Content marketing has become harder and more necessary at the same time. Nearly half of marketers say web traffic from search has dropped because of AI answers, 83% say they’re expected to produce more content than ever, and 53% already struggle to differentiate their content in an AI-saturated market.
Giving this overwhelming reality, how are content marketing teams supposed to earn buyers’ trust back? The answer lies in the right mix of content formats, a coordinated set of channels, and a brand voice strong enough to cut through the noise.
Table of Contents
- What is content marketing?
- Content Marketing Statistics
- Types of Content Marketing
- Content Marketing, SEO, and AEO
- Content Marketing and Social Media
- How does content marketing work?
- Content Marketing Examples
- Traits of Effective Content Marketing
- Best Content Marketing Resources
- Best Content Marketers to Follow on LinkedIn and X
- Frequently Asked Questions About Content Marketing
- Engage your target audience with content marketing.
What is content marketing?
Content marketing is a strategic approach to creating and distributing useful information that helps buyers understand problems, evaluate solutions, and make decisions. Instead of interrupting audiences with direct advertising, content marketing earns attention through education, research, and deep insights that guide buyers across their journey.
However, content marketing is not the publishing of a thin piece of content that offers little value. The focus is on creating highly valuable materials that AI cannot replicate and distributing them through a mix of channels where your audience can discover them as they browse. Such content materials can include:
- Detailed blog posts with unique angles and workflows
- Ebooks
- Infographics
- Videos
- Personalized web pages
Content Marketing Planning Templates
Plan your content strategically with these handy templates.
- Editorial Calendar Template
- Buyer Persona Templates
- SWOT Analysis Templates
- SMART Goal Template
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How does content marketing differ from traditional marketing?
Traditional advertising focuses on promotion and short-term visibility. Content marketing focuses on education, trust, and long-term audience growth. The goal is to reach your target audience and increase brand awareness, sales, engagement, and loyalty.
Why is content marketing important?
HubSpot’s 2026 State of Marketing research shows that the top marketing channels by ROI are all about content. So let’s see how exactly content marketing affects this trend.
1. Builds Trust and Credibility With Buyers
Trust has become a primary growth lever for modern marketing teams. The same research discovered that 63% of marketers agreed they now need more unique, human-centered content to stand out in increasingly automated digital environments.
Educational content builds that credibility. Guides, tutorials, and expert analysis allow companies to demonstrate expertise before a buyer ever interacts with sales.
In my experience, the fastest way to build credibility through content is to address buyer objections openly. When content marketers explain trade-offs, limitations, and alternative solutions, audiences interpret the content as expertise rather than promotion.
2. Supports Omnichannel Marketing Strategies
Fifty-two percent of brands run five to eight marketing channels simultaneously, and 17% operate more than eight, which means brands must maintain consistent, on-brand messaging across every platform.
Content marketing enables that consistency. AI-powered content teams turn educational resources into adaptable content for blogs, social media, newsletters, and video formats while maintaining the same core insight.
Tools like HubSpot’s Content Remix make this even easier by turning long-form assets into multiple formats in minutes. This multiplies reach without requiring entirely new campaigns. For example, a research report might generate:
- Blog articles explaining key findings
- Short-form videos summarizing insights
- LinkedIn posts discussing implications
- Newsletters highlighting practical takeaways
- Sales and lead nurturing materials
3. Builds Brand Awareness
Content marketing allows organizations to articulate their point of view. Thought leadership, industry analysis, and opinion-driven articles communicate how a company interprets industry trends and challenges. When content clearly communicates a company’s perspective, it creates brand recognition and recall across multiple buyer touchpoints.
But most importantly, a unique brand voice now plays a strategic role in content marketing, as 61% of marketers said expressing brand taste and point of view is essential when working with AI.
4. Improves Visibility in Search and AI Discovery
Content marketing directly influences how companies appear in search engines and AI-powered answers. Forty-one percent of marketers say updating SEO strategies for evolving search behavior is now one of their top priorities.
Well-structured articles, guides, and research resources increase the likelihood that search engines or AI tools reference a company’s content when responding to queries about a problem or solution category.
Content Marketing Statistics
HubSpot surveyed 1,505 marketers across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia in 2025 to understand how marketing strategies are evolving in the AI era. The findings highlight how content marketing teams are adapting to changing discovery channels, higher content demand, and new buyer expectations. Here are several key statistics shaping content marketing today:
- 83% of marketers say they are expected to produce more content than ever before, reflecting the growing role content plays across multiple channels and campaigns.
