It’s that time of year when businesses are trying to add pumpkin spice to pretty much every food and drink imaginable and Halloween shops are taking up space in old Blockbuster Video buildings.
What does this have to do with marketing you say? Nothing.
However, when walking by a shelf of Halloween candy earlier today, it occurred to me that there is one way that marketing and Halloween are related.
For once, candy is the answer, or in this case, the analogy.
In this article, I’ll share the three main types of content most bloggers publish on their sites, using a fun and festive Halloween-themed candy analogy to spice things up.
So, let’s jump right in.
1. Candy Corn Content
Most blogs contain 3 types or standards of written content. The first of which I’ll call your “candy corn content.” When we were trick-or-treating as kids, none of us were super excited when we got handfuls of candy corn.
This type of candy is in the same category as Tootsie Rolls, Smarties, and those wrapped hard candy ovals that don’t really have a name and taste like plastic. This is all basically “filler candy” that is just taking up space in our trick-or-treat bags. Sorry to all three of the Tootsie Roll fans out there!
Similarly, a lot of blog content these days contains “filler content.” We’ve all seen it, and many of us have even published it, myself included. This is the type of content that isn’t exactly terrible, but it’s not great either. It just kinda’ sits there on our blogs taking up space.
These are the very generic posts that just cover a topic at a very high level, and never dig into the details with case studies, statistics, or specific tactics. Now, before you go searching for all of my old “filler content” posts, let me tell you that not all filler content is bad.
It has its place, just as candy corn has its place during Halloween. Sometimes you simply need to round out the types of content you produce to attract different audiences. But you never want to make filler content the main type of content you publish on your blog!
So use it sparingly. The same goes for the candy corn.
2. Fun Size Content
You know those mini candy bars that look like regular candy bars, only much smaller? Those are what I’m talking about for this next section. They’re called “fun size” candy, because, well, they’re fun I guess. Who comes up with the names for these things anyway?
Regardless of what you call them, fun size candies are nice because they’re individually packaged, they remind you of the full candy that they’re trying to imitate, and they’re just a big upgrade from candy corn and Tootsie Rolls.
While not the best kind of candy you could get on Halloween, they’re not the worst either. In that sense, this type of candy is right in the middle. Similarly, “fun size content” on your blog is the content that you publish that has a tiny bit of research thrown in, or might approach a topic from a unique angle, but it doesn’t dive in much further than that.
This very article that you are reading would qualify as fun size content. I’m taking a unique approach to the topic of blog content, yet I’m not giving you a full case study or using tons of research, charts, or checklists.
For most blogs, fun size content should probably make up the bulk of your blog content. Why? Because filler content is too basic, and won’t let you stand out, and the “candy bar” content we’re about to discuss next is a little too in-depth to publish on a very frequent basis.
In other words, try to give a fair amount of value with your fun size blog posts. Don’t just rehash what someone else said. Approach an issue with a unique view, add something to your article that nobody else thought of, or add a few actionable tips or statistics. You get the idea.
3. Candy Bar Content
Last but certainly not least, we have “candy bar content.” Do you remember how on Halloween, there always seems to be one house that gives out full-sized candy bars, and everyone assumed they must be millionaires? Yeah, that’s the type of candy Halloween was made for!
We’re talking about full-sized Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bars , full-sized Kit Kats, and–if you’re really lucky–full-sized Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups! Anyway, this type of candy is few and far between on Halloween, so when you encounter it, you remember it for a while.
In keeping with our analogy, candy bar content on your blog is the real in-depth stuff. The case studies, the 2,000+ word step-by-step game plans, the well-researched reports. This is the content that people crave when they really want to dig into a topic. It’s the stuff they’ll bookmark and return to again and again.
And just as everyone knew the house that gave out the full-sized candy bars on Halloween, everyone will know which blogs produce this kind of content, because folks will be talking about it.
Another word for candy bar content is “cornerstone content.” These types of articles are the bedrock of your blog. They’re the foundational building blocks of everything else. Oh, and need I mention, Google loves this type of in-depth content? So start typing!
Which kind of content are you mostly producing?
Well, there you have it. Somehow I took a silly analogy about Halloween candy and tied it in with content marketing, blogging, and even SEO. All to get a few more social shares and clicks thanks to the popularity of Halloween in the next few days.
And I can count on you to share this fun size article, right? Please do that, and also, let me know what you think of these different forms of content. Is there another type that you would add? Let’s chat in the comments section below or on Twitter.
