Every single marketing effort comes back to content. Whether your main strategy is social media marketing, paid ads, or search engine optimization, you need content to connect with your target audience.
In fact, our Digital Marketing Benchmark Report 2024 which is based on the insights of 500 marketers and an analysis of industry reports found that content creation is crucial. It’s regarded as double as important as social media marketing, with 34.2% listing it as the most important skill.
Here are five real-world examples of content marketing strategies that have generated success for other brands. While you can’t simply copy their strategies, by following the practical takeaways discussed you can replicate their success.
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What Key Ingredients Make a Content Marketing Strategy Unforgettable?
Storytelling, audience alignment, authenticity, and measurable goals are the pillars that prevent your content strategy from falling flat. When you narrate a story told with sincerity for a specific audience and with a specific purpose in mind real customer connections are formed.
As it’s all about specificity, you’ll need to identify keyword opportunities. This way, your content will get found by that audience for whom you’ve written it.
Plus, as your competitors are also most likely creating content for the same group, you’ll also need insights into their content strategy. There’s a good chance that their best-performing video will also align with your audience.
That’s what is meant when content marketing teams say they apply a creative, data-driven approach. It’s about weaving together brand values and audience interests to create a story that uses relevant words identified by content optimization tool like Semrush that include keyword research and competitive analysis features.
Your content shouldn’t be for everyone. If brands want to engage audiences and create a possibility to turn this engagement into loyal followers, they need to find that connection between their brand values and audience interests.
That’s how you grab audiences’ attention, keep it for long enough that they digest the content from beginning to the end, and remember it long after they’ve left your page. Sales pitches will get you stuck, while stories will stick in their minds long afterwards.
Real-world Case Studies: How Top Brands Turned Content Into Success Stories
Whether you want to focus more on the storytelling aspect or the data, the following five brands have found a way to communicate their brand values using relevant keywords in a way that they’ll get found and be remembered. Instead of focusing on the super popular marketing campaigns like Coca-Cola’s Share a Coke campaign or Chipotle’s TikTok Hacks like so many articles before this one has done, we’ve decided to examine some lesser-known content marketing campaigns.
Hepper – Data-driven Content Strategy for Explosive Startup Growth
Hepper, a company selling modern pet furniture, had to wait about the average lifespan of a cat, before their website traffic exploded. In 2021, when it was acquired by Pangolia whose content team saw the potential of content marketing, their pages started to attract the same attention as cat memes.
Much of their strategy focused on the basics mentioned earlier—keyword research and competitive analysis. Their team first identified which topics their target audience (cat owners) searched for and then zoomed in on the keyword difficulty to identify high-value keywords with lower competition.
It might sound like herding cats, but SEO tools can give smaller brands like Hepper a competitive advantage. In the case of Hepper, Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool was the magic answer. For example, using a single keyword variation for the phrase “why do cats” they uncovered over 100 article ideas.
As they still lacked authority when they started with their content marketing in 2021, the strategy was to concentrate on long-tail keywords. Then, once their authority increases, they’ll target more competitive keywords.
For competitive analysis, they also relied on Semrush and used its Organic Research tool. This way, they could uncover for which keywords other businesses in their niche ranked and identify content gaps.
While this content marketing strategy sounds nothing revolutionary, the results they achieved clearly highlights the importance of getting the basics right. Decisions must be based on data.
They reached their goal of publishing 5,000 posts and increasing organic traffic from 150 daily page views to 90,000 daily page views with about a year to spare. The high number of daily page views illustrate that it wasn’t just a matter of churning out content for the sake of volume. Hepper managed to create high-quality content that matched search intent at scale.
For example, just for the phrase “Why do cats”, there are nearly 3,750 posts on their blog as of November 2024.
While the increase in traffic is great, they also managed to convert the new leads. Product sales revenue increased by nearly 3,000%!
This revenue could be reinvested into their content marketing strategy allowing them to expand their content team by hiring veterinarians, for example, who also contribute blog posts. With Google’s emphasis on experience, bringing on vets to produce content has also helped to build their authority further.
