In today’s digital age, creative content marketing has become crucial to any successful marketing strategy. It involves creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience. Through content marketing, businesses can establish themselves as thought leaders in their industry, build brand awareness, and ultimately drive sales.
There’s just one problem: creative content marketing can be challenging work. If you’re running content marketing campaigns day in, day out, it can be difficult to consistently come up with new ideas and keep the momentum going. That’s why we’ve written this article. From blogging and social media to video and visual marketing, we’ve got a great collection of B2C and B2B content marketing examples to inspire you.
What is Content Marketing?
Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach that focuses on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and engaging content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action. The key word here is “valuable.”
Benefits of Content Marketing
- Establishes brand credibility and authority in the market.
- Builds relationships with customers and prospects by providing them with useful information.
- Increases brand awareness and visibility to a wider audience that eventually grows your business.
- Generates leads and sales by driving traffic to your website.
- Improves search engine rankings by using keywords and providing high-quality content.
Interactive Content Marketing Examples
Canva's Design Challenge Campaign
Canva’s well-known graphic design platform makes content creation easier for businesses, influencers, and creators everywhere. In 2022, it launched an ongoing weekly contest for users to win some sweet prizes, like a paid annual membership to Canva. The #CanvaDesignChallenge calls for unique, original, and sometimes “out there” images. A Canva staff panel judges submissions. Then, they choose their top five at the end of the week.
Sisters from AARP
The Sisters of AARP won a Content Marketing Award for its exceptional content covering a broad set of topics and an established style and voice. There is much to learn from this outstanding achievement and what it took to create Sisters from AARP. Content Marketing Institute’s article gives more information about this community.
Our Top Takeaway: Make sure your voice is friendly and approachable. The Sisters from AARP is authentic, shareable, and social, almost as if you were ordering your next mimosa during a girl’s day out.
Bombas and Brass Queens NYC
One of the best ways to engage your audience is by telling stories. Bombas, a sock company, partnered with Brass Queens NYC, a dance group, to tell the story of how Bombas socks helped the dancers perform better. The result was a powerful video that showcased the product in action while also highlighting the dancers’ talent.
Video Content Marketing Examples
Slack's Customer Stories
The storytelling approach is an informal, warm way to show how Slack’s product has helped its customers. Our lives revolve around storytelling, making it a compelling form of content marketing. When creating your next content marketing piece, try incorporating more relatable storytelling to better connect with customers.
Tony Awards Behind the Scenes
The Tony Awards is a prestigious event in the theater industry that attracts a wide audience. To capitalize on this opportunity, IBM partnered with the Tony Awards to provide behind-the-scenes content. The company took people behind the scenes at the Tony Awards, showing exclusive content on YouTube and Twitter. That resulted in 3.7 million Twitter impressions, increased Facebook reach, and beating their goals for YouTube goals by 115%.
Social Media Content Marketing Examples
Spotify Wrapped Playlists
Spotify Wrapped is an annual feature that summarizes users’ listening habits over the past year. It’s become so popular that people eagerly await its release. Spotify takes advantage of this excitement by creating personalized playlists for each user based on their listening habits. This not only engages users but also encourages them to share their playlists on social media, which increases brand awareness.
Charmin’s Sit or Squat App
This content marketing example from Charmin is perfect for its customers. The brand’s always had a sense of humor in its TV ads, and that’s carried through to the Sit or Squat app. This app helps users find clean public restrooms nearby, and it’s a fun way for Charmin to engage with their audience while providing a useful service.
Girl with the Dogs YouTube Channel
Using a YouTube channel to showcase your expertise can be an effective content marketing strategy. Girl with the Dogs is a perfect example, as it features a professional dog groomer who shares tips, tricks, and tutorials on grooming different dog breeds. This not only helps dog owners but also positions the creator as an expert in her field.
The Washington Post's TikTok
News organizations are always looking for ways to reach new audiences, and The Washington Post has found success on TikTok. Their entertaining videos provide a behind-the-scenes look at the newsroom while also delivering important news updates. This creative approach to content marketing has helped The Washington Post grow its follower count and increase engagement on the platform.
