It happens to the best of us. Even the most creative people run out of content ideas. That’s when it’s time to get inspired by learning from the best content marketing out there. We’ve rounded up 12 top content marketing examples to spark your creativity in 2022. Bon appetit!

1. Spotify Wrapped Campaign

That Spotify “Wrapped” campaign was and still remains to be everything. Seriously. You’re doing something right as a brand when you let data, AI, and users do your marketing for you.

Spotify launched the “Wrapped” campaign in 2017. It takes listeners’ data and tells them what they listened to most each year. Listeners love sharing their year in music on social media as momcom relief, humble brags, etc. Spotify encourages users to compare and contrast their data. It also reports on the trends it sees in the year. It appears that those who don’t have a Spotify Wrapped to share have serious FOMO. Sign-ups for the app increased by 21% in December 2020 and continue to grow.

Key Takeaway: Use data and AI to create something worth sharing. Then watch it go viral.

2. Beardbrand

Talk about knowing your audience! This business understands that facial hair isn’t just a gift, it’s an identity and way of life! That’s why on its homepage, the brand leads with a product quiz about which type of beardsman you are. It strokes the ego, engages the audience, gives users something valuable, and gains insights and lead capture during the process—all to recommend more personalized products and experiences.

Beardbrand also has a blog that’s fill of tips, trends, and education about facial hair trends and FAQs. As a niche brand for a specific audience, it embraces content marketing and interactivity to give customers valuable information while selling products. Perfection!

Key takeaway: Don’t try to be everything to everyone. Know your niche. Then use interactivity and information to serve them like only you can.

3. Buffer

Buffer deserves attention for exceptional content marketing all year long. Bit its viral content pieces like the annual State of Remote Work Report is what caught our attention for this piece.

With more people working remotely than ever before, this data and insights are timely, relevant, and something customers and the media want to know about. Plus, this information is really relevant to Buffer’s business model too because it’s always been a fully remote company.

Giving back to others with original data is the ultimate content marketing win. It’s also perfect for link building campaigns because you can use traditional public relations and PR outreach to pitch this information to media and high profile websites. Links are SEO gold and will help your site rank higher in search results.

Key takeaway: Don’t try to keep secrets. Share original data that shows what you’ve learned and how you’re still learning. Help others follow in your footsteps. You establish authority along the way.

4. HubSpot

Here’s the thing, if you’re going to teach marketing and expect people to follow your examples, you’d better be dang good at it. HubSpot is. 

HubSpot writes in-depth blog posts, offers ebooks, webinars, and certifications through Hubspot Academy, and hosts free online tools. 

Not only is HubSpot considered the authority in the industry, but it includes one clear call-to-action with every post. You know exactly what the company wants you to do, and you’re likely to do it because it’s already given you so much value.

Key takeaway: Have the most credible expertise possible in your industry. Then make sure you tell readers and viewers exactly what to do next to get the most from your services.

5. Wendy’s

We couldn’t list excellent content marketing examples and not include Wendy’s. Wendy’s has long been a brand to watch on Twitter. its bio even has just the right amount of snark.

Wendy’s recently went all out on “National Roast Day.” You could ask the brand to roast you on Twitter, and they would give it their best shot. The results were hilarious! And they took the success one step further and created a best of. You know you’re in a good place when you can create popular tweets from your tweets. What?!

 Key takeaway: Know your brand voice and capitalize on it.

Screenshot of Wendy's Twitter account on National Roast Day

6. The Skimm

We love The Skimm! As a 100% woman-owned company, we love a fellow female-founded company. We also love convenience. And The Daily Skimm email newsletter keeps us informed on everything we need to know about the world in one place.

The Skimm is short, easy to read, and has a unique tone of voice. Something digestible, helpful, and memorable like the quote of the day is also pure genius as far as content marketing strategy goes.

Key Takeaway: Earn loyal subscribers by being the go-to resource for the information people need. Keep them coming back by keeping it simple.

7. Growth Design

This website concept is crazy smart. And it’ll make you smarter too… while you watch comics.

Growth Design creates educational case studies showing how brands create fantastic user experiences. Talk about a place for inspiration! Here’s the catch: Growth Design creates FOMO by only making the case studies available for a month before they gate them, so users can’t dilly dally. 

Key takeaway: Help people learn and develop—and create an incentive to do it immediately! FOMO works.

Screenshot of the Growth Design case study homepage

8. Ikea

Using trending topics is so smart for your content marketing strategy. Ikea did so beautifully with this viral Bernie Sanders meme.

Key takeaway: Newsjacking works if it’s lighthearted and fits your brand’s voice, tone, and overall mission.

Ikea ad featuring Bernie Sanders

9. Chipotle

Again, we’re all about working smarter and not harder. So if you have people who love your brand, why not use them as ambassadors?

That’s what Chipotle did when it launched its Chipotle Creator Class, a group of 15 influencers to promote the brand. And how were they compensated? You guessed it — with food. Hey, if the mortgage could be paid in burritos, we’d be tempted to make this partnership too. The ambassadors also received a chance to be featured in future paid ad opportunities and could give out food when they reached certain levels of engagement.

Key takeaway: Let your fans be your brand’s best promoters. People listen to influencers, and they love success stories.

A screenshot of a hand smashing avocado in a bowl

10. Humane Society of the United States

Believe it or not, charitable giving has increased each year since the COVID-19 pandemic began. There is hope for humanity afterall! However, you still need to convince your audience of your cause, give them a reason to join it, and part with a portion of their paycheck to do so. 

The Humane Society of the United States does this beautifully. It uses its website and magazine, “All Animals,” to tell the stories of the dogs they rescue and rehome. The society probably could focus on a lot of negative stuff (cue Sarah McLaughlin), but it chooses to tell heartwarming stories for its fundraising marketing strategy too. It convinces readers that the organization is worth supporting.

Key takeaway: Don’t just tell people what your brand does. Show them real success stories and tell them how they can be a part of it!

The cover of All Animals magazine

11. Toms

Speaking of telling stories… Toms doesn’t just tell the story of its virtual giving trip. It shows us with an interactive video. We love engaging with video even more than just watching it (which people actually love quite a lot), so this is a big win. Check out Tom’s on YouTube

Key Takeaway: Create ways for your customers to engage with your content marketing. Think polls, quizzes, questions… anything that makes them active viewers.

Tom's interactive video content content marketing examples

12. Bombas

People love supporting brands that do good—especially when the product is good too. Bombas socks are SO comfortable. Also, for every purchase, the company donates the same item to a person affected by homelessness. But it doesn’t stop there. While Bombas does its part as a company, it also encourages customers to give back in their communities too. 

Key takeaway: Make it clear what your brand stands for. Encourage your customers to support the charge too. Be a movement, not just a product or service.

​​A Bombas Instagram post

You’ve Been Inspired By These Top Content Marketing Examples, But What’s Next?

Hopefully, some of these examples gave you a lot of ideas about how you can get creative with your brand’s next campaign, social media marketing, email blast, or blogs. If you need help implementing, we can help!