Buffer – Radical Transparency to Build Trust (B2B Focus)
Buffer’s commitment to posting high-quality content has turned them into a content brand. They’ve become known for the content they post as much as their social media scheduling software.
Much of their content marketing’s focus is on building brand trust. Tamilore Oladipo, content writer at Buffer, explains their philosophy behind being an open company:
To do this, they take a radically transparent approach. They take it further than simply sharing financial metrics and also share their employees’ salaries, for example.
When you cross $19 million in annual recurring revenue, posting your financial success stories isn’t necessarily a challenge. However, to admit to growth challenges, like a multi-year decline, shows their true commitment to transparency.
Aside from the strong trust their all-in approach to transparency has earned them among users and the broader business community, it has helped to set them apart in the B2B space where this level of openness is rare.
Sam the Concrete Man – Scalable Local SEO to Boost Franchise Visibility
Sam the Concrete Man sets a concrete example of how content marketing and SEO work hand in hand. As they’re in service delivery and work needs to be completed in person, each franchise’s target audience was limited to a specific region making local SEO a priority.
With over 100 franchises across the USA and an ambitious goal of opening 32 new franchises per year, each needing their own subdomain, Sam the Concrete Man has their work laid out for them. Using tools like Semrush’s Listing Management and Keyword Magic Tool, they could launch a scalable strategy that supports each franchise’s local search presence.
Their process starts with getting each franchise listed in several online directories. With Semrush’s Listing Management tool, they could automate this process. After adding the business details, Semrush displays untapped listing opportunities and sends it to dozens of directories.
Like with any SEO strategy, keyword research is also foundational to their approach. They take a three-pronged approach.
They use Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool to identify new, unique keywords. To shortlist it to city-specific keywords, they use its Keyword Overview tool.
Then, to ensure that each franchise ranks well in Google’s Local Map Pack and the main site is free from technical errors, they also do regular site audits. For this part of their content marketing strategy, they also use Semrush. It allowed them to work cost-effectively as they had the data to prioritize the most glaring problems.
It’s an approach that has helped them to expand their operations into Canada and open two more locations, one in Vancouver and another in Toronto.
Glossier – Leveraging User-generated Content (UGC) for Authenticity
If you have just over 3 million followers on Instagram alone like Glossier, you’re sitting on a gold mine of potential user-generated content. Plus, for a brand that claims beauty is about their customers, it makes only sense to feature real customers.
In fact, Glossier started out as a beauty website on a mission to share real info aimed at real people. The whole brand is shaped by the belief that beauty should be built by customers and celebrate individuality and freedom of expression. What better way to live out your philosophy by making UGC the foundation of your content marketing routine?
It’s a strategy which hasn’t only scaled with their content creation efforts but has also driven community trust and advocacy which are even more effective in the B2C industry. Glossier lets their customers’ feedback double up as a product description that captures another feature or benefit as well as authentic social proof as this Instagram video shows.
On their TikTok profile, for example, they regularly feature customers sharing their beauty and skincare routines, making customers feel as if they’re part of the brand story, key for marketing to Gen Z.
@glossier @Michaela uses our custom 2-in-1 tip to achieve her brow look: ✨Use the precision edge for fine, hair-like strokes to define the beginning and tail of your brow ✨Then, lightly brush brows with the spoolie to even out the color ✨Use the wide, flat edge to fill in sparse areas within your brow ✨Top with Boy Brow, and voilá! Michaela wears Boy Brow Arch in Cool Dark Brown and Boy Brow in Clear. Shop today on Glossier.com and in a Glossier store near you, and Sephora on 8/9. #boybrow #boybrowarch #glossier ♬ lucid echoes - choppy.wav
Its UGC-driven strategy, which encourages customers to share their experiences and product photos on social media, has made it a beauty industry leader. To build this engaged community, you also need a few tools up your sleeve like Try Your Best (TYB), a play-to-earn community management platform.