B2B Content Marketing Examples
Simply Business Customer Education Guides
One of the best B2B content marketing examples is from Simply Business, a UK insurance firm known for producing valuable tips and guides. It’s yet another example showing that so-called “boring sectors” can still wow their audience. Their customer education guides have attracted thousands of links and shares, as well as raised their profile.
Moz's Topic Clusters
Moz, a software company that specializes in search engine optimization (SEO) content writing, uses topic clusters to organize its content. This approach groups related articles together, making it easier for users to find the information they need. It also helps improve SEO by creating a strong internal linking structure. Moz’s use of topic clusters is a great example of how to create an organized and user-friendly content hub.
Townsend Security's Content Offer
Townsend Security, a data security company, created a comprehensive guide on encryption key management to attract potential customers. By offering valuable and in-depth information on a complex topic, the company established itself as a thought leader in theindustry and generated leads for its products and services.
B2C Content Marketing Examples
Superdrug's Photoshop Beauty Norms Campaign
Superdrug wanted to raise awareness around body image issues. To do this, the company asked 18 graphic designers around the world to edit a photo of a model in Photoshop to bring it in line with their own country’s beauty norms. The company published the results on Buzzfeed and Huffington Post, resulting in international news coverage, placements with major publications like the New York Times, The Telegraph, and Business Insider, and celebrity endorsements of the campaign.
Chewy's Educational YouTube Channel
Chewy, an online pet supply retailer, uses its YouTube channel to provide educational content for pet owners. Their videos cover a wide range of topics, from grooming tips to pet nutrition. By offering valuable information that helps pet owners care for their furry friends, Chewy builds trust with its audience and positions itself as a go-to source for pet care advice.
Warby Parker Email Marketing
Emailmarketing is a powerful tool for keeping your audience engaged, and Warby Parker, an eyewear retailer, knows how to use it effectively. Their emails are visually appealing, filled with valuable content, and perfectly tailored to their target audience. By consistently delivering high-quality content through email, Warby Parker keeps its customers engaged and encourages them to make repeat purchases.
Ebook Content Marketing Examples
Mailshakes' Marketing Automation
Mailshake, an email outreach tool, created a comprehensive eBook on marketing automation to attract potential customers. By offering valuable and in-depth information on a complex topic, the company established itself as a thought leader in the industry and generated leads for its products and services.
Colgate's Resource Page
Colgate, a leading oral care brand, created a resource page filled with informative articles and videos on dental health. This content hub not only educates people about the importance of good oral hygiene but also positions Colgate as a trusted source of information in the industry.
UN Refugee Agency's Podcast
TheUN Refugee Agency produced a podcast series called "Awake at Night" that shares the personal stories of people working on the frontlines of the global refugee crisis. This engaging and emotional content helps raise awareness about the challenges faced by refugees and humanitarian workers, while also showcasing the agency's work and dedication to the cause.
Creative Content Marketing Examples
Canva's Design School
Canva’s Design School is an online resource hub that offers free design courses, tutorials, and articles for anyone interested in improving their design skills. This valuable content not only helps users get the most out of Canva's platform but also establishes the company as an authority in the design space.
Hairstylist Theresa Van Dam's TikTok
Theresa Van Dam, a hairstylist, uses her TikTok account to share hair care tips, styling tutorials, and product recommendations with her audience. Her creative and informative videos have amassed a large following, showcasing her expertise and helping her grow her personal brand.
You Suck at Cooking
You Suck at Cooking is a YouTube channel that offers a humorous take on cooking tutorials. The creator combines comedy with easy-to-follow recipes, making the content both entertaining and informative for viewers. This unique approach to content marketing has helped the channel garner millions of subscribers and become a fan favorite.
Conclusion
These 20 content marketing examples should provide you with plenty of inspiration for your next campaign. Whether you're creating blog posts, videos, social media content, or eBooks, remember the key to successful content marketing is providing valuable, relevant, and consistent information to your audience. Keep experimenting with different formats and styles to find what works best for your brand, and don't be afraid to try new things. Happy content creating!