maybe cringe a little).

3) Interactive Graphics – This is more than an infographic. This is a graphic that has dynamic attributes and adjusts based on user behavior. Many major media outlets produce this type of content on a regular basis. I love this example from the NY Times in 2008.

• Presentations – presentations are interactive because users need to move from page to page to continue consuming the information. In order to have your presentation consumed from start to finish you need to ensure that the provided content is encouraging users to move forward in the deck. These can all be hosted on sites like SlideShare where they have a great opportunity to supplement the link you drop.
• Interactive Charts & Data – This is just like the map I shared earlier. Interactive charts contain large data sets and allow the user to dictate the presentation based on their actions. Google has a pretty cool gallery of interactive chart codes they have created through HTML5 technology.

4) Graphics – Simple graphics can be very powerful and have also proven to be the most shared content via social media. Something as simple as a portrait can evoke feelings of all types, which is why it is important to strategize carefully when choosing your imagery. With the rise of visual-based social networks like Pinterest, creating powerful images has become more important than ever. Here is an overview of the primary kinds of images.

• Photos – Sometimes it is best to keep things simple. Photos of stunning visuals, people doing extraordinary things, cute animals, strange occurrences and more have the tendency to spark quite a reaction. Every piece of content should have at least one image, and photos (or plain images) are the best way to go. Remember to focus on quality and sharability here, the higher quality and more engaging the better. When I see an image like this, I can’t help but try to learn more. What is this? Who made it? How can I get one?
  
  (Image Source:Yulia Brodskaya)

• Cinemagraphs – Cinemagraphs are one of my favorites because they can be so subtle. Cinemagraphs are still photos with a moving element, usually in GIF format. These are becoming more common and can really ad an element of surprise and excitement to your page.
  
  (Image Source: Beautiful Life)

• Graphs – showing people data can be very powerful when it sends a positive message. Use graphs when the data set you mention is persuasive and contributes to the positive sentiment and perception of your content.
• Comics/Cartoons – There is no reason not to get a little bit goofy every now and then if your niche allows it. Comics and cartoons can add a lighthearted spin to your content.
• Animated GIF’s – Different than a Cinemagraph, animated GIF’s are fully animated and warrant a bit more attention. Often animated gifs can portray a single feeling.
  

• Memes – shame on your for not knowing what a meme is. One situation where I have seen memes work really well is when you crowdsource ideas and filter the best ones in to a post. That kind of content can generate memes like this:
  

5) Infographics – We have seen the rise of infographics, and are supposedly on the brink of the fall of infographics. Either way they can provide value. I often cross-reference this infographic on SEO salary information.

6) Audio

• Podcasts – The question really worth asking here is, what can I do to create a podcast that is better than what exists right now? I know that right now, for the SEO industry, it wouldn’t be too difficult. Podcasts are great and apps like Stitcher are gaining steam. If you are willing to invest a little bit in becoming the audio authority in your niche, there are even companies like Pagatim that do a great job with strategy and marketing for podcasts.

(Mostly Paid) Content Creation Resources

1) Text

Contract Agencies

• Brafton Brafton is a content marketing company with a ton of writers that will generate quality news and content for your company or client’s blog under a contract. This content is more news & volume driven, which can call in to question the “sharability” of the content in some cases.
• Contently Another contract based content creation service, with a higher focus on quality blog articles than news. You can go as far as to purchase your own editor who will manage a creative team of writers & artists of all kinds.

These services are two of the highest-level content services in the industry, and they are not cheap. Depending on what you want to do with your news or blog content, both of these options would be a great partner assuming you have the budget.

Tools

• Writer Access A content creation platform where you are given the ability to order text articles and content by specifying a price and instructions for creating the content. You can choose from 1-5 star writers and are responsible for approving and editing the content. The amount of control you have here is nice, and the ability to create a list of writers to use for future projects is great. I have heard a few complaints about how long it can take to turn content once revisions are asked for, but my personal experience has been positive.

There are also a number of lower level, cheaper content services that from my experience have gone untested. These are primarily used as services to generate blog content, and a few would be worth testing for clients who need content, but have lower budgets.

