52+ Content Marketing Samples

Found below is a collection of plans, strategies, and other references for your content marketing needs.

What Is Content Marketing?

It’s easy to see why people associate content marketing with blogs, videos, status updates, and tweets, especially when this form of marketing has become more apparent on the World Wide Web. But what many seem to forget is how content marketing is about storytelling, and as humans, stories have allowed us to connect with people in ways we never would have imagined.

In the simplest words, content marketing is defined as a strategic marketing approach centered on creating and distributing valuable content in order to attract and retain an audience. This enables the business to drive profitable customer response to increase sales and secure an established market. Many leading brands use content marketing to communicate with people from around the globe. It’s the present—and future—of marketing in this competitive business environment.

Here are five examples of content marketing that you’re likely familiar with.

Infographics: These are graphic visual representations of data intended to convey information clearly and creatively. It’s a good alternative to using long paragraphs to relay your ideas to readers. Professionally designed infographics prove to be effective when they are passed around social media and posted on websites for several years. Strategizing, planning, researching, copywriting, and designing the visuals are the key steps involved in the process of making an infographic that’s worth the attention.Webpages: There’s a difference between a normal webpage and a webpage built by content marketing. The secret is to create content that will urge people to come back for more. This requires you to put more effort into the way you design the contents of your webpage. It must be relevant and consistent to attract and connect with a defined audience. Podcasts: While this may seem daunting to most marketers, you’d be surprised by what a podcast can bring to the table. Many authors and businessmen create podcasts to make themselves visible in a relatively different world. By gaining exposure through podcasts, you can draw attention to your business, products, and services for people to be aware of your existence. This also allows you to demonstrate your expertise with every bit of information you share. Videos: You might have noticed how videos have become increasingly popular in digital media in recent years. Viral videos on social media networks such as Facebook and YouTube have helped many vloggers, influencers, and other creative personalities build an empire for their brand. These videos are designed to educate or entertain viewers on a matter of interest. But with the number of videos being posted online at every second, finding a way to stand out is a job that requires careful market research and strategic planning. Books: Not many people seem to know that books can be a great marketing tool. A lot of entrepreneurs and speakers have made a name for themselves in the industry simply by selling books to build their image. Although you can’t expect a high number of reads for your first publication, the book can already add to your credibility by showcasing your skills in writing and your knowledge in the craft. You might even entice readers to check out your services for better brand recognition.

Four Major Purposes of Content Marketing

Have you ever wondered whether your content really does appeal to your audience? After spending all your time and effort planning and implementing these programs, are they even keeping a close watch on your brand?

Driving customers to a path that leads them to purchase your product is not an easy journey. Content marketing offers many benefits to businesses that try to create content which aims to entertain, inspire, educate, and convince readers. To better understand these concepts, take a look at the points below.

Entertain

Not only can good content attract and entertain customers, but it can also evoke an emotional response that will urge them to take action. The key is to design an emotionally charged campaign that can tug on the heartstrings of its audience. Many government-funded agencies and nonprofit organizations bring awareness to their campaigns by depicting real-life scenarios that are worth sharing. It can be as happy or as sad as you want it to be, as long as it generates the desired reaction from viewers. This creates a personal level of intimacy that will leave people pondering for some time.

Inspire

Inspiring content can be pretty tricky to make, especially when you want to connect with your audience on an emotional level. Celebrity endorsements, red carpet events, blockbuster ratings, customers reviews, and the like all aim to lead your audience to make a purchasing decision in your favor. Several platforms and technologies have even helped companies save thousands in content marketing costs by covering a wider scope of people on different media. This allows you to generate better impressions for each of your marketing campaigns.

Educate

Educational content is usually more rational than it is emotional. It provides information that may resolve the challenges that customers face in a way that they could easily grasp. Creativity plays a vital role in keeping your audience engaged in every bit of detail you deliver. For instance, content that aims to educate the general public about what an environmental foundation does can gain a better response rate through an animated video. The content of the video should highlight the cause that you are fighting for as it caters to viewers of all ages.

Convince

The primary goal of persuasive content is to turn prospects into actual customers. Facts and figures are presented to convince customers that what you’re saying is supported by credible data. Capturing the attention of your audience is probably the easiest step of the process, considering how there’s nothing simple about trying to dismiss someone’s doubts. In an attempt to address the rational interests of consumers, you can use infographics, video content, and case studies to demonstrate your points.

How to Create an Effective Content Marketing Plan

All too often, content marketers make the mistake of diving into a campaign without building a strong foundation for their strategies. This will only cause them to lose their focus and drift away from the path they were supposed to follow in order to obtain the desired outcome.

If you’re new to the game, these tips will help you make a winning plan for content marketing success.

1Do your research. There’s a lot to discover on the Internet. Social media, message boards, review sites, and blogs are a good source of information to find out what your customers are talking about. When you take the time to listen to what others have to say, you can see which topics are trending and getting the most attention from your audience. This will help you set the right tone for the content you produce. 2Collaborate on ideas. As much as you want to embark on an independent journey of content marketing discovery, you don’t really have to do everything on your own. Brainstorming with other members of a team will help you generate amazing ideas and content to share. Keeping everyone involved in the creation process is a great way to develop a marketing plan that the entire team can agree on. This will put you on the right track, keep you productive, and give your team a clear direction to follow. 3Design content for different channels. It’s always good to have strategies in place for every channel or format you decide to use. Each of these channels and formats should be handled according to their own strengths and limitations. Social media posts and videos can have an easy hook for viewers to remember, while shorter-form content can benefit from a quick takeaway that customers may grasp from a glance. It’s important to understand how each of these types functions prior to executing your ideas. 4Delegate tasks to members of the team. One way to ensure that tasks are delivered quickly and effectively is to make sure that everyone knows what is expected of them. You may want to consider using a content calendar to keep your plans on schedule. It’s easier to manage what your members are doing if you hold them accountable for their actions. By keeping your content team in sync, you can locate and resolve gaps and errors before they get any worse. 5Expect the unexpected. Even the best plans can go wrong due to an unexpected turn of events. Unforeseen circumstances are every marketer’s greatest fear, but they’re not something you can completely avoid at any chance. When things don’t go the way you hoped they would, you need to have another game plan to fall back to. Anything can happen in today’s ever-changing landscape, so you need to be flexible enough to adjust to the changes that come your way.

The list of reasons to do content marketing for your business has no end. If you want to succeed in the industry you are in, you can only grow if you learn to invest in proper content marketing. It’s a thorough process that’s bound to produce favorable results in the years to come.