A bit of advice before you proceed:
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But if that was true, you wouldnt be reading this post right now.
And you wouldnt have read that article either.
What your audience actually doesnt want to read: mediocre posts with bland info.
The more effort you put in,the better the results.
Infographics
People cant get enough ofinfographics.
Theyre handy cheat-sheets of stats that make you seem like you know what youre talking about.
Heres one we made aboutsomeone using Typeform.
Video
Video content always makes lists of content marketing examples.
But video is not a content marketing exampleno more than writing is.
The question is: whatkindof videos you should be making?
Well look at some innovative ways to unlock the potential of video in the next section.
Ebooks
Ebooks are long, downloadable reads that go deep on a topic.
Independent research, data, an expert insights are the way to go.
Webinars
Does anyone actually watch webinars anymore?
A quick Google search of this question gets an answer of mainly yes.
But most of the results are from webinar software companies.
So who really knows?
Its a lot of hassle, and theres a high risk of embarrassment if no one tunes in.
It happened to us.
Some marketers think theyre the holy grail of content marketing.
And if you already have a big audience, the audio equipment, and hosting talentthen go for it.
But if youre an early-stage marketer, maybe hold off.
Podcasts take time and skill to pull off, and building an audience for them is not easy.
Thats the classic types of content marketing taken care of.
Now heres the list weve all been waiting for.
Sure, they wont all be right for your business.
But hopefully these ideas will inject some fresh thinking into your content marketing strategy.
Heres 7 content marketing examples youve never thought of:
Documentaries
2018 was theyear of the documentary.
Why are docs so popular right now?
Veteran documentary producerMichael Kantorhas an idea:
People are really searching for the truth right now.
They want to hear something thats not packaged for consumption and not hyped a certain way.
Michael Kantor,Documentary Producer.
This is a vital message for content marketers who want to explore the potential of video.
People dont want flashy, salesy, corporate videosthey want down-to-earth authenticity.
Documentary-style videos are relatively cheap too.
Some companies have already figured this out.
They even went all out and organized screenings instead of putting it on YouTube.
Thousands of designers came to watch ittheir exact target audience.
The trailer alone has 294k views.
That kind of brand awareness is invaluable.
Weve dabbled in documentary ourselves.
Our target audience is marketers who care about design, so we made a doc about our rebrand.
Check out Velocity Partners article on whyB2B documentaries are the next big thing.
Quizzes
Okay, so maybe you already thought of using a quiz for content marketing.
But it doesnt show up on most of these listicles, so Im putting it in the fresh pile.
And people will never stop loving quizzes.
Heres how it works:
Simple, yet effective.
First up is quiz pop in.
A score quiz tests people on a topic and reveals how many correct answers they got at the end.
Who doesnt want to feel like a smart-ass?
double-check your score quiz is about a topic that tests your target audience.
People cant resist answering a series of questions that reveal the throw in of person they are.
Who doesnt love being categorized by Buzzfeed?
Beardbrand got 80k leadsfrom embedding their What bang out of beardsman are you?
Not that last one, obviously.
For more on content marketing with quizzes, check out oursocial media quiz article.
Chatbots
Remember when everyone was going mad for chatbots in 2016?
Turns out, the hype was a bit over the topat least when it comes tolead generation.
But when theyre done right, chatbots can be an effective example of content marketing.
Imagine youre reading a long magazine article.
The columns of the main article are usually sandwiched between two thingsglossy photos, and boxes with more text.
These boxes normally go into more detail about a specific point from the main article.
A welcome detour for curious people.
Why not sprinkle content for the curious on your articles with some chatbots?
We first tried this with anarticle about chatbotsmeta, we knowand it was a big hit for us.
People loved that they could talk to the author of the article while they read it.
They thanked us with several thousand backlinks.
Want to make something like this yourself?
Keep one thing in mind: your chatbot needs to look slick embedded into your article.
Embedding a conversation with Typeform is one way to do this.
Have a chat with thestrange characters on this pageto see how it looks.
Interactive video
Speaking of interactive content marketing examples, ever experienced an interactive video?
Netflix jumped on this trend with Black Mirror: Bandersnatch in 2018.
And it was a huge, Emmy-winning hit.
If you missed it, you select choices affecting how the story unfolds as you watch the film.
You see different scenes depending on your decisions, taking you towards one of the multiple endings.
OK, so making one sounds a bit complicated.
But heres two reasons you should make an interactive video.
And it only took aday and a half.
And some kind words:
I loved how innovative and interactive it was.
I shared it with at least five of my close friends.
We all agreed that it took us back to reading those choose-your-own-adventure Goosebumps books when we were children.
Get it right and people wont forget it.
These days, theres even abunch of toolsto help you make one.
So why not start your own content hackathon and give it a go?
Getting paid per article or per word is pretty straightforward.
But copys a weird onelots of research and thinking, only a few important words as a result.
I wished there was an expert who could give me a ballpark figure.
Luckily,I knew a guy.
But since then, I discovered thisfreelance copywriter quote calculatorbyCopyhackers.
You answer a few questions, then it automatically calculates a quote for you.
Its quite basic, but it gives you a more personalized, concrete answer than a blog post could.
One man whos nailed calculators as a key in of content marketing is public speaking coach Grant Baldwin.
Everyone kept asking him the same question: how much should I charge for a speaking gig?
So if people keep asking you for estimates, its time to build a lead-generating calculator of your own.
For more inspiration, heresanother calculator success storyinvolving kitchen robots.
Direct mail
Or to use the 20th-century term, mail.
Actual, physical mail.
Nah, me neither.
I heard it was huge.
But seriously, in our omni-digital world, people have started to crave the authenticity of physical objects.
Vinyl records are cooler than ever.
Millennials haveditched Kindles for paper books.
And some savvy marketers have realised that content marketing = digital marketing.
That doesnt mean you should start doing this:
Why not?
Instead, smart marketers are sending out limited edition packages to specific influencers and loyal customers.
So what should you send people?
Anythingas long as it puts a smile on their faces and makes them reach for their phone camera.
Heres a perfect example.
British bakery chain Greggs launched its vegan sausage roll in January 2019Veganuary.
But that was just the start of Greggs genius content marketing.
They hand-delivered it to vegan influencers and journalists packaged like this:
Look familiar?
The iPhone box got big laughs and even bigger shares.
Greggs overall salesjumped 10%as a result of the new rolls popularity.
Comedy
How many times has a brand made you laugh?
Probably not that many.
So the times a branddoesmake you laugh tend to stay with you.
When it comes to brand interactions, it doesnt get much more positive than making someone crack up.
But a word of warning: not many companies can pull this off.
This might be the most challenging content marketing example on the list.
Mess it up and you risk embarrassment.
One company investing in laughs is Mailchimp.
Why spend time and money on high-quality content with no direct connection to your product?
But people also want emotional reassurance that theyre not alone.
Beyond giving people the info they need, show that you understand their frustrations.
Present boring, complex topics in a way thats fun and digestible.
Thispostwas originally published onTypeforms blog.
