7 Types of Evergreen Content Every Business Should Have

Did you know that only 11% of businesses view their content strategy as “excellent”?

Teams struggle to consistently create high-quality content for various reasons. They might not have the time or the resources, or they may lack routines and suitable systems. Perhaps they don’t have a long-term strategy and focus only on short-term pieces.

Forming a content strategy prevents wasted time and supports the intentional development of written collateral that will serve the organization going forward—and this means evergreen content must be a priority. 

Before diving into the seven types of evergreen content that every business should have... 

What is evergreen content, and why do you need it? 

According to the Digital Marketing Institute (DMI) “Evergreen content is search-optimized content that is continually relevant and stays ‘fresh’ for readers over a long period of time—as the name implies.”

Evergreen content covers fundamental material that does not change over time. It will continue to provide value to audiences for years to come. 

Because evergreen posts have a longer shelf life, businesses can allocate more resources to complement it with higher-quality, short-term posts. Moreover, they can improve their evergreen content over time, making it even more helpful for consumers.

Here are seven types of evergreen content marketing teams should consider producing: 

eBooks 

eBooks are a fantastic way to break down complex topics into digestible content that may be too much for a blog post. 

The choices of topics for an eBook are endless. Beginners’ guides help new clients in any field, and ebooks that provide the answer to industry-wide problems and struggles are a good investment. 

eBooks can help you demonstrate your expertise and stand above your competitors. Later, they might also provide an extra source of income. 

How-to Guides

Every potential customer comes to you for one reason: they have a problem that needs solving. When putting together a content marketing strategy, the purpose of your materials is to help solve these issues. Creating how-to guides is one of the easiest ways to do that. 

How-to guides can take numerous forms. We already covered eBooks, but why not launch a YouTube channel for more visual interest? Alternatively, you can create a series of infographics or short articles. 

Blog Posts 

Blog posts are one of the most common forms of content that companies put out, and for good reason. You can use your company blog to provide an almost infinite number of evergreen posts. 

However, there are hundreds of millions of blogs on the internet today. So, creators must think of unique angles to cover common material while also digging deeper to tackle problems that have not yet been widely addressed. 

To help you develop evergreen blog post ideas that will rank highly, consider consulting a third party—or outsourcing your content altogether. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Before you contact a company’s customer support team, chances are that you usually scour the internet—or their website—for the answer. 

Well, guess what? Your customers are doing the same thing! 

It’s easy to overlook frequently asked questions (FAQs) as part of your content strategy. After all, at first glance, they don’t really fit in with the idea of blog posts, whitepapers, and so on. However, you cannot discount them. If you can answer a site visitor’s question quickly and efficiently, you’ll stand out as a high-value resource.

The easiest way to showcase your FAQs is by putting them on a landing page. You can also get creative by including them at the end of each blog post you publish or dedicating a page or two to them in your eBooks. 

Case Studies 

When attracting new clients, social proof is an important factor that can sway a buyer’s decision, either way. According to statistics cited by ConversionXL, 87% of buying decisions start with an online search. 

Case studies are one way of demonstrating that you can deliver results—but they’re only the fourth most popular form of content for companies within their strategies.

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When presenting case studies, it’s essential to keep in mind your overall business objectives. What problems are you trying to solve for your customers, and how did you do that for the client you’ll produce a case study on? Include testimonials from key personnel at the company when possible. 

Podcasts 

In recent years, podcasts have grown in popularity—especially in the U.S. Edison One and Triton Digital’s 2021 Infinite Dial Survey found that 41% of people in the country aged 12 and over had listened to a podcast in the last month. That number jumped significantly from 2018 when it sat at 26%. 

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Podcasts are a great form of evergreen content, and fit in your marketing funnel well,  for several reasons: 

• They’re easy to consume on the go. 
• They allow you to use additional SMEs to add further value. 
• Hearing your voice can help create a deeper connection with your audience. 

When creating podcasts for evergreen content, discuss significant industry challenges with two or more people. Alternatively, you can consider having a single host talk about one problem in more depth. 

Glossary Pages 

Regardless of whether you’re a B2B or B2C company, there is jargon in your industry. And while you might know what the words mean, that’s not always the case for your audience. If you want to help clients better understand your terminology, creating a glossary page is a great idea. Start with the most common words and phrases, and build upon these as more make their way into the industry. 

Glossary pages are an excellent form of evergreen content because they require very little maintenance. All you need to do is add new terms and potentially remove those that are no longer used. 

Evergreen Content Is Key for a Winning Strategy

While short-term content is a critical part of content marketing, you must also have evergreen pieces. Creating content that lasts longer will help to ensure that you’ve got a base of high-quality posts available, which you can then regularly distribute through your email and social media channels.

Remember that even though evergreen content lasts longer, you’ll still need to update your posts regularly. This can include making tweaks to the content, removing outdated information, and replacing old links with new ones. 

By considering the types of evergreen content listed in this piece and keeping them updated, you’ll provide tons of value to your customers in the long run.

If you’re interested to see how Opensense can help you improve your content marketing workflow, contact an expert today. 

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