Whether you're searching the Internet for fitness advice, the best restaurants in your area, marketing tips for your business, or historical facts about the city you live in, you are more likely to click on a list that neatly provides you information than a long article.

List articles have become increasingly popular over the last several years. Entire websites are dedicated to content of this nature, and although often associated with entertainment, these pieces are also incredibly valuable marketing tools.  Publishing 'Top 5′ articles is a great way to spice up your content marketing calendar.

Here are five reasons why:

1.) Variety:

These pieces can be about anything; ranging from specific tips and advice about your business, to interesting facts and knowledge from your industry. This allows room for creativity and makes you a leader in your field.

2.) Concise:

Lists deliver information with clarity and are easy to scan. If you are a business that specializes in a particular area of service, provides unique products, or has a distinctive knowledge of a subject, these articles are the perfect way to deliver your message with precision.

3.) Accessible:

These articles appeal to everyone. Men and women of all ages and demographics can read the summarizing lists and gain value from your content. That accessibility means that it can be applied to a number of audiences and reach customers who may have normally been outside of your scope.

4.) Creativity:

These articles present the opportunity to enrich your content marketing with multimedia, allowing you to craft engaging and unique pieces. Your lists are not limited to text; they can be pictures, video, '.gifs', and more. Multimedia rich content will drastically improve your SEO, as well as appeal to a wider audience.

5.) Effectiveness:

These articles attract readers. The fact that you are reading this article now proves this point. They are engaging and provide digestible facts about virtually anything pertaining to your business. List articles can be applied both directly and indirectly to your business, making them extremely effective for building your online presence.

Keep these top five tips in mind next time you're planning your content marketing calendar and trying to brainstorm effective content ideas for your next blog post or whitepaper.

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