Using its event tool, Glossier could reward customers for uploading content with a discount off their next purchase. After all, sometimes customers need more than the prospect of being featured on Glossier’s social media accounts to create UGC.
The result:
@caitlyngoldberg thank you so much @Glossier and @Try Your Best for this incredible opportunity 🫶 #glossier #makeup #tyb #fyp #aesthetic #microinfluencer #washingtondc #skincare #sample #gift #holiday #party ♬ Walking On A Dream - kalia!
Oatly – Bold Brand Voice and Activism in Content Marketing
Swedish oat milk brand Oatly combines humor with environmental activism across its content to connect with their target audience of eco-conscious consumers. Behind Oatly’s jokes lies a serious commitment to reducing dairy consumption for the planet's sake. It uses its humorous tone not just to make audiences laugh, but to drive home key environmental facts in a way that feels accessible.
They’re also unafraid to make their own brand the subject of their dry humor. Negative comments are turned into social media posts as an opportunity to highlight its product’s uniqueness.
Their outspoken, unique brand voice has helped them gain a loyal following. They’re willing to take a stand on important issues, even if it means calling out a big industry.
Oatly’s messaging wouldn’t land as powerfully if they didn’t back it up with action and data.
Beyond clever ads, Oatly fully commits to transparency and sustainability in its business practices. Its content-heavy website is a place where it educates consumers about its product, bust milk myths, shares its successes and admits its own failures.
Secrets Shared: What Do the Best Content Campaigns Have in Common?
The Power of Storytelling
Statistics appeal to logic; stories fuel emotional connections. Brands like Nike with loyal followings often tell a story that mirrors their target audience’s experiences, whether that’s current struggles or future dreams. Such a narrative lets them see a part of themselves in the brand, creating a nearly instant connection.
Not only is it in our nature to remember impactful stories, but also to share them. It’s this last trait that gives them a viral potential, making it ideal for incorporating into your social media marketing strategy.
When going this route of sharing stories on social, use formats like TikTok, Instagram Stories or Reels. Opt for quick, relatable moments that you conclude with a call to action encouraging followers to contribute to your story by sharing their own. Heart-to-heart moments will get you many hearts on Instagram, while TikTok’s best for those quirky moments.
For in-depth narratives, you can use blogs. Long-form articles give you enough room to explore a common industry problem, explain the challenges, and explain how your brand can be the solution.
Whether it’s via a blog post or social media video, the best stories start strong. They focus on people, championing them not the brand.
Personalization Through Data
Highly personalized experiences are now the expectation among consumers. It keeps them involved and interested.
Brands are moving away from merely personalizing content using basic demographics to data-driven personalization. Take Spotify Wrapped as an example.
Each year, Spotify delivers custom insights to its users, showcasing their most-played songs, favorite genres, and even total listening hours. This straightforward, yet effective, use of data transforms what could have been a static summary into an annual, viral event.
Source: LinkedIn.com
Think of it as storytelling by numbers. Like storytelling, it creates an emotional connection between listeners and their service.
It can also be implemented with only a few resources such as a tool like Semrush for gathering audience and keyword insights.
Community and User-generated Content (UGC)
UGC can alleviate as well as elevate your content marketing efforts. The focus shifts from time-consuming content creation to content curation, a process that UGC platforms can virtually automate.
As it comes from real users reflecting their real experiences with a product, the messages’ authenticity means that it’s not another marketing message that gets lost in the feed. These unscripted comments carry more weight than an on-brand video script. Plus, according to Sprout Social’s 2024 Content Benchmarks Report, after your front-line employees, the brands’ followers are the ones they want to see reflected more in their social content, specifically short-form videos shorter than 15 seconds.
Involving customers in the brand experience builds credibility and a community around your brand. When customers see that you involve them in your brand story, your connection becomes deeper while brand loyalty soars. Not only are you rewarded with more sales but also more content that you can share.
