10 Killer Content Marketing Examples To Inspire You

These days, the difference between garnering leads, boosting engagements and improving your bottom line, and having a crappy turnout all lies in content marketing. You may have probably heard about it but have not been paying attention to it as you should.  In fact, the benefits of content marketing for your business are too hard to ignore. It’s an effective tool for building awareness about your product or service with long-term effects.  One of the unique aspects of this tool is that there are several content marketing examples to learn from. We’ve learned that content marketing comes in different types. But have you seen them incorporated upfront?  This article explores some of the best content marketing examples that are bound to inspire you to incorporate into your business. Check them out: 

1. Canva’s Design School 

Another notable content marketing example is seen in the popular online graphic design platform, Canva. This platform was launched to help people design professional visual content from downloadable templates for personal and social media pages.  Now, Canva has newly launched a Design School for people who want to improve their graphic design skills. And what’s more? You don’t have to pay for a degree. What makes this interactive content marketing fascinating is that it teaches people graphic design tips and tricks and how immersive the platform is.  Some of the courses offered on the platform have garnered 50K+ students. And what’s more? These students can encourage their friends seeking a career in graphic design to sign-up for the platform.

2. TED Campaigns

TED is one of the leading platforms that connect thought-provoking authors, niche experts, influencers, and even leaders to a global audience. What’s fascinating about TED’s content is that it is absolutely free – a testament that has boosted more than 22 million subscribers on their YouTube channel.  It is essential to point out that most of TED’s visual content gathers millions of views. When you begin to consider other offshoots of TED, such as TED Fellows, TEDx, TED Institute, TED-Ed, TED@Work, The Audacious Project, and TED Translators, one can easily deduce that the platform gets a lot of engagements.  TED utilizes content marketing to not create but promotes ideas that are meant to inspire the everyday person. They achieve this by bringing the very best of speakers to share their ideas to inspire a 21st Century world.  Since its inception, TED has brought some notable speakers such as Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Tim Urban, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Al Gore, Jeff Bezos, and many more. It is quickly understood that TED isn’t looking to boost SEO or brand awareness.  TED focuses on creating and publishing content that people can easily relate to and be inspired by through concise content marketing. 

3. Hertz Travel Blog

A lot of people recognize Hertz as one of the prominent car rental companies. So, what did they do to provide more value for their customers? With the aid of content marketing, they were able to create a blog.  The Hertz travel blog featured posts from international adventure seekers and travel vloggers about insightful information for leisure travelers to plan their trips. Noticeably, some of the blogs highlight Hertz’s car rental services. Most of the content on the blog reveals insider tips, instructional guides, and recommended hotspots to visit in different cities. Hertz’s blog articles feature superior storytelling to attract audiences and encourage them to seek adventure in different places. On the plus side, Hertz allowed the pieces to be shared to various social media platforms, expanding the company's reach while delivering informative guides.  Content marketing doesn’t have to be all about promoting your brand. Think about providing value for your audience, which will, in turn, generate brand awareness. 

4. Apple’s ‘Shot On an iPhone’ Campaign 

One of the fascinating benefits of content marketing is that you don’t have to crack your head to plan a strategy to penetrate the market. Tech giant, Apple, does this every time, and it’s no surprise that they remain on top.  In 2015, Apple kicked off the ‘Shot on an iPhone’ campaign that showcased photos her users shot with their smartphones. This campaign directly taps into its customer’s inclinations and creativity. It was an inspirational message that told people to create art with their iPhones as professional photographers do with their digital cameras.  A social media frenzy got people interested in buying iPhones and getting creative with their photoshoots. Apple achieved the following with this content marketing strategy: 

• Get people talking about their iPhones. 
• Inspire people to shoot amazing photographs that ended in billboards across the US. 
• Reveal the innovative camera quality of their devices. 

And it was done right. 

5. LinkedIn International Women’s Day

One of the creative ways content marketing has been deployed isn’t from the typical B2B or B2C business but from the professional social media platform, LinkedIn. According to the site, women lost up to twice as many jobs as men during the pandemic.  It was a fact that the corporate world wasn’t paying attention to. However, LinkedIn managed to pass the message while celebrating career women on International Women’s Day. The platform also encouraged its users to show their support for women by sharing the video below:

The fascinating thing about LinkedIn’s campaign is that: 

• Social media is a goldmine for addressing diversity issues
• Generate awareness about a social and/or corporate cause
• Improve your brand image in a significant way. 

