Passed on 7 April, 2025

2. Planning digital content

Creating digital content is a great way to help you attract your audience’s attention. In this lesson, we’ll look at why content marketing is important, and what it hopes to achieve.

✅ Learning objectivesBy the end of this lesson, you’ll be able to:Consider using a range of content types.Identify appropriate types of content for the message, customer persona, and digital channel.

Learning objectives

By the end of this lesson, you’ll be able to:

Consider using a range of content types.

Identify appropriate types of content for the message, customer persona, and digital channel.

The importance of content marketing

Finding your place in the ever-evolving digital landscape is essential. Let’s find out how content marketing can help you achieve that.

Why content marketing matters

People can pick and choose when to engage with advertising, but content marketing helps businesses connect meaningfully with their audiences, building trust, and staying top of mind.

What is content marketing?

Content marketing is based on the creation and sharing of online material, like videos, blogs, and social media posts. It’s designed to generate interest in a company’s products or services by capturing people’s attention.

How can it support business goals?

Content marketing can help to increase sales by directing traffic to your website, boosting awareness of your brand, strengthening brand identity, and building trust and recognition amongst your audience.

Types of content

Online content can take lots of different forms: From case studies and ebooks, to infographics, images, and video clips. Each of these different formats comes with its own benefits. Let’s explore a selection of content types.

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The purpose of content

Successful content doesn’t have to go viral or reach millions of people. Content should focus on moving customers toward a specific goal or action. In content marketing, there are typically four main purposes of content.

To entertain

This type of content can help engage your audience and grab their attention. It could be quizzes, competitions, amusing social media posts or videos, or anything else that entertains. It doesn’t have to be directly related to your business, but it should reflect your business values and aims. We will cover this more later in the module.

To inspire

This type of content should be motivational and should encourage your audience to take action. Customer reviews, personal stories, and influencer collaborations could all fall into this category.

To educate

This type of content should inform or instruct your audience. It could be blog posts and articles, how-to videos, infographics, or other types of content that help your audience learn the ‘whats’ and ‘hows’ about your product or service.

To convince

The final type of content should be persuasive, and encourage your audience to take action. Case studies, promotional offers, charts with money saved over time, and interactive demos could all help convince potential customers.

Choosing the right type of content

Let’s take a look at how to match different content formats to your content goals.

Meet Anaïs

Anaïs runs a dog grooming business and is looking to create a content strategy to help boost her online presence. Help her select the best format for each content purpose.

Funny video clips of dogs doing tricks over social media

correct

Testimonials from happy customers and ebooks to show her specialist grooming knowledge

incorrect

Blog posts including top tips on dog care and dog nutrition

correct

A gallery on her website showcasing grooming cuts and styles for pet owners to explore.

incorrect

Show Answer

Show Answer

Almost.To entertain her audience, Anaïs decides to publish funny video clips of dogs doing tricks over social media.To inspire, she creates a gallery on her site to showcase different cuts and styles.To educate her audience, she shares blog posts including top tips on dog care and dog nutrition.To convince people to use her services, Anaïs will share testimonials from happy customers, as well as ebooks to showcase her knowledge in specialist grooming skills.

To entertain her audience, Anaïs decides to publish funny video clips of dogs doing tricks over social media.

To inspire, she creates a gallery on her site to showcase different cuts and styles.

To educate her audience, she shares blog posts including top tips on dog care and dog nutrition.

To convince people to use her services, Anaïs will share testimonials from happy customers, as well as ebooks to showcase her knowledge in specialist grooming skills.

Planning your content

Now that you’ve helped Anaïs choose the right content for her business, it is time to think about your own.Alternatively, think about a local business you’re familiar with.

Alternatively, think about a local business you’re familiar with.

Alternatively, think about a local business you’re familiar with.

Consider your goals

Identify the goal of your content. It’s important to match the goal of your content to your business goal. For example, if you’re trying to get more followers on social media, you might choose content that entertains and inspires.

Consider your platform

Choose the platform that best supports your content and business goals. For example, if you want more people to make a purchase when they visit your website, including reviews, how-to videos, or blog posts on your website might convince people to buy the item they are considering.

Matching content type and purpose

Consider how certain formats are best paired with specific content goals.For example, if your goal is to educate, then guides, ebooks and infographics would be the ideal formats – whereas if your goal is to entertain, a better format choice would be quizzes or competitions.

For example, if your goal is to educate, then guides, ebooks and infographics would be the ideal formats – whereas if your goal is to entertain, a better format choice would be quizzes or competitions.

Be practical

Think about the types of content you can realistically create and maintain consistently. Choose formats you can produce regularly, and consider outside help for formats that require additional expertise or resources.

Check your knowledge

It's time for you to check and reflect on what you've learned so far.

Question 1 of 1

Armand opened their own beauty salon two years ago, and is now looking at how content marketing can help them boost the business's profile online. How could content marketing help?

Help them find cheaper suppliers

Help them understand their customers’ shopping preferences

Help them develop a stronger brand identity

Help them connect with the right audience

Submit

Submit

Yes.That's right! Content marketing can help Armand develop a stronger brand identity and connect with the right audience.

That's right! Content marketing can help Armand develop a stronger brand identity and connect with the right audience.

Planning content in practice

Spend some time completing the activity on this page. It will provide a foundation for the lessons that follow.

✅ ActivityTake the insights you’ve gathered and turn them into a practical content plan. This activity will guide you through actionable steps to help align your content marketing with your business goals.Check the items off as you go.Revisit your business goals from theDigital marketing strategymodule.Which content purposes would help you achieve those goals? E.g., Entertain, inspire, educate, or convince?Once you have decided which purposes your content needs to fulfill, note down 2-3 types of content you could create for each purpose and which digital channels you can use to share the content, e.g., a blog post on a website or a video on social media.Identify one or two goals which content marketing could help to support.

Activity

Take the insights you’ve gathered and turn them into a practical content plan. This activity will guide you through actionable steps to help align your content marketing with your business goals.

Revisit your business goals from theDigital marketing strategymodule.

Which content purposes would help you achieve those goals? E.g., Entertain, inspire, educate, or convince?

Once you have decided which purposes your content needs to fulfill, note down 2-3 types of content you could create for each purpose and which digital channels you can use to share the content, e.g., a blog post on a website or a video on social media.

Identify one or two goals which content marketing could help to support.

Download PDF

Download PDF

Lesson complete

Great job!You now know about different types of content, their purposes, and how they can support your business goals.Head to the next lesson to discover more about creating content.

You now know about different types of content, their purposes, and how they can support your business goals.Head to the next lesson to discover more about creating content.

Head to the next lesson to discover more about creating content.

Head to the next lesson to discover more about creating content.