2) Video

For video, there are a variety of options. Many companies may have a video team or company they prefer to work with, and agencies often have great connections within their local, regional & national community. The following video tools are for creating videos through an online portal so you don’t need to spend an arm and a leg on a professional video team (which is worth it every once and a while, just make sure your ideas are awesome). Most of these resources are for some type of animation. Kinetic typography can be done well by a good video editor of any kind.

• PowToon Create animated presentations manually or through a marketplace of experienced animators. This tool can be pretty reasonable, but in order for the content to really be effective you need to have a good, creative idea.
• Switch Video Short animations and whiteboard videos perfect for landing pages.
• TruScribe Specialists in creating whiteboard videos.
• yDraw Specialists in hand drawn animated videos.

3) Interactive Graphics

To create an interactive graphic there are a couple of approaches we can take.

The first is to create a valuable visualization that interacts with the user dynamically. Think of it like an infographic you can click on, move around, and alter based on the way you navigate the content. These types of interactive graphics can be created through a combination of design and development through an internal or external team.

Any up-to-speed design and development agency should be able to create you a nice interactive graphic like this.

There are also tools that make this process easy for those who don’t have access to development skills. Check these out:

• Stat Silk – Great tool to visualize data that can be viewed on a map.
• Tableau – Powerful tool to visualize data you can pull from a number of public resources.
• amCharts – Creates simple JavaScript charts that are lightly interactive.

Internet users also interact with presentations especially if you provide good information. I often reference work by Mike King and Matthew J Brown on SlideShare. Any time you provide valuable information through a presentation, upload it to SlideShare and promote it.

4) Graphics & Infographics

We all know what graphics are so this section should act purely as a resource for tools to help you create compelling graphics as content. Whether you are working on a cartoon or data visualization, the key to creating graphics is to be creative and generate content that will encourage reaction, conversation, and sharing.

It’s true, sometimes even memes and cartoons can act as great content. Although most of the time these concepts are not generated through tools, here are a few options to get you started:

Simple graphics can always be created by employees or design teams, but sometimes it is more powerful to present data in a visual format. The following is a list of tools that help with data visualization:

• Hohli – Simple graphs, most of which you will be familiar with by working in Excel.
• Diagram.ly – Easy to use diagram creation tool hosted on the web. Basic and easy to use.
• InkScape – A technical, vector based tool. Advanced in both complexity and the resulting product.
• JS Charts – Easy to use paid tool that provides clean charts ideal for web production.

It should also be noted that the almighty Google machine has been making a lot of moves lately to encourage “brand-building”. One great way to build your brand is to share your own data and make an impact on your industry by proving & visualizing the amazing work you are doing.

For more tools and resources for pulling data, I highly recommend checking out the data visualization post I mentioned on Point Blank SEO. There is a ton of great information on free data resources and this kid deserves a ton of credit for the resources listed in this section of the post.

Finally, here are some tools for creating infographics. Remember, most often the best products come from professional designers (some will even help you with the data), but there are some options for creating these on your own:

• PiktoChart – Probably the top “create your own” infographic tool there is right now. Can be done for free, but a paid subscription gets you access to a ton of resources.
• Vennage – Powerful paid tool is a combo if infographic and data visualization. Can also be used for reporting.
• Easel.ly – A Beta project allowing you to create drag and drop infographics.
• Infogr.am – Another nice tool for adding data and creating easy infographics.
• Dipity – For creating timeline based infographics.
• Visual.ly – Compliments its toolset with a social community.

5) Audio

Creating audio and podcasts can be done with basic or advanced audio equipment. Because this tactic involves recording your own audio, there are not necessarily online tools for this. You will need a microphone and some audio editing software to get started and can use a tool like HipCast to organize your media.

In Closing

To make a long story short, the world of content is huge and has shown no signs of slowing down any time soon. This post has accomplished its mission if you have discovered just one new resource to help you build upon your current content strategy. As I mentioned at the start of the post, let’s keep this conversation going in the comments section and around the web. Please feel free to follow me on Twitter using my handle @JeffBiomecca.