Digital marketing has progressed drastically over the years, and content marketing is now seen as the top way to create long-lasting relationships with customers.
But, what is content marketing exactly, and why is it essential for your business?
Basically, content marketing is a strategy based on attracting your target audience, and turning them into returning customers through creative and unique content. In fact, according to CMI, content marketing is the most effective way to promote a business.
A strong marketing campaign is the key to increasing your ROI; but the struggle lies in finding a creative content marketing company that understand your vision and ideas for content marketing campaigns.
Generating quality content on a daily basis can be a tough job; it has been observed that 65% companies find it challenging to produce engaging content, while 60% find it difficult to generate content consistently.
If you also feel like you are out of ideas for your content marketing campaigns, we are here to help you. Here is a list of clever content marketing ideas that will inspire you, and help you catch the attention of your prospects.
Blogging Examples
Blogging is where most companies begin their content marketing journey. It has been observed that B2B marketers who use blogs generate 67% more leads than those who do not.
Here are a few brands that are making the right use of blogging to increase their social media rankings.
1. Buffer
Buffer currently has 400,000 users which the company gained using a three-pronged content marketing approach. Buffer started with guest blogging on high visibility sites, and then turned its focus towards their own blogs. Simultaneously, they kept sharing their most effective content through email marketing – and today, the result is pretty evident.
2. Hubspot
Hubspot has made use of multiple content marketing strategies to gain a huge number of visitors and customers. Apart from generating views through videos on social media to direct traffic, Hubspot publishes blogs on topics that their users are concerned about. The inbound marketing giant is also constantly coming up with content upgrades like eBooks, and visual content.
3. Rip Curl
The content marketing strategy utilized by Rip Curl is amongst the best examples of creative marketing today. Rip Curl, a surfing company, has created an online publication known as “The Search.” This features photographs and stories from real surfers, which has helped them gain over 2 million followers on Facebook, and more than 100,000 YouTube subscribers.
Social Media Marketing Examples
There is no doubt in saying social media is the best platform to interact with your prospects. Publishing quality content on social media helps in raising a company’s online ranking, which in turn helps them increase their flow of leads.
It was concluded that 59% of Americans believe that customer service through social media has made it easier to get their issues with a purchase, resolved. And 71% of consumers customer who have a positive experience with a brand on social media are likely to recommend it to their friends and family.
Below are a few brands that constantly come up with unique and engaging content for their social media profiles.
1. GE
For a company that sells washer-dryers, wind turbines and jet engines, having an active and engaging social media may sound unusual – but GE has proven us wrong.
GE famously made use of influencer marketing on Instagram; they invited 6 influencers and some superfans to visit their manufacturing facility, and encouraged them to post about it online using the hashtag ‘#GEInstaWalk.’ This resulted in the company gaining 8 million views on their Instagram account, and 3k new followers, without even spending a single penny on advertisement.
2. Glossier
Glossier is the perfect example of a company with a clever content marketing strategy. They use user-generated content to promote their brand on their social media accounts. This not only lessens the load of creating content on a regular basis, but also increases audience engagement.
Glossier also displays its Instagram content on its website homepage, which further attracts customers and has helped them gain 2 million plus Instagram followers.
3. SuperDrug
To raise awareness about body image issues, SuperDrug used a genius marketing approach. The company contacted 18 graphic designers from around the world to edit a photo of a model according to their country’s ideal beauty standards. SuperDrug then compiled, and published the edited versions of the photos on Buzzfeed and Huffington.
This case study by SuperDrug grabbed the attention of journalists from around the world, and got featured on famous publications like The New York Times. This resulted in not just more than a million social media shares, but also led to the company gaining international recognition, and celebrity endorsements.
Visual Content Marketing Examples
A picture is worth a thousand words – hence, it cannot be argued that use of images in posts can increase brand visibility and engagement. In fact, it has been observed that tweets with images have a 65% better chance of being retweeted.
Here are a few brands that have successfully used visual content marketing to promote their brand.
1. Zomato
A restaurant finding mobile app, Zomato has used a creative and entertaining approach to engage with its users. Zomato creates and posts images that convey their message in a comical manner – the use of puns and humorous images has helped Zomato gain more than a million followers on Twitter and Facebook.
2. GoPro
GoPro’s visual content is great example of quality visual marketing. A technology company can market their cameras best with high quality photographs, and that is exactly what they publish online.
Through a targeted approach, the brand posts what they know will increase customer engagement. This has helped GoPro gain a solid 7.1 million subscribers on YouTube, and 15.7 million followers on Instagram.
Video Marketing Examples
With 5 billion videos watched on YouTube every single day, the use of videos in marketing campaigns has numerous benefits.
In other words, videos play a vital role in driving traffic, increasing engagement and communicating with your target audience. . A report published by Animoto, in 2018, confirmed that 93% of marketers agree they have landed a new customer with a video on their social media.
Here are a few examples of some of the best video marketing campaigns.
1. Blendtec
How can a company that sells blenders have 875,000 plus subscribers on YouTube? Well, the answer is creative video content.
Blendtec is famous for its “Will It Blend” video series that featured their blenders. These videos did not only help them grab customer attention, but also allowed them to experience a 700% rise in sales. Overall, Blendtec managed to prove that no business is too boring if marketed right the right way.
2. JetBlue
JetBlue is one of the world’s major airlines, and it is also amongst the top companies making use of creative video content marketing strategies.
JetBlue uploads a series of videos about traveling, flying with different people, and flight etiquettes. These videos not only inspire the audience but also reflect positively on the brand and their brand’s value.
Ebooks and Resources Examples
Ebooks and resources are a great way to communicate with your leads and prospects and increase brand awareness. It was observed that 80% of users are likely to register for an e-book as opposed to registering for any other medium like Webinar.
Here is an example of a company making perfect use of this type of content marketing.
1. Simply Business
Simply Business is an insurance company based in UK. They are known for publishing useful tips, and guides about topics that will interest their target audience. Simply Business has increased its engagement and gained thousands of shares by posting comprehensive resource guides online.
