A content asset is any piece of content (blog post, white paper, video, etc.) that a company can use to achieve a bigger marketing goal.
While you could simply focus on all content assets, it’s usually smarter to rely on a handful that serve your business best. And to do that, you should first figure out who your target audience is, what the purpose of the content will be, and what your goals and objectives are.
And then, of course, you need to decide which content type is best for you.
Content assets can be categorized into long-form or short-form types, and you can focus on text (blog posts or articles), graphics, video (YouTube or social media reels), or voice (podcasts).
You’ll also find gated content (restricted access) or ungated content (unrestricted access). When content is gated, potential readers can only gain access in exchange for information. For example, they may have to give you their email address in order to receive an e-book.
So, with that, let me go through 10 possible content assets you could focus on to help you achieve content marketing success.
1. Blogs
Blogs top the list of valuable content marketing assets for good reason — they’re the most effective way to reach a new audience and reach out to your current audience.
That’s why blog posts are often at the core of successful content marketing strategies.
You can write about your products, services, or operations, or create content on news, trending topics, interviews, case studies, white papers, and more.
Importantly, though, your content should cover information that your current and prospective customers want to learn about. That’s the number one way to build a community of loyal readers.
Check out my guide on content ideas to help you get started with some valuable tips and tricks.
Don’t forget, though, that every blog post has to be well-researched and valuable. After all, roughly 7.5 million blog posts are published every single day, so yours will need to stand out.
2. Social media
Social media has become an important part of marketing and communication worldwide.
There are multiple social platforms, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, and X. You don’t have to be on all of these, but focus on the ones that suit your audience and goals best.
Different platforms have different posting requirements — you may need to post repeatedly on multiple platforms and rely on social media management tools like Hootsuite or MeetEdgar to help you with this.
If you create content people like, they’ll likely share it with their friends. This is a great way to reach new audiences.
Just remember that no matter the platform you choose to operate on, your content needs to be consistent with your brand’s tone of voice, and everything you post needs to align with your overall company message.
3. Email marketing
Email marketing is very powerful, especially when combined with blogs and social media profiles.
You could, for example, send an email to your database every time you publish a new blog post. And you could encourage social media users to sign up for your email newsletter by offering them a free e-book or something else that may interest them.
It’s good to focus on a clear email strategy, though. We all receive promotional emails from dozens of businesses — online stores, blogs, travel agencies, airlines, and more — and these can quickly clog up your inbox. No one has time for that.
In order to avoid being marked as “just another spam mail”, you need to ensure that each email you send out offers value.
If you succeed in this, you can build up a strong database of loyal email subscribers who are very likely to turn from casual readers to committed customers.
4. Video
Recent stats show that 89% of internet users want to see more video content from businesses. This is also evident when looking at the importance of video on social media platforms.
Well-made, lively, and informative videos are gold, giving people the information they want in a fast and direct way.
By including videos in your content marketing strategy, you can reach more potential customers. For one, you’ll be able to reach customers who are text-adverse. But you’ll also be able to assist current readers better since some content is simply more suited to video. Product tutorials, for example, tend to work much better in a video format.
You can publish videos in blog posts, include them in your emails, or post them on YouTube and social media platforms.
Don’t forget to always include a call to action to ensure your video works for you and include subtitles, where relevant. I’d suggest checking out my tips on video marketing for more.
5. Podcasts
Podcasts are immensely popular and allow you to reach yet another audience.
People listen to podcasts in a variety of situations — at home, while commuting, etc., and the magic of this audio medium is that it allows users to receive information even when they can’t sit down to watch a video.
There’s really nothing better than listening to a podcast when stuck in traffic or having to complete household chores.
It’s relatively easy to create a basic podcast from videos you’ve created — simply extract audio from your videos or record audio separately while shooting. But a higher-end and more standout podcast takes a little more effort — you’ll definitely need a good script intended specifically for an audio-only medium, and focus on a good recording setup.
Whether or not it’s worth investing in podcasting depends on your target audience and your overall goals, but it’s a good content asset to consider if you’re looking to branch out.