Authenticity and Values-driven Campaigns
If you don’t want to go the route of repurposing UGC, you need to ensure your own content campaigns remain authentic. Authentic campaigns that showcase brand values resonate more deeply with audiences.
It’s on everyone’s lips so much so that Merriam-Webster picked “authentic” as 2023’s word of the year.
Like content marketing and SEO, authenticity and brand values go hand in hand. It’s about showing that as a brand you know your identity. These values will forge your direction and shape your content, even if it means tackling big industries or difficult truths.
Think Big, Start Small: Adapting Big-brand Content Strategies for Your Business
Budget-friendly Personalization
Ben Steele, senior editor at Search Engine Journal, shares in HubSpot’s The State of Marketing 2024 report that simply by creating content that speaks directly to an individual user’s needs, you’re already creating personal content. This opens up a budget-friendly way that you can get started without personalization data.
Smaller brands can, for example, use Semrush’s Keyword Magic and Organic Research tools to identify relevant keywords relating to their target audience’s needs. The Keyword Magic Tool gives you metrics like monthly search volume and keyword intent. Plus, if you use the personalized keyword difficulty score, you can start with the keywords with the most potential.
For smaller brands with a substantial email subscriber list, there’s email. In fact, about four out of 10 list it as their most effective channel, according Litmus' State of Email Workflows Report. More than half (52%) of marketers saw a two-time improvement rate in their campaigns’ ROI in 2023.
To generate this type of return, use email marketing platforms to send targeted newsletters.
The trick is to apply it in a way that feels natural.
Use dynamic content to personalize your product recommendations based on past purchases. You don’t need to dig deep to find this type of first-party data, making it a budget-friendly place to start.
Leveraging Storytelling Without a Big Budget
The most compelling brand stories often come from the people who know your product or service best—your customers.
A five-word, five-star review has the potential to be turned into a 500-word case study shared on your website. As part of your review follow-up routine, ask customers who love your product if you can feature their story. This works especially well in the B2B industry where case studies offer an opportunity for clients’ to be showcased.
To flesh out a standard, one-liner review into a compelling customer story, focus on:
- The pain point the customer faced before using your product
- How your product resolved the pain point
- What type of results did the customer enjoy
It’s a budget-friendly strategy. It will only cost you a quick interview via email or Zoom and some time to turn it into a blog post or edit into a video testimonial.
If you’re struggling to identify positive experiences that can be turned into a story, you can create a hashtag encouraging your social media followers to share their interactions. Depending on your budget, you can turn it into a giveaway for the best testimonial.
Incorporating UGC
While storytelling is closely connected with UGC, there are other ways to get customers to create content that features your brand. Running social media contests remains one of the most cost-effective ways to encourage users to create content.
While you might need to get a bit creative, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel. The best approach is to ask followers to share a video or photo of them interacting with one of your products, use the branded hashtag, and tag your brand before a deadline.
Aligning Campaigns with Brand Values
To grow trust and deeper connections, brands should find ways to weave their brand values into their marketing campaigns. When your campaigns reflect these values, they become much more than marketing initiatives. They evolve into authentic stories that consumers relate to and want to support.
The first step is to define your values clearly. Let your reason for starting the company guide you.
Which pain point do you want to solve? Which societal or environmental issues do you care about?
Focus on two to five.
It should be meaningful as well as manageable. Not only is a value like sustainability important, but there are tangible actions that you can take to demonstrate your commitment like switching to eco-friendly packaging.
It’s a process that’s best done when the whole team is involved. You need their buy in.
TLDR: Authenticity Wins Hearts and Minds
The best content marketing campaigns know how to keep it real, whether it’s by using a bold brand voice to communicate your values, featuring customers using your products or creating content that answers actual customer questions. It makes the customer the star of your story.
It’s not just a matter of consistently showing up in feeds. Frequency is no longer going to keep you top of mind.
Neither is consistent branding automatically going to lead to brand recall.
It’s about more than that. It’s about telling a relatable story and using the right words to make it discoverable.
