The Best Content Marketing Examples

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CONTENT AND CONTENT MARKETING IS A DESTINATION YOU OWN!

Content marketing is not a piece of content. it is not marketing with content like brochures. It is not a native ad. It is not a “viral video.”

Content marketing means acting like a publisher, consistently creating content that our customers actually like to read and share. Content marketing is how build an audience and attract subscribers who opt-in to allow you into their already over-crowded email inbox.

This is very different from advertising. Advertising means occasionally interrupting the content your audience actually wants, in order to sell them a product or introduce your brand. Many of us opt-out of unwanted advertising. Advertising is not something we typically want to read and share. Advertising is how publishers monetize their traffic.

So look to great content marketing examples like L’Oreal’s Makeup.com, Adobe’s CMO.com and our favorite industry-wide content marketing example like American Express OPEN Forum. That site is the largest source of leads for their small business card division.

Imagine you are the content marketing director for your company and you led the creation and management of a program that drove more leads and sales than any other marketing activity. With results you can rack and measure in business terms.

It starts with an understanding that marketing is not about selling, but about the conversation we have with our customers. It continues with investing in content marketing, because the difference between just content and content marketing is the destination.

HOW TO BECOME A GREAT CONTENT MARKETING EXAMPLE FOR OTHERS?

Let me break it down:

• Define your content marketing mission and put someone in charge
• Publish content your audiences want
• Publish on a regular basis
• Publish content from a combination of named authors
• Cover a unique variety of topics that you have the authority to be an expert in
• Consider whether your content marketing will be more or less branded and  “on domain” (the same as your company url) or off domain (a website you have to buy).
• Optimize your efforts on building subscribers
• Measure Content Marketing ROI based on your ability to reach, engage and convert new audiences for as little investment as possible

The best content marketing examples also combine utility with design. Headspace and Innocent in particular have created beautiful aesthetics which do not compromise on the information delivered.

It might seem like a lot of work to produce content hubs like these, but this is not necessarily the case. If you are a content marketer – if you are producing articles, videos, blog posts and other content on a regular basis – you are already most of the way there.

And check this out for more on what makes these content marketing examples great.

Now, take a look at the list, get inspired, and know that you can become one of the best content marketing examples.

THE BEST CONTENT MARKETING EXAMPLES

The entries on our list come from a range of different categories. We have major financial institutions brushing up against mindfulness and well-being apps, and globe-trotting airlines rubbing shoulders with search engine marketing blogs.

The message that this gives is clear. No matter what field you are in, no matter what sort of content your users are interested in, developing a content marketing program to tie it all together is the only way to go.

Think about what your users want to see, then think about how they want to see it. How are you going to deliver it to them? Which way is going to be the most effective?

I’m not picking winners here. For the purposes of this list, everyone is a winner. Instead, arranged in alphabetical order, are the best content marketing examples I have found. Get inspired and  join my list next year!

Are you interested in building your own amazing content marketing experience? Contact me here and let’s talk about how we can help.