6. Webinars
Webinars are similar to ordinary videos, but these are usually broadcast live and often include a live audience interaction aspect.
You can run webinars on specialized platforms, but you can also create so-called “lives” on social platforms like Instagram.
Webinars are a great supplementary content asset, and they work really well to add a more personal touch. They also work well if you want to introduce new products or answer audience questions.
7. Infographics
Infographics present information in a way that can be absorbed more easily or quickly. This is especially helpful in a field like engineering, where info can get very dense and complex fast.
By presenting lots of info in a visual way, you’re more likely to keep your audience engaged.
While working with a graphic designer will give you the best results, you can also create infographics using tools like Canva and Infogram. These will make the infographic-creation process easier.
Importantly, remember to use infographics together with other content assets, and that they should be distinctly yours. This means branding, colors, shapes, and tone of voice should be the same as with your other marketing materials.
You can embed infographics on your site or include them on social media platforms, but infographics also play a crucial role in SEO (Search Engine Optimization). If you create a super valuable infographic, it’s likely that other platforms will also want to make use of it.
Ensure you name your infographic file correctly and add in relevant alt tags so that it can appear in image results on search engines, giving other users the chance to find it and embed it on their channels if they wish.
This can do wonders in helping drive more traffic to your website.
8. e-books
The internet has opened up so many doors, allowing everyone to create an electronic book (e-book) and sell it, or give it away for free.
These e-books are simple (and affordable) to create, and act as great lead magnets. After all, haven’t we all given our email address out to a platform in order to receive an insightful e-book?
Your e-book can vary in length, and you can write anything from five to over a hundred pages — it simply depends on how much information you want to include.
Make sure you use your e-book to solve real problems your readers may face. Don’t be afraid to focus your writing on case studies, white papers, or other important topics in your field that don’t fit neatly into other publications.
9. Long-form content
Like the name suggests, long-form content is, well, long. Generally, you’ll use this term to describe instructive, informative content that’s typically between 5,000 and 15,000 words in length.
Unlike e-books, which can be sold, long-form content is usually provided for free. It’s a great way to boost customer loyalty and subscriber numbers (if, for example, you divide your content into different sections and send out each section as part of a newsletter campaign).
While shorter blog posts keep your site active, long-form content can really do wonders in establishing you as an authority and an expert/thought leader in a certain topic.
10. White papers
White papers are compelling, in-depth reports that focus solely on a particular topic, presenting a problem and providing a solution. They’re written from an authoritative point of view since they help readers identify a problem and steer them towards a solution.
White papers are very instructive and contain a whole host of facts, statistics, and evidence.
Like long-form content, white papers are excellent at gaining customer loyalty and respect.
In order to make them easier to digest, white papers should be broken down into sections and really well-organized. Include a table of contents to help readers navigate the content better, too.
So which content asset is best for you?
In order to better understand which content assets work best for you, you’ll need to understand your customers, your market, and what your competitors are doing.
Also, consider what you actually have time and resources for. And if you need help focusing on the best content for your engineering audience, give me a shout.
Content Assets FAQs
There is definitely no one-size-fits-all when it comes to content assets, and you can achieve success with any or all of these. It all depends on your audience and how well you’re able to assist them with your chosen content type.
Video has become increasingly important, and it’s really helpful to visually demonstrate very complex processes. This makes video particularly helpful for the engineering industry.
To some extent, everything you publish on the internet will have to be SEOed. But SEO strategy may matter more for some content assets, like blog posts, and less for others, like e-books.
While, to some degree, all content assets help create a community feel, some are particularly effective here. There is immense power in social media, of course, but you may also find webinars particularly valuable as they allow you to communicate directly with your audience members.
It’s important to consider what you have the time and resources for. It would not make sense to pursue a podcast, for example, if you can’t dedicate what’s required to produce a podcast. It’s always best to skip something than do a terrible job, which may hurt your brand reputation. If you have the resources, though, it can be helpful to include a nice mix of 3–4 or even more content types.
