Marketers divide content into two types: seasonal and evergreen.
Seasonal content is a type of content that loses relevance over time. It's based on a trending subject and can draw in plenty of traffic over a short period of time. The main drawback of seasonal content is that audiences lose interest in the subject shortly.
Evergreen content, on the other hand, remains always relevant. It explores a topic that doesn't date this quickly, or at all. It delivers a constant growth of traffic and social media shareability over a long period of time.
Evergreen content brings an incredible ROI and its timelessness is key to building a brand image that implies professionalism and trust.
If you'd like to boost your content marketing strategy, bet on evergreen content.
Here are 7 examples of evergreen content to help you make the most out of this content type for your brand, bringing in plenty of customers to your offer.
1. Data and statistics
If you've got some interesting statistics on your hands which will keep relevance after some time has passed, this can be your evergreen content material.By showing statistics in the right context, you'll be helping your audience to understand a specific perspective on a topic which can be then applied in their practice. You need to keep your data relevant for your niche and give readers all the background information they need.
Make sure to include information about the period to which these statistics relate. You can either edit them to confirm or challenge the status quo, or just leave them as a collection of references for people to use in the future.
Update your stats regularly, especially if they're about a dynamic topic.
A blog post with a collection of interesting data and statistics can be easily repurposed into an infographic or a Slideshare presentation.
2. Case studies
A well-written case study can remain relevant for the years to come. But that largely depends on the industry.For example, if you write a case study that explores the latest updates in a mobile operating system, don't count on a constant flow of readers in a year's time.
However, a case study the examines a solution to an SEO problem will remain relevant. Write it with future relevance in mind. Make your post into a smart reference guide.
If you write a case study which reveals how to handle an issue or boost web traffic, you can be sure that this content will be useful to your audience in the future.
3. Posts covering best practices
If your brand achieved a significant success, there's no better way to let your audience know than by putting all the lessons you've learned into a single blog post.You shouldn't reveal too much, but providing your visitors with guidelines for success is a recipe for excellent evergreen content.
For instance, if you're a B2B company that helps other startups manage their sales, your readers will be interested in your own practices for boosting sales. Sharing this type of knowledge is bound to position you as an expert in the sector.
If industry practices are a topic that engages your niche, go for it.
4. How-to guides
Consumers seek guidance.Why not deliver a post with a step-by-step guide to a common problem in your sector?
You'll show off your expertise, and help your readers to take care of their issue. As long as you don't refer to a problem that is very time-specific, you'll be on your way to creating powerful evergreen content that will bring in traffic for the years to come.
Make sure to address a timeless issue to bring a constant and steady number of visitors to your content. You don't want to experience a spike of visitors followed by a drop.
5. Beginner’s guides
Beginner’s guides are similar to how-to guides with one big difference: they're a better source of evergreen content.While the specifics of getting something done might change over time as technologies come and go, the basics aren't going to transform dramatically.
Also, beginner’s guides are easy to create.
The more general your topic is, the higher the interest rate of reading that type of content will be. If you create content for broader audiences, you can count on a steady flow of visitors who look for basic information to get started in a niche.
6. Lists
List are all the rage today. Have a look at Buzzfeed and you'll know what I mean.But how to make sure that your list is evergreen? First, pick a timeless topic. And then think about the format of your list. Why not transform your list into a smart checklist?
For example, an excellent piece of evergreen content could be a blog post or infographic about 10 essential things to remember before publishing an app in an app store.
Your lists don't need to be long. But they should be exhaustive.
If you do your job, visitors will come back to your list because they'll remember it as a source of complete information on a topic.
Here's the anatomy of a highly shareable list post:
infographic courtesy of: Siegemedia.
7. Pros and cons overviews
Every decision-making process relies on rational and emotional resources.You can tap into that by creating smart topic overviews where you present the key pros and cons of a solution. Make sure to base your insights on facts, not popular opinions.
Picking the right topic, you can be sure that this type of content will be relevant for the next few years. You'll help people to make decisions, but also provide them with a documentation of a subject they're thinking about.
All in all, you can turn this type of polarization into a practical source of valuable information.
Key takeaway
Investing in evergreen content is a smart move.Try to create one of these 7 types of evergreen content. You can be sure that your target audience will appreciate it.
You'll get plenty of quality material that can be repurposed over time into different formats to bring in even more traffic to your website and position you as an expert in your field.
About author:
Heidi Finigan is a blogger often tackling Internet security topics at VPN Compass, helping both individuals and companies remain safe online. Heidi is also very interested in promoting businesses on a wider scale and often writes about smart ways of reaching bigger audience.
Top image: uberflip