1. Acorn’s Grow
2. Adidas Group’s Blog offers “Personal insights into our business in sports.”
3. Adidas’ GamePlanA provides stories for “creators, tackling work life with an athlete’s heart”
4. Adobe
5. Air B’n’B: The revolutionary accommodation solution provider have been lighting the way when it comes to content.
6. Aloha
7. American Express OPEN Forum: “Insights, Inspirations and Connections To Grow Your Business” -1 of the earliest and most-cited example of content marketing
8. Anthropologie: As stylish as you’d expect from these guys
9. AstraZeneca
10. AT&T’s BusinessCircle 
11. Autodesk
12. Bank of America BetterMoneyHabits
13. Barney’s
14. Bayer
15. Ben & Jerry’s: The ice cream giant has been a master of brand identity for years now, and their web content shows the same commitment.
16. Betterment’s Resource Center “Information to help you lead a smarter financial life”
17. Birchbox Magazine and Men’s Guide
18. Blackboard Blog 
19. Bloomberg Enterprise Blog
20. Blue Apron
21. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama has this amazing YouBar that customizes your content experience
22. Bobbi Brown’s Everything Bobbi
23. British Airways: Connecting cities around the world with their travel hub services; doing the same for web users with their content hub.
24. BufferApp Blog
25. CA
26. Canva: An unusual entry on our list, Canva is a digital design app. However, its website hosts a content hub with the sort of smart organization and stunning design we would all do well to emulate.
27. CapGemini’s Content Loop (one of the best examples of how to convert visitors to leads)
28. Casper’s Pillow Talk but they also created . . .
29. Casper’s VanWinkles: “Exploring sleep with our eyes wide open” (one of my favorite content marketing examples)
30. CDW
31. Chase.com/News – Great example of a company incorporating content marketing right into their homepage
32. Citi
33. Cleveland Clinic Health Essentials is one of the best examples on this list
34. Colgate Oral Care Center
35. ConAgra’s Forkful.com
36. Coke’s Coca-Cola Journey “Refreshing the world. One story at a time.”
37. Ciena Insights
38. Cisco Connected Futures Magazine I love the look and design of this site
39. Cleveland Clinic
40. Deluxe Small Business Revolution
41. Denny’s
42. Departures from American Express for their Platinum card members, run by Time Inc.
43. Disney Blogs – the power of storytelling
44. Domo’s BusinessIntelligence.com shows the power of owning the category domain
45. Dollar Shave Club’s MEL 
46. Electronic Art’s EA News Blog
47. Equinox: Equinox’s Furthermore balances subtle but sharp aesthetic touches with content variation across the whole lifestyle spectrum, showing others in this class how it is done.
48. Etsy
49. Farmer’s Insurance Inner Circle “The latest tips and insights on auto safety, home upkeep and planning for life’s special moments.”
50. Fidelity MyMoney “Get in better financial shape today.”
51. First Republic
52. First Round
53. Four Seasons
54. Fresh Direct: The branding here is exquisite; as fresh and clean as you’d hope for from these guys. But, beneath the surface is genuine insight.
55. GEICO
56. General Mills Tablespoon “Food that’s fun” – offers a great visual exploration of recipes and food
57. GE Reports
58. GE Txchnologist
59. Google’s Think With Google
60. Glossier
61. GoPro
62. Grant Thornton
63. Harry’s
64. The Hartford SmallBizAhead
65. Headspace: The team behind the fantastically popular meditation and well-being app deliver great content and insight via their CM hub, all with the same trademark branding we have come to expect.
66. Home Depot DIY Blog
67. Honestly
68. HPE Matter
69. HPE Community Blog
70. HPE TechBeacon Great examples of a company building on-domain and off
71. Hubspot Blog “Your Daily Dose of Inbound” segmented by Marketing, Sales and Agency personas
72. Huckberry
73. IBM: The computing giants are showing that they are not going to get left behind in the content marketplace.
74. Innocent: Innocent by name, wily in the content game by nature. Innocent have been a runaway branding success story for several years. Their top notch content hub shows us how.
75. Invision
76. Intel IQ: Another computing giant, leveraging their vast stock of expertise and authority. Intel’s content hub is exactly as it should be; a fascinating resource of insight.
77. Jack Daniel’s The Single Barrel Standard: Whiskey wisdom and Cocktail news? Sign me up!
78. J.Crew
79. Jet Blue
80. Johnson & Johnson
81. JP Morgan
82. Kimpton Hotels
83. Lego: With Lego, the emphasis has always been on fun, and this is very much evident within their content marketing strategies.
84. Lenovo’s ThinkProgress, with content by Intel
85. Lilly
86. Lincoln Now
87. LinkedIn’s Marketing Solutions Blog
88. Rosetta Stone’s LinguaVore: “A blog about learning language.”
89. Lululemon
90. L’Oreal’s Makeup.com great example of a consumer brand “owning” the category
91. LVMH
92. MAC: No one is going to accuse MAC cosmetics of selecting style over substance. The market leader’s content hub provides a wide range of different articles and content formats to its visitors.
93. Marketo Blog
94. Marketo CMO Nation
95. Marks & Spencers
96. Marriott‘ Traveler: Love what these folks are doing across their portfolio
97. Marriott’s Meetings Imagined
98. Marriott’s Travel Brilliantly
99. Mayo Clinic’s Sharing offers personal stories of real people overcoming disease
100. Memorial Sloan Kettering: The Memorial Sloan Kettering cancer treatment and research center website features a content hub with a tone appropriate to the gravity of its subject matter. Providing support and assistance to patients and family members, the New York non-profit gets it right.
101. Method’s Soap Dish
102. Michael Kors: The luxury fashion marque keeps it diverse with different pieces of content for every user. Dipping in to look at photos and losing yourself in more in-depth pieces is possible here, as all needs are catered for.
103. Microsoft’s Stories – another great example of a company bringing “Stories” to their homepage
104. Mint Life Blog
105. Momofuko
106. Morgan Stanley
107. Morning Star Farms
108. Moz: As SEO and web content specialists, you’d expect their content hub to be exemplary. Committed fans of the Moz team will know this to be true.
109. Nasty Gal’s Nasty Galaxy
110. National Association of Realtor’s House Logic
111. Net-A-Porter’s The Edit and Mr Porter
112. Nationwide
113. New Belgium Brewery Community Blog – because beer
114. One Medical Blog: “You have one life. Make it count.”
115. OpenView Venture Partners Blog “Insights for B2B software companies.”
116. OpenView Venture Partners’ Labs – another early example of content marketing for a small business
117. Oracle’s Modern Marketing Blog
118. P&G Everyday is another site that has been around almost from the beginning of modern content marketing
119. Patagonia: Durable outdoor wear needs a robust content strategy to go with it, and this is provided by the Patagonia team.
120. Petsmart’s Parent Resource Center
121. Prudential The Challenge Lab “Learn about the human behaviors that get in the way of planning your financial future.”
122. Pfizer
123. Progressive: Insurers Progressive have taken a few steps away from the somewhat irreverent branding, instead focusing on a range of incisive content topics aimed at giving customers the information they need.
124. Random House: Publishers Random House are no stranger to the power of the written word, and their hub utilizes this strength to the full with a diverse array of content.
125. Red Bull
     
