Content marketing is not an easy game to play, let alone ace.
Being the top priority for many companies across the globe today, content marketing has slowly made its way within digital marketing like never before. Nearly 76% of B2C companies now rely on content marketing to amplify their marketing strategies.
Even then, most companies around the world admit that their content marketing strategy does not fulfill their goals and objectives, and only rate it as average. Considering these aspects, there is no doubt that content marketing requires strong efforts guided in the right direction. Many brands get it right on their own, but some might understandably require an SEO agency to back their efforts and steer them the right way.
And while some brands do get the formula wrong, some get it right putting them at the top of their game. Here are a few that are making a difference:
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#1 Orbit Media
Many know Orbit Media as just another web design and development agency. However, content marketing savants would truly appreciate the campaigns and initiatives the company has carried out over the years.
By conducting original research, by publishing highly comprehensive guides, Orbit Media has been setting up a steady online presence through their content. The company also sends surveys to domain experts and presents the collected data in the form of attractive graphics, which also contributes to their strategy through Image SEO.
Orbit Media also actively bolsters relationships with real individuals and agencies, which leads to features on interviews and podcasts — another great way to build links and authority.
#2 HubSpot
HubSpot is undeniably one of the most authoritative companies in the field of digital marketing and content marketing. Hubspot not only provides a free growth hacking tool that every company can use, but it has also built a strong reputation on the basis of blog articles that target the major issues and trends that would be informative and engaging to their readers.
HubSpot also adds content upgrades such as eBooks and guides to their blog posts, thus taking the content experience up a notch. Moreover, HubSpot offers educational materials such as courses and training programs that it promotes extensively thus taking content marketing to the next level.
Additionally, the company also uses social media to redirect traffic to its videos and other web pages.
#3 VaynerMedia
The name Gary Vee or Gary Vaynerchuk is a popular one in the field of content marketing — primarily because he has redefined the way content is produced and marketed.
His success has been shaped by his ability to adapt to new trends and social media platforms seamlessly. He drives the marketing for VaynerMedia almost by himself through his videos and social media content. He develops his videos in a TV format making them more accessible and engaging for viewers.
His content is a great example of the fact that sheer consistency and quantity of content publication can often make a huge difference in increasing your subscriber base. However, the most important quality that makes his videos work more effectively than others is the fact that he is genuine and does not filter or edit his script to please his audience.
#4 Grammarly
A cloud-based writing assistant, the Grammarly editor has an ominous presence in companies that rely on content. Since content is the business the company operates in, it comes as no surprise that their content marketing game has been carefully crafted.
Customer retention is at the top of Grammarly’s marketing priority list, as it rightly should be. After all, companies report that it costs them 5 times more to acquire a customer than retaining them. Considering this, Grammarly aims most of its blogs at helping customers make the best use of their product. Plus, recognizing the fact that most of their users are writers, Grammarly curates tips and tricks for writers.
Their email marketing strategy is a smart one, providing users with insights and details about their weekly performance. The statistics not only encourage users to write more and use Grammarly but also to consistently update their writing style and work on the suggested improvement areas.
Grammarly has also been successful in setting up a strong social media presence in networks such as Facebook, and Twitter.
#5 Spotify
Spotify has truly aced the game through its ability to personalize literally everything for its customers. From the point that customers register for the application, Spotify seeks their preferences and customizes the complete in-app experience accordingly.
From playlists to go with any occasion, to carefully curated playlists that meet your choices at any time of the day, Spotify has truly revolutionized the way people listen to music. Add to that, Spotify sends customized emails and has even created a dedicated micro-site just to celebrate every individual user and their listening history on the application.
Spotify launched ‘Wrapped’ — a brilliant campaign aimed at enthralling their active users and re-engaging their lost users. Started in December 2018, Spotify curates a throwback to the entire year by providing the user an overview of their listening habits including the albums, songs, and artists that they have listened to the most in the year, and even the podcasts that have kept them engaged. This feature has become so popular that it receives a lot of traction from celebrities and regular users alike. Take a look at this tweet by BTS:
Not only this, owing to the Wrapped feature, Spotify downloads peaked in December more than any other month yet again proving that there is no greater influence on buying behavior than FOMO.
In addition to these efforts, Spotify also engages its target demographic by providing bite-sized information on music and the industry through its blog.
#6 Buffer
Buffer is one of the most renowned and widely used social media management tools by businesses today. With more than 73,000 customers worldwide and some of the most prestigious clientele in their portfolio, Buffer drives their revenue and sales primarily through its content marketing efforts.
What’s more, the CEO of Buffer once shared that it was their guest blogging strategy that helped the brand acquire its first 100,000 customers. A simple analysis on Alexa will tell you that content marketing efforts by the company have been a valued part of their SERP performance and rankings. Take a look:
With a global rank of 1,683 in the crowded industry that it is competing in, Buffer stands out in terms of its backlinks and content on the most trending topics that its customers are likely to be seeking help about. Above all, Buffer has a lower bounce rate than the industry average, suggesting that visitors often find what they are looking for on their website.
#7 Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is one of the most reputed and valuable brands in the world today, for a key reason — efficient streamlining. The brand recently reduced its portfolio from 400 brands down to 200 simply to increase efficiency and profitability. Not only is it a bold move, but it also highlights the brand ethic that Coca-Cola follows.
Coca-Cola has been known for successful brand campaigns across the world, including some major hits such as Share a Coke, promotion on Rio Olympics 2016, and the popular Netflix show ‘Stranger Things’. The latter even contributed to Coca-Cola beating its estimate for the second quarter in 2019. All of this is due to top-notch topical content production and circulation on social media.
But the biggest takeaway from Coca-Cola’s style of content marketing is the effective use of User-Generated Content (UGC). The power of UGC has been demonstrated in the fact that more than 79% of people say that user-generated content is highly impactful on their purchasing decisions.
#8 IKEA
IKEA is a Swedish furniture brand that specializes in affordable and make-it-yourself furniture pieces. These two features propelled the brand to worldwide fame, which is only complemented by the brand’s quirky approach to content marketing.
If you want to know more, a quick look at the IKEA Ideas blog will give you a comprehensive idea of how the brand manages to integrate its products while giving customers ideas for furnishing and updating their home/office interiors. IKEA even discontinued their catalog considering their online sales increased by 45% and the website garnered 4 billion+ visits in 2020 alone.
What’s more, IKEA also steps up their content marketing game through their YouTube channel which rakes in millions of views globally. Take a look at the structured approach that IKEA takes on its YouTube channel:
IKEA also introduces innovative ways to plugin their products by providing the customer a unique experience on their website. Such experiences are often heavy on images and content, which also aids the company’s SEO efforts.
Key takeaways
While content marketing is a game that requires focused efforts and expert strategies, the outcome can include higher revenue, engagement, and even a leap in profitability. The brands discussed in this post have been witness to how content marketing can truly offer astronomical growth when done right. If your brand requires a similar impetus, invest in content marketing and carefully strategize your strategy till you can fetch the desired results.
