8 Impressive Content Marketing Examples You Can Use Today
Today content marketing has its own and very wide niche. This industry has seen the emergence of both trendsetting companies and firms that simply follow the general trends. In our article, we will give 8 impressive content marketing examples you can use today.
The Furrow
American agricultural equipment manufacturer John Deere started content marketing when it was not yet mainstream. The first issue of his magazine The Furrow was published back in 1895 (on paper, of course). The publication told farmers about the latest achievements of the agricultural industry and gave them useful advice, only occasionally mentioning John Deere products.
It is a tactic The Furrow follows to this day. On the magazine’s website, you can read articles from the paper version. There is, for example, a story about the life of hereditary farmers from Louisiana, an article about the work of a vertical farm in Cincinnati, and a report from Georgia about the life of local cattle farmers.
There are still very few mentions of John Deere. And this is a conscious and principled position. “We do not talk about ourselves in the editorial space of the magazine. We take believability very seriously. We know that a reputation that has taken 175 years to build up would only take a fraction of that time to tear down” says magazine editor David Jones.
Today, John Deere publishes several magazines on topics ranging from logging to shipping. The Furrow is published in several languages. There is also a podcast On Life & Land and a strictly corporate The John Deer Journal.
The Orange Dot
Headspace is a meditation app. And the first thing that catches your eye when you look at its blog, called The Orange Dot, is a soothing color scheme and an abundance of smiles in the author’s illustrations. The design of the website is fully in line with the company’s mission to “make the world a healthier and happier place”.
On its blog, Headspace publishes articles on mental health, meditation, sports, and work. For example, you can find advice on how to cope with financial stress or how to meditate before exams.
This blog serves two audiences at once. Existing customers will find additional content here to help them discover the full functionality of the app. But the main task of the blog is still to convert new visitors into subscribers to the app. To do this, the articles embed a giant but lamplight banner with an appeal to try the app for free.
Essaywritingservice
Paper writing service Essaywritingservice has chosen to target its blog to those who already study at colleagues or school. On the blog, you can find an article on how to boost motivation in the middle of the fall semester or a tutorial on how to be a good roommate. There are lots of helpful tips and stories about successful students.
On its blog, Essaywritingservice is not shy about advertising itself and promoting its services. It also pays a lot of attention to internal linking. The posts contain many links to other publications on the blog or website pages. The blog performs many tasks – it generates leads, engages the target audience, and builds trust with them.
Into The Gloss
This is one of those rare cases where the content came before the company itself. The American cosmetics blog Into the Gloss was launched in 2010 and became very popular. When the audience began to number in the millions, the founder of the project Emily Weiss decided to create her own cosmetics brand called Glossier.
The company is still working heavily on content today. What’s more, Weiss herself tends to refer to Glossier as a content company. “Sure, we could be like a lot of consumer brands that start blogs after they start their business. But in our case, I think Glossier is still very much a content company. I think about our products themselves as pieces of content.” says the founder.
Most of the texts on the blog talk about how to choose cosmetics and how to use them correctly. But there are also lifestyle articles in which, for example, argue about the best time to take a shower. The main task of the blog – to increase recognition of the company and demonstrate its expert level. But we can’t do without lead generation either: Glossier products are unobtrusively included in reviews of new cosmetic products.
Zillow Porchlight
Zillow, a major American home search service that had 9.63 billion visits on their app, websites, and services, has turned its blog into a true real estate portal. It publishes a variety of content that may be of interest to all three of the company’s target audiences: realtors, owners, and buyers of apartments and houses.
For example, you can find tips for those thinking about moving in the midst of a coronavirus pandemic or detailed instructions with pictures on how to install a kitchen faucet. Zillow takes content production very seriously.
The blog has at least two main tasks. It attracts new audiences to the company’s website and improves its position in search results. In addition, the publications embed a widget that can be used to quickly go to the Zillow house search.
Buffer
Buffer, a service for planning and analyzing publications in social networks, is not only successfully engaged in content marketing itself, but also writes a lot about it. The company has a blog called Resources, which gives useful advice on SMM, e-commerce, and video creation. The content is really interesting and in demand for professionals. For example, you can find a selection of the best Instagram stories for 2021 or tips on how to sell products on Pinterest.
Blog posts are well indexed by search engines and attract a huge audience (Buffer had 3.54 million visits in October 2021). Traffic is gently and unobtrusively redirected to the company’s products with links and buttons embedded in the text calling for a free demo.
And Buffer also has its podcast, hilariously named Breaking Brand. Listeners are invited to learn about the inner workings of the startup Pattern Brands. Its founders used to help build brands for others, and now they’ve decided to try doing the same for themselves.
The Cleanest Line
The legendary American outdoor clothing brand Patagonia is widely known for its environmental campaigns. The theme of environmental care takes a big place in the company’s blog called The Cleanest Line. There’s a whole section called Activism, where they write about how important it is to save the salmon population or how you can save the planet from the comfort of your own home. Many publications are also dedicated to the topic of extreme sports.
The visual side of The Cleanest Line deserves special mention. The blog has a lot of spectacular photos of gigantic size and a constantly updated section with very beautiful videos.
The brand usually doesn’t mention its products in any way, nor does it seek to sell them with content. Rather, the purpose of the blog is to maintain Patagonia’s reputation as a company that cares about environmental issues.
“Our content is not about pushing sales”, says Patagonia creative director Bill Boland. The brand promotes its products in quite ingenious ways. For example, in 2011, it urged people not to succumb to consumerism mania, because it takes a lot of natural resources to produce each piece of clothing. The publication was illustrated with a photo of a Patagonia jacket and titled “Don’t Buy That Jacket”. As a result, the brand’s sales skyrocketed by almost a third in the first 9 months after that article.
Etsy Journal
The American marketplace Etsy specializes in vintage and handmade items. Not surprisingly, its blog is full of useful tips for “geeky hands” and other DIY enthusiasts. On the blog, you’ll find instructions on how to make all sorts of things.
The main “feature” of Etsy Journal is user-generated content. Articles by artists are published in a special Featured Shops section. After reading each of these publications, you can click on a link to the marketplace and buy something you like.
Etsy pays a lot of attention to internal linking. The posts contain many links to other publications on the blog or marketplace pages. The blog performs many tasks – it generates leads, engages the target audience, and builds trust with them.
Conclusion
The use of content marketing, whether you just outsource your content marketing or not, allows brands to build a powerful community around themselves. Often the blog is used for direct lead generation. For this purpose, banners leading to the company’s products are embedded in the publications.
Emma Lee
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- 8 Impressive Content Marketing Examples You Can Use Today - December 16, 2021