- 80% of marketing teams use AI for content creation, while 75% use AI for media production, showing how automation now supports large-scale content operations.
- 60% of marketers use short-form video in their content strategy, making it the most widely used content format today.
- 35% of marketers say their biggest content challenge is creating content that receives high engagement, such as clicks, shares, and comments.
- 77% of companies plan to increase their investment in influencer marketing in 2026, highlighting the growing role of creators in content distribution.
- 30% of marketing teams plan to invest more in short-form video content in 2026, the largest planned investment increase among content formats.
- 52% of marketers believe AI has made content easier to create but less effective overall, reinforcing the importance of strong brand voice and differentiation.
Together, these findings illustrate a clear shift. Content marketing now requires both high production capacity and strong editorial quality to stand out. To get more insights, download the 2026 State of Marketing Report.
Types of Content Marketing
Content marketing works best when different formats support different stages of the buyer’s journey. Each format plays a specific role — some attract new audiences, others build trust or help buyers evaluate solutions.
1. Online Content Marketing
Online content marketing refers to web-based content designed to educate visitors, answer questions, and guide buyers toward a conversion. This includes landing pages, resource centers, interactive web tools, and educational hubs that live directly on a company’s website.
- When to use: Conversion-focused education
- Buyer journey stage: Consideration, decision
- Expected results: These assets attract high-intent visitors from search engines and AI answers while guiding them toward actions such as demo requests, downloads, or trials. High-quality web pages also accumulate long-term SEO authority.
- Practical examples: In my experience, the most effective online content pages combine education with clear next steps. A comparison page or solution explainer that ends with a relevant tool, template, or demo request consistently converts better than a purely informational page.
Well-structured web content also gives search engines and AI systems clear brand information to reference when responding to user queries.
HubSpot’s homepage is a great example of online content marketing. This page immediately engages visitors with specific product content and satisfies LLM retrieval systems with structured schema markup.
2. Social Media Content Marketing
Social media content marketing shares insights, stories, and educational content across platforms such as LinkedIn, Instagram, X, Snapchat, Pinterest, TikTok, and YouTube. With over 5.8 billion global social media users, it’s easy to understand why many businesses invest in social media marketing.
- When to use: Community building, content distribution
- Buyer journey stage: Awareness, engagement
- Expected results: Social content increases reach and allows brands to interact directly with audiences. Platforms amplify content through shares, comments, and algorithmic discovery.
- Practical example: Content teams often repurpose existing long-form assets or podcasts into social formats. I’ve seen blog articles turned into multiple LinkedIn posts, short videos, newsletters, and infographics. This extends the reach of one core idea.
Featured Resource: Social Media Content Calendar
Content Marketing Planning Templates
Plan your content strategically with these handy templates.
- Editorial Calendar Template
- Buyer Persona Templates
- SWOT Analysis Templates
- SMART Goal Template
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3. Infographic Content Marketing
Infographics present complex information visually through charts, illustrations, and simplified explanations. Nowadays, growth specialists incorporate infographics into articles as a key summary of the topic and optimize those images for AI search.
- When to use: Data storytelling, educational content
- Buyer journey stage: Awareness
- Expected results: Infographics make research findings and complex ideas easier to understand and share. They often perform well on social platforms and in presentations.
- Practical example: In my experience, infographics work best when they focus on a single narrative. For example, an infographic explaining a process or summarizing research insights rather than trying to cover multiple topics at once.
Featured Resource: 15 Free Infographic Templates
4. Blog Content Marketing
Blog content marketing focuses on publishing articles that answer buyer questions, analyze industry challenges, and guide readers through solution evaluation. While blogs historically served awareness-stage education, modern blog strategies span the full buyer journey. Educational guides attract early-stage traffic, while comparison articles, case studies, and implementation guides help buyers evaluate solutions.
Blogs often serve as the foundation of a content marketing strategy because they support search visibility, thought leadership, and lead generation.
- When to use: Organic search and LLMs discovery, topic authority, conversion-focused education, and trust building
- Buyer journey stage: Awareness, early consideration, decision (MOFU, BOFU)
- Expected results: Blog content helps brands earn search and AI visibility, build expertise in a topic area, and attract qualified traffic over time. Articles can continue generating leads months or years after publication.
