7 great content marketing examples to help inspire your team

Twenty percent of businesses—including small businesses, restaurants, and storefronts—fail within their first two years. Sixty-five percent fail within their first ten years. Why do so many companies fail? One big reason has to do with an unsuccessful content marketing strategy. Without a good one, the likelihood of failure goes way up.

Fortunately, we can look to various companies, brands, and organizations that have used excellent content marketing to move forward toward success. By studying what they’ve done and implementing their strategies in your own way, your company can also benefit from the power of a great content marketing strategy.

NEIL PATEL’S BLOG

If you’ve ever searched Google for marketing advice, then you’ve likely seen Neil Patel’s blogs pop up in the search results. But why do his blogs stand out as some of the best?

Patel’s blogs about marketing go further than just words and usually include charts, graphs, statistics, and personal stories. Recently, Patel has begun incorporating videography—the latest marketing trend—into his blog posts. Combining numbers and personal anecdotes is a very effective way to get through to people, while incorporating more videos on his blog helps him reach a wider audience. Additionally, Patel habitually replies to comments from people who visit his site. The reputation he has built keeps his readers coming back.

So, what does this mean for your team? Staying engaged with your community is essential, especially when building a reputation for your brand.

DUOLINGO’S TIKTOK ACCOUNT

With more than a billion people on TikTok, leaving this social media app out of your digital marketing strategy means ignoring a seventh of the entire world! It seems silly to do, and Duolingo knows it.

Instead of continuously posting serious content about their language-learning products, Duolingo posts content that works for their target audience—it makes people laugh, it makes it personal, and it gets people interested. Although not all content may be about what Duolingo sells, once their audience is interested, they could become potential customers.

ZIPRECRUITER’S PODCAST 

If your business has been thinking about starting a podcast, it’s a great time to do so. Podcasts represent one of the newest forms of digital marketing, and brands are really starting to gravitate toward them.

Compared to creating and editing a video post, podcasts can be put together relatively quickly. Of course, a podcast should be about more than just you and your business; guests and other speakers should be featured on the podcast to keep people engaged and interested.

ZipRecruiter’s excellent podcast provides motivation and inspiration, and regularly features discussions with prominent guests related to ZipRecruiter’s niche of hiring and job searching.

If you decide a podcast would benefit your business and brand, the first step is to follow ZipRecruiter’s lead and determine your niche.

STARBUCKS’ INSTAGRAM 

Whatever type of digital marketing you plan to do, you simply cannot leave out Instagram’s 2 billion monthly users.

Brands like Starbucks have long been using the popular social media platform to generate leads—however, they aren’t just posting pics of coffee and bakery items. One of Starbucks’ most recent campaigns was #ExtraShotOfPride, featuring baristas and other employees going through their personal LGBTQ+ journeys. This inclusivity and unique content marketing technique quickly caught people’s attention—and increased attention means increased business.

Taking the time to come up with exciting ideas and campaigns is a great way to stand out on social media, especially if you are willing to dip into the realm of politics and social issues.

DOVE’S USER-GENERATED CONTENT

One of marketing’s biggest current trends is user-generated content submitted through Instagram. Mastered by Dove, user-generated content is photos and video stories individuals using your product or service submit via a specific hashtag for a chance to be featured on your company’s account.

Besides being completely free, user-generated content has one significant benefit: it’s genuine. The overly curated photos we see on websites, clothing brands, TV, and every other digital outlet have become too much. We know it isn’t portraying reality. As a company, showing real people who are genuinely pleased with your product or service sends a powerful message.

WAYFAIR’S #WAYFAIRATHOME CAMPAIGN 

Much like Dove’s user-generated content, Wayfair’s campaign of #WayfairAtHome uses photos that users post of their homes featuring products they purchased on Wayfair. By participating in #WayfairAtHome, Wayfair customers promote Wayfair’s products to all their followers and potential customers—at no cost to Wayfair! As people see real-life examples of the products, they are more likely to buy them.

LINKEDIN’S VISUAL MARKETING 

Imagine if everything you saw on a website was text. You’d likely navigate away from that page pretty quickly. That’s why visual marketing has recently shot to the forefront of content marketing.

LinkedIn is just one company using visual marketing to promote their site on social media platforms like Twitter. But instead of using just one type of visual, they incorporate multiple visuals to attract attention. From featured images on blogs to illustrations and infographics, LinkedIn uses visuals on almost every post. The fact that LinkedIn’s posts are so interesting to look at helps to explain why the company has a respectable 1.5 million Twitter followers and counting.

If you plan to use visuals in your content marketing techniques, mix it up a bit on each post!

Whether you focus on video marketing like LinkedIn, a podcast like ZipRecruiter, or an interactive hashtag like Wayfair, a quality and thought-provoking content media strategy is sure to pay off.

Founder and CEO of FiveChannels, specializing in creating brand awareness, traffic and lead gen, marketing funnels, social media and more.