Inbound Marketing and SEO: Insights from the Moz Blog

Chapter 8: Beyond Blog Posts: A Guide to Innovative Content Types

By Tom Critchlow

Editor's Note: When we think about content production, it is often the end product that comes to mind. And when we do explore the process and the publishing platform, we often turn our attention to blogging. In fact, one of today's most popular blog categories is “blogging.” In this post (originally published on The Moz Blog on May 11, 2011), Tom Critchlow introduces us to several alternative content platforms—from Q&A sites to product marketplaces—and challenges us to think about what makes each one successful.

Producing great content is a high ROI activity. Too often, however, I see people focused on producing individual pieces of content aiming to get links and attention. Putting together a content strategy requires much more than creating a single piece of content. It requires creating a vision and strategy for how you're going to publish your content, what type of content you will be publishing, and how your audience will engage with it.

I like to think that instead of focusing on pieces of content, you should focus on the content platform. This shift requires lateral thinking, research, and creativity. In this post I break down some alternative content types that I've been consuming recently. Even though I've provided examples, try and look beyond the individual posts and focus on the underlying platform. Think about what makes it successful.

Q&A Content

The growth of Q&A content has exploded ...