126. Reebok: Reebok understands what is meant by a solid content strategy and have been providing great pieces of content to an avid base of users for years. This year, they showed no sign of letting up.
127. REI
128. Ricoh Work Intelligently
129. Rue La La
130. Samsung’s Insights
131. Samsung’s Tech Life
132. Salesforce Blog
133. Santander: As one of the biggest banks in the world, Santander has a great deal of authority. They use this authority with aplomb within their content hub.
134. SAP Digitalist Magazine: This was the site I started while at SAP and so proud to see how the team there has evolved it.
135. SAP Hybris‘ The Future of Commerce
136. SAS Blog
137. Sharethrough’s NativeAdvertising.com “All things Native”
138. Shutterstock Blog
139. Society of Grownups
140. Soul Cycle
141. Sprint’s Future of Business 
142. Starbucks: The ethos of Starbucks has always been a creative, hip, collaborative one, and this is exemplified with their 1912Pike blog. This is where the firm’s creative endeavors come together, spearheading the brand into 2017.
143. Sun Life
144. Sweet Green
145. Target’s “Bull’s Eye View” merged in 2015 with Target’s Corporate News site
146. Taco Bell: Taco Bell’s The Feed is a consistent great source of inspiration for a successful, playful content strategy.
147. TD Ameritrade Tickertape “Pearls and insights for investors.”
148. Tory Burch’s Tory Daily I like how this site humanizes the Tory brand
149. Tracksmith
150. Uber’s Newsroom
151. US Government White House Blog 
152. United Airlines
153. Urban Outfitters: The ‘style blog’ genre has gained huge popularity in recent years, and has helped to propel numerous small businesses to the big time. Urban Outfitters is not one of them – their content game has been strong for some time – but they continue to serve as an inspiration.
154. USAA
155. Virgin America’s Flyer Feed
156. Visual Matters – Sponsored by SAP
157. Warby Parker
158. West Elm’s Front + Main
159. Wistia Video Library “Succeed With Video Marketing”
160. WestElm
161. WestJet Magazine
162. Whole Foods
163. Williams-Sonoma Taste: (still) a beautifully designed site
164. WorldVision Blog  “Building a better world for children.”
165. Your Primer
166. Zillow Porchlight: “Always on. Guiding you home.” This site is so popular, they are selling ads
167. Zuora: Zuora’s great-looking Academy focuses on delivering genuine insight, support and development to the software producer’s customers.