9 Essential Content Types Every Marketing Strategy Needs (With Examples)

What's the secret to developing an effective marketing strategy? Well, knowing that people from the U.S. spend more than eight hours with digital media per day, the key to attracting them into your sales funnel (and guiding them toward a purchase decision) could be producing and distributing the right type of content.

But here's the deal. Not all content formats are created equal. Some — short-form video, images, and live streams — deliver impressive ROI. While others go by completely unnoticed by audiences, rendering them practically useless for building brand and product awareness or driving conversions.

So, if you're looking to supercharge your online presence in 2025, these are the essential content types every marketing strategy needs.

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The Basics

Impressive results are practically impossible without a solid foundation. In digital marketing, that foundation consists of tried-and-tested content formats that may not seem exciting but are still critical for helping you reach your business goals.

So, what are the elementary types of content you need to drive growth?

Landing Pages

In 2025, consumers demand relevance.

Recent survey data suggests that 81% of people ignore irrelevant marketing messages, while 96% choose to shop with brands that employ personalization.

With this in mind, your inbound marketing tactics need to drive traffic to pages that have the highest chances of engaging prospects and drawing them into your sales funnel.

By investing in landing pages that address specific consumer needs — like this resource comparing Mouseflow's product to one of its main competitors — you can maximize your marketing ROI and position your brand and products/services as the ideal solution to your target audience's pain points.

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Blog Posts

Blogging may not seem new or exciting. But if you do it well, it can be tremendously effective at allowing you to reach, engage, and convert your target audience into loyal customers.

In fact, the only thing you need to do to ensure your written content stands out is to approach the production process from a fully customer-centric point of view.

For instance, if you check out Somewhere's Ultimate Guide to the Best Executive Assistant Recruitment Agencies, you'll see that it's the perfect educational resource for people searching for information on a specific subject. It offers unique value. It empowers readers to move to the next stage of their buying journey. And, quite conveniently, it just so happens to (naturally) mention Somewhere's services as one of the best choices for readers looking for high-quality remote hires.

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Visuals

Want to maximize your chances of delighting your audience? Do it with visuals.

Scientific research suggests that people process images faster than text. They remember visuals better than any other type of info. Finally, they react more intensely to visuals than to alternative formats.

So, no matter where or how you want to use your content, consider whether you can communicate your message with visuals.

For example, Brightland expertly uses images to demonstrate the versatility of its products on Instagram. Essentially, it does this knowing that even a single photo showing how customers can use the olive oil will be enough to inspire followers to try the products (or use them if they're already customers).

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Social Media Content

Having a strong presence on the social platforms your target audience utilizes is crucial for getting a high ROI from your marketing activity.

After all, people spend 141 minutes per day on social media. So, if you want to reach new prospects, that's where your brand has to be.

The good news is that an effective social media marketing strategy doesn't need to be expensive. As long as it's authentic and tailored to your ideal customers' wants, needs, and aspirations, it's guaranteed to attract new leads whom you can nurture into clients in no time.

Emails and Newsletters

What's the most cost-effective method of marketing your products and services? Without a doubt, it's email — a format that's cheap to produce, yet delivers exceptionally high returns.

In fact, Unbounce's latest Conversion Benchmark Report found that email is the channel group with the highest conversion rate (19.3%), outperforming display, paid search, and paid social ads.

So, want to invest in content types that deliver results without the exorbitant production costs? Consider upgrading your email marketing strategy. It doesn't have to involve complex designs or copy. But if it calls prospects' attention to your products — like the Uniqlo email advertising a new launch below — it's more than enough to engage your customer base and help you boost conversions without spending a fortune on paid marketing.

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Social Proof

Finally, as you explore the essential, must-have content types you need in your marketing strategy, don't forget about social proof.

After all, it's the one content type practically all consumers use (and actively seek out) during their buying journeys. Research shows that when web visitors interact with reviews, their chances of converting into customers lift by an impressive 108.3%.

So, if you want to guarantee that your digital marketing strategies yield results, incorporating social proof into your online presence is non-negotiable.

And don't just reserve this format for your homepage or landing pages. Instead, explore opportunities to show off positive feedback with every consumer interaction, regardless of whether it happens on social media, your site's blog section, via email, or on a personalized landing page.

For instance, check out how FluffCo transforms Amazon reviews into impactful social media content. It's easy, cheap, but most importantly, it works for building brand trust and elevating consumer purchase intent.

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Next-Level Content Formats to Stand Out

All right, you've covered the basic content types that are a must-have in any digital marketing strategy.

However, the goal of investing in marketing is to allow your brand to stand out. You need to go beyond the basics if you want to position your business as the best possible choice in your industry.

Again, the answer is simple: high-quality content that aligns with your customers' needs and expectations.

Here, you'll find the more advanced content formats that will take your online presence from good to great.

Video

If there's only one format you invest in from this entire list, it has got to be video. Why? Because it's people's favorite way to consume information.

So, if you're looking for opportunities to engage and wow your ideal customers, why not do it with this content type? It doesn't matter whether you post these resources on your website or on social media. As long as they're unique and provide value, they're guaranteed to boost brand awareness and draw consumers into your sales funnel.

And the best part is, they don't even have to reinvent the wheel with video content. In fact, entertainment value — like the one delivered by Cometeer below — is more than enough to help you reach your business goals through intentional content marketing.

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Interactive Resources

Did you know that interactive content yields 52.6% higher engagement rates compared to its static alternatives?

If you're looking for ways to attract more people to your brand, stand out among your competitors, quickly guide prospects through the sales funnel, and present potential customers with the level of personalization they seek, interactive tools could just be the ideal choice for your business.

The Prose haircare quiz is a perfect example of how interactive content can fit into your marketing strategy. For starters, it's a great (and fun) way for buyers to discover new, relevant products to solve their pain points. It also demonstrates that the brand genuinely knows what it's doing when recommending solutions to shoppers, automatically elevating people's purchase intent.

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In-Depth Resources

Lastly, as you explore the essential content types you need in your marketing strategy, don't hesitate to be generous with your knowledge and expertise. After all, consumers genuinely appreciate it when brands go above and beyond to help them.

With this in mind, investing in long-form content should be a no-brainer. And if the idea of earning your prospects' trust doesn't excite you, consider the following. Long-form content generates more backlinks and social shares. Plus, it tends to rank better on SERPs as well.

So, if you want your brand to stand out, think about the questions or pain points your ideal customers may have. Then invest in high-quality, in-depth content to help them solve these issues. You can take inspiration from Transparent Labs' Mastering the 75 Hard Rules article, which is a perfect example of how easily businesses can employ their know-how to wow their audiences and position themselves as the authority on a topic relevant to potential customers.

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Final Thoughts

Although the ideal content formats for your brand hugely depend on who you're trying to engage and what you're trying to accomplish, there are a few types of content that have a place in any marketing strategy.

Investing in the formats discussed in this guide is a great way to ensure the building blocks of your content strategy are on point. Then, if you want to embellish, you can, with additional content types. However, you might just find that these are more than enough to yield the results you're after.

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