- Pro tip: Write articles that answer a very specific buyer question rather than covering broad themes. Ask AI what tasks your audience is trying to solve with LLMs, and how they phrase their queries. Use these insights to create focused articles and embed CTAs to make your product part of the solution.
Featured Resource: Start a Successful Blog
5. Podcast Content Marketing
Podcast content marketing uses audio storytelling to explore industry topics, interview experts, and build relationships with audiences.
- When to use: Thought leadership, audience loyalty
- Buyer journey stage: Awareness, consideration
- Expected results: Podcasts help brands build long-term audience relationships. Regular listeners often develop strong familiarity with hosts and brand perspectives.
- Practical example: Podcast interviews are a good means for pipeline-support content. Invite a customer or prospect, record a 30-minute interview about how they solved a specific problem, then extract three assets — a blog article summarizing the approach, two short video clips with key insights, and a quote graphic for LinkedIn.
Publish the article first, then distribute the clips linking back to the podcast. This way, digital marketers turn one conversation into a multi-channel content package that drives both reach and credibility.
Featured Resource: How to Start a Podcast
6. Video Content Marketing
Video content marketing uses visual storytelling to explain ideas, demonstrate products, and connect with audiences emotionally. Short-form video now dominates many social platforms, while longer videos help educate buyers about complex topics for B2C and B2B businesses alike.
According to Wyzowl research, 91% of businesses use video as a marketing tool, and it is the most-leveraged content format that generates the highest ROI, according to over 1,500 marketers worldwide.
- When to use: Social engagement, product education
- Buyer journey stage: Awareness, consideration
- Expected results: Video content increases engagement and recall.
- Practical example: Marketers shouldn’t reinvent the wheel and puff on another video script. A single research report can produce multiple short videos explaining key findings with the help of AI tools, which then drive viewers back to the full article or landing page.
Featured Resource: The Ultimate Video Marketing Starter Pack
7. Paid Ad Content Marketing
Paid ads can help you reach a broad audience and allow you to position yourself in all the places you want to be seen. They’re especially beneficial when paired with inbound marketing. You can share paid ads on different platforms, including on social media, landing pages, banners, and sponsored content.
- When to use: Amplification, campaign launches
- Buyer journey stage: Consideration, decision
- Expected results: Paid distribution accelerates reach and ensures content reaches specific audience segments. It is often used to promote high-value assets such as reports, webinars, or guides.
- Practical example: Paid promotion works best when it amplifies strong content rather than replacing it. In campaigns I’ve worked on, promoting high-performing organic content consistently produced better results than launching ads around entirely new material.
Featured Resource: The Ultimate Google Ads PPC Kit
8. Interactive Content Marketing
Interactive content invites audiences to actively participate instead of passively consuming information. Examples include quizzes, calculators, assessments, polls, and interactive reports.
- When to use: Engagement, lead generation
- Buyer journey stage: Consideration
- Expected results: Interactive experiences increase engagement and encourage users to share information about their needs or preferences. This data can support segmentation and personalization strategies.
- Practical example: From my observations, interactive tools perform best when they provide immediate value. Calculators or assessments that give users a personalized result tend to convert far better than interactive experiences designed purely for entertainment.
Take the HubSpot Customer Agent ROI Calculator. It instantly gives the value expressed in your cost savings from adopting the Breeze AI assistant for the customer success department. The landing page also has multiple CTAs and buttons to start a demo or try Breeze AI for free. These are great nudges to move prospects down the pipeline.
Content Marketing, SEO, and AEO
Content marketing and SEO work together to make valuable content discoverable when buyers actively research problems and solutions. Content marketing supplies the insight, while SEO ensures that insight appears in search results, AI Overviews, and answer engines like Claude or ChatGPT when audiences ask questions.
In fact, HubSpot’s 2026 State of Marketing research shows that 58% of marketers say traffic from AI assistants converts at a higher rate than traditional search visits.
For content marketers, this shift means optimization now goes beyond ranking keywords and links. Articles, web pages, and resource hubs should be optimized for answer engine retrieval systems.
