While traffic to your site does not always guarantee sales, the more good backlinks you get, the more improved your page rank is on organic searches. That in itself is valuable. The other value to backlinks is that, if the content, products, or services are valuable to the visitor, that visitor will share you with his/her community, creating even more backlinks. That snowball can become an avalanche.
The question is this: What kind of content can you produce that will cause readers/viewers to link to you in high numbers? Furthermore, where will you place the content so that it will be seen and read? If no one finds it, no one is going to link to your site. Here are four types of content that will engage viewers and suggestions for where you might place promotion of that content to get the maximum chance for viewing and backlinks.

 1. Stories
People love stories, especially if they are humorous, poignant, or inspirational. Think about it. When you are on Facebook, how many times do you click to read stories about people who have overcome great odds, who have done something amazing, who are just hilarious?
Your website does not just have to contain content that is only related to your products or services or even to your industry niche. If you can find stories of customers like this, then of course these are the best.
So, post the beginning of a story on Facebook with a link to the full story on your site. Post a picture with a teaser to that story on Twitter or Instagram.

 2. Offer lists of keen interest

Lists are still one of the most popular types of content. If you can devise lots of them related to your niche, you will generate backlinks galore.
If you are a clothing retailer, how about promoting a list such as:
• 11 items that will let you dress and look different for 30 days

• 5 ways to make the same dress look different for every type of occasion

• 7 accessories that will add bling to a dull outfit

If you promote these lists on social media, you’ll have not only backlinks from those who read it originally but backlinks from all of their shares as well.
The key for this kind of content is that it has to be really valuable. Never drive traffic to content on your site that will disappoint. You’ll lose everyone who came who will now think of you as a bit of a fraud.
Other than social media, you want backlinks from trusted sources – these are seen as very valuable by search engines. Work hard to develop a reputation for good content, court relationships with owners of businesses related to your niche, and try to set up reciprocal arrangements for posting each other’s content or putting in links to each other’s content in your own content.

 3. Guides

Guides are a big draw if they are absolutely terrific. Don’t create one and promote it if it is not. Guides are appropriate for almost any type of business. If I were that clothing retailer, I would create an ultimate style guide based upon careers, social life, age, etc.
If I owned an interior decorating business, I would have several ultimate guides to all types of decorating; if I operated a freelance writing business, I would put out definitive guides on every type of writing that a freelancer might do.
It takes lots of time and expertise to create a guide that is valuable. And it has to be beautifully designed. You may spend months crafting one and it needs to have detail and actionable advice.
You should promote your guide on Reddit. Beyond that, email every blogger you know in a related (not directly competitive) niche and request promotion. Get on forums and participate in discussions, mention your guide and provide a link to get it. Use the right social media platforms – an interior design guide is perfect for Pinterest, for example. Get on Quora and search for questions related to the topic of your guide – be the expert and offer your guide.

 4. Support a cause

Most of us have a key cause that we fight for, such as animal rights, the environment or plight of individuals in poverty, to name just a few. Promote that cause on all of your social media, on your website and blog about it.
Participate in events, offer to donate to the cause for every purchase made. Not only will you be supporting a cause you love, you will be getting others to do so too. This is one of the best content marketing strategies you can use, because it appeals to people’s emotions – everyone with a heart and some sensitivity can be engaged in your cause, if you promote it often and well.
Use all of your social media platforms. If the charity has a local, regional or national organisation, go to them and offer to write blog posts on their site. Their supporters will link to you when they are ready to buy. If you want to see a great example of promoting a cause, check out Tom’s Shoes site, Facebook Page, Twitter and Instagram accounts.

 Additional content types

There are a number of other content types that businesses find effective – infographics, contests (only if you offer very valuable prizes, white papers that hold all kinds of stats that your readers want and need, videos to tell stories (e.g. Dollar Shave Club – go watch it – millions of links so far), or original apps and tools that your customers will want to use. Some of these can be a bit expensive to produce well, so choose what your budget can afford right now. You can always scale as you grow.