6. Coca Cola’s ‘Share A Coke’ Campaign

Another famous content marketing example you already know about – well, except you’ve been living under a rock – is the Share A Coke by the multi-billion brand Coca-Cola. It took the world by surprise, and since then, nothing has remained the same.  It was a marketing gamble that paid off hugely. Coca-Cola first started to add the 150 most famous names in Australia on their bottles. It became a social frenzy that spread all over the world.  Due to the nature of the strategy, everyone started talking and ‘sharing’ Coke to their friends, on social media, and even in miniature gatherings. People visited the nearest mall or fast-food joint to order a bottle of Coke that had their names boldly printed on it and share selfies of their experience online. There are some lessons to learn from Coke’s content marketing campaign: 

Personalization

The reason why Coca-Cola’s campaign was successful was because of the way it targeted a global audience: using their names. Even non-Coke lovers wanted to share a picture with a Coke with their names on it.  This is what content marketing is all about; getting your customers to engage with your product beneficially on both ends. Coke was able to make people feel unique about themselves and improve their profits as a result. A win-win situation. The exciting thing about this is that compelling research shows that 74% of marketers know that personalization boosts customer engagement. However, only 19% of them implement it.  

Non-Focus On Bottom Line

Another content marketing lesson from the ‘Share A Coke’ campaign is that the focus wasn’t on tracking conversions or any other sales metrics. It was simply about creating happiness by making everyone feel unique about themselves.  Thus, this indirect sales marketing is one of the core values of content marketing. See your customers as people just like you – with emotions. Create content marketing campaigns that will build that emotional connection with them, and automatic patronage comes naturally.

7. Burger King’s Shoutout to Other Brands 

Burger King ventured to do something other brands wouldn’t even attempt in the height of the pandemic with governmental lockdown protocols in place. It penned an emotional message on their Twitter feed, encouraging her customers to patronize other food chains, particularly McDonald’s. 

Here is the tweet: https://twitter.com/burgerkinguk/status/1323246831686606851

Everyone in the food industry knows there’s a longstanding rivalry between Burger King and McDonald’s since their creation in the ’50s. However, this bold move from Burger King made customers and critics perceive them in a different light.  Asking people to support other businesses may not be a good marketing strategy from the administrative point of view. Regardless, this gesture reveals that brands have a human side beyond AI, metrics, data, and everything else.  The post generated more than 160K+ likes, resonating with the public in a great way. 

8. Spotify’s ‘Wrapped’ Campaign

Music streaming platforms aren’t bystanders when incorporating content marketing in their strategies to boost awareness. Back in 2017, Spotify launched ‘Wrapped’ – a user data-driven campaign.  The creative team of the platform curated users’ data to find a pattern to their music streaming behavior. From the results they got, Spotify created a series of fun stats that are not only pleasing but shareable.  As soon as users began to share their slides, more and more people became aware of the app and were eager to join the train. By December 2020, installations and signups for the app increased by 21%.  This creative move by Spotify shows that content marketing doesn’t have to be necessarily expensive to become a worldwide success. All you have to do is understand your audience's needs and see how you can use available resources to pull it off. 

9. Indeed’s ‘New Beginning’ Commercial

Content marketing doesn’t have to be about promoting brand awareness. Sometimes, it addresses the heart and soul of societal issues and how it affects the corporate/B2B industry.  For instance, Indeed’s ‘New Beginning’ commercial sheds light on some of the crises the LGBTQ+ community face. It also promises customers that Indeed is a platform they can count on during their own recruitment process. 

We are introduced to Taylor – a gender non-conformist candidate preparing for an upcoming job interview. ‘They’ try on interviews, go through their lines, and wait patiently in the lobby of the interviewer’s office.  The interviewer asks Taylor if they would be comfortable in talking about the pronouns they want to use. Taylor suggests the “they/them pronouns, thanks the interviewer, with a beaming smile.  This commercial by Indeed approaches a sensitive subject with clarity of purpose. Inclusiveness in the workplace remains a topic that needs redress. Indeed’s direct contributions to that effect – by deploying effective content marketing – shed light on the matter while positioning itself as an inclusive brand. 

10. Amazon’s Garage Delivery Service 

Perception is everything to a business. Multibillion-dollar brand, Amazon, understands this and ties it perfectly into their campaign. One of such content marketing campaigns allows users to provide their local drivers with a digital key to unlock their garage door to keep packages safely. 

The content marketing strategy was (still is) suitable for users who would not be at home during standard delivery hours and are concerned about property theft if their package is left exposed on the curb.  This content marketing campaign is fascinating because there has always been skepticism about giving access to strangers into homes. However, Amazon critically reviewed the behavioral patterns of their customers, using content marketing to build honesty and trust. Amazon’s content marketing campaign speaks volumes to the customers because it understands their challenges and proffers a solution that works.  

Conclusion

From the different content marketing examples mentioned above, you can see that its implementation is boundless. Whether you’re looking to tackle societal issues, provide relevant information, inspire change, or promote your brand, effective content marketing can make it happen.  It all boils down to choosing a content marketing strategy that works best for you. One common feature between these content marketing examples, regardless of their themes, is that they addressed audiences' concerns in their own way. Your marketing strategy should incorporate this, too.