In the past 60 seconds, I’ve had a Downy Woodpecker, House Finch, Tufted Titmouse, Nuthatch and Hummingbird visit my bird feeder.
I can tell you it took a bit of research to get that kind of diversity hitting my feeder all day — and it will take that same research for your online content to attract your “birds.”
The secret to both the seed and your content? Variety.
There are five types of online content you should be enticing your flock with, which we’ll cover in depth on this post.
5 Content Types To Build The Perfect Mixed Bag
1) Seed
Plain ‘ol birdseed must be what attracts birds to the feeder. I’ve tried feed both with and without it, and when it’s missing from the bag I miss out on some of the ground feeders, like Doves.
Like the seed, you’ll need content that attracts the birds, or readers, to your blog.
This is your downloadable content or resources — the content that attracts new subscribers to your list.
We’ve got six pieces of “seed” on our website:
- Free consultation
- SMM employee policy handbook
- Measuring ROI ebook
- Facebook conversion course
- Tools cheat sheet
- Newsletter sign up
I’ll admit to falling behind on creating a new seed piece; I usually try to create one new one each year to keep attracting hungry birds to our site and to our list.
Our seeds collect anywhere from a 35-62% conversion rate (and when we look at new pieces to create we try to emulate the pieces with a 50% or higher conversion rate).
2) Peanuts
The peanuts are big, easy to snag, and undoubtedly delicious as many of the birds toss out whatever they first grab in lieu for a tasty peanut-buttery snack.
Your peanuts should do the same. They should:
- Be simple to understand; 101 level posts
- Allow for easy reading
- Have plenty of visual aids
- Remain short and sweet
Peanut content would be online content for your newbies and beginners.
Create this content with:
- How-to posts
- FAQ — frequently asked questions — that answer typical questions about your industry or business
- Your unique knowledge, stories, or examples
- Case studies or research so the post something people will bookmark or cite
- List posts
3) Sunflower Seeds
Sunflower seeds are a little harder for our little birdies to eat since they have to crack them open for what’s inside, but that doesn’t stop them from gobbling these black seeds up like crazy!
Similarly, you need to produce more than 100-level online content to keep more experienced readers visiting your blog or website.
Sunflower seed content should be:
- In depth
- Longer (we strive for over 1,000 words on our sunflower content)
- Exceptionally valuable
4) Fruits
Fruits are little extras that not everyone likes.
My “regulars” like the fruit, and so should your Alpha Audience (or regular visitors).
Fruits can also be harder or more time consuming to produce, so it’s important to understand that you’re not expected to produce this type of online content all the time.
Fruits to consider producing:
- Storytelling or highly branded content
- Infographics
- Videos
- SlideShares
- Podcast
- Interview
5) Sugar Water
So the bird lovers probably realized this off the bat — hummingbirds don’t visit bird feeders for nuts!
Hummingbirds require specialized food (sugar water) from a specialized feeder.
You will need to create specialized content for your subscribers, leads & prospects, and/or clients.
Here at B Squared Media, we create a few different types of specialized online content:
- Our newsletter
- Our blog delivery (which is delivered along with special, subscriber-only tips)
- Drip content for leads & prospects
- Specialized emails for clients only
Your Online Content Needs Variety To Keep ‘Em Coming!
Without each of these types of seed (and sugar water), I wouldn’t have the variety of birds visiting my feeder (and making my day!).
My advice for you is to go check your last 10 posts. Do they provide a mixed bag of content or are you only serving up slim pickings?
Create a strategy for a more robust feeder and I promise you’ll start to see your blog or website come to life.
What online content types are in your “feeder” attracting peeps of all shapes and sizes? Let me know in the comments section below!
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4 Comments. Leave new
I absolutely love this analogy, Brooke! What a perfect comparison. I’m a bird lover and this really hit home. From “seed” to “sugar water”, you done a fantastic job showing us how to use different content types are in our “feeder” to attract peeps of all shapes and sizes
Thank you so much for the kind words (and shares!), Robin. I’m a bird lover, too, as I’m sure you can tell. I was watching the little guys at the feeder one day and this post idea just struck me. Glad it resonated! 🙂
I don’t understand. Where do memes fit in exactly?
I love how your analogy makes so clear how important it is to have different kinds of content for different audiences (or purposes). When it comes to real life birds, I’m the kind that gives leftover crumbs from my bagel to whoever gets first on the deck, but your analogy really helps to bring home the point, and helps to make my online nut collection just a bit more tasty.
Haha, Bas! You know how I feel about memes, but used SPARINGLY I think they can actually be good for some brands.
I’m glad you like the analogy! 🙂 I figured you were the type to give your leftovers to the birds. You’re too sweet!! Let me know how the mixed bag comes along.