On-Page Optimization Tactics
On-page optimization means structuring pages so search engines and AI systems can clearly extract answers and understand entities. Here are the best practices for on-page optimization for SEO and AEO:
- Start every section (H2, H3, H4) with a direct answer
- Use a strict heading hierarchy
- Keep paragraphs relatively short, under 3 to 4 lines, so retrieval systems can isolate the relevant passage
- Implement structured data (for example, Article + FAQ schema) so machines know the page type, author, organization, and questions answered.
- Incorporate explicit entity signals throughout the page
- Use semantic triples around your services (subject-predicate-object statements)
- Structure content with bullets and tables — answer engines love this format
- Reinforce EEAT by giving bylines to niche-relevant writers and creating authors’ pages
Planning Content for SEO
Plan SEO content by using AI to map the exact questions that answer engines already answer around your topic. Start by prompting tools like ChatGPT or Perplexity with: “List the 20 most common questions people ask about market research,” then group those questions into clusters such as definitions, processes, tools, and comparisons.
Turn each cluster into a pillar topic and publish separate articles that answer the questions directly, such as “How to conduct customer interviews” or “Market research methods explained.” Then, link articles back to the pillar page.
This structure creates a clear topical hierarchy that search crawlers and AI retrieval systems can process through internal links and sitemap signals.
HubSpot offers Content Hub, Marketing Hub, Breeze, and Smart CRM to support content marketing strategy, execution, and measurement in one system. Content teams can also map clusters, track topic gaps, and monitor performance using SEO Marketing Software, which surfaces optimization recommendations and topic coverage gaps in real time.
Metrics to Measure
Measure SEO and AEO performance by tracking how each content topic contributes to qualified traffic and conversions.
- Revenue and pipeline influenced by content. The most important metric because it shows which organic and AI-discovered pages actually contribute to deals or sales.
- Conversions from organic and AI discovery. Tracks leads, demo requests, or sign-ups generated from search and AI assistants.
- AI share of voice. Measures how often your domain appears in answers across AI systems like ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google AI Overviews.
- Topic visibility (not just keywords). Evaluates whether your site appears across a cluster of queries around a topic rather than for isolated keywords.
- Qualified organic traffic. Measures visitors from search who match your target audience and engage with the page.
- Click-through rate (CTR). Shows how effectively your titles and descriptions attract clicks from search results.
- Content engagement signals. Metrics like scroll depth or time on page indicate whether readers actually consume the content.
- Backlinks and referring domains. External references remain a strong authority signal that helps search engines and AI systems trust your content.
Marketing teams that connect content to pipeline typically use CRM-linked analytics. Tools like HubSpot’s Marketing Hub allow marketers to track which pages influence deals and revenue.
Common SEO Mistakes to Avoid
Answer engine optimization is relatively new, having emerged in the last two years. SEO and content teams are still figuring out frameworks for AI visibility across different platforms. However, some SEO tactics no longer bring results and are becoming outdated. Meet the list of SEO mistakes marketers have to avoid in 2026:
- Writing for keywords instead of questions. Pages built around keyword variations (e.g., “market research tips,” “market research strategy”) often fail to appear in AI answers because the intent is too broad. Instead, structure pages around specific questions like “How do you conduct customer interviews?” and answer them directly in the first paragraph.
- Publishing isolated articles instead of topic clusters. Single blog posts rarely build authority; create a pillar guide (e.g., “Market Research”) and link supporting articles like “Market Research Methods,” “Customer Interview Questions,” and “Competitor Analysis Templates” back to it.
- Ignoring structured data and entity signals. When pages lack schema, AI systems must guess what the page represents. Adding Article, FAQ, or HowTo schema helps bots clearly understand the page type and entities.
- Writing long introductions before answering the query. Many posts start with three to four paragraphs of background, but answer engines extract the first clear definition they find. Begin sections with a concise answer, such as “Market research is the process of collecting data about customers, competitors, and demand.”
- Optimizing for traffic instead of intent. High-volume keywords often attract readers who won’t convert. Prioritize topics tied to real problems like “How to validate a product idea” rather than broad informational queries.
- Neglecting internal linking. Without internal links, search crawlers and AI retrieval systems cannot understand topic relationships. Link each supporting article to the pillar page and to two to three related guides.
- Treating SEO as a one-time task. Pages lose visibility when they are not updated. Review top articles every few months, update statistics, expand sections, and add new internal links to keep them relevant. AI is hungry for fresh content, so updating content is a must-do.
Content Marketing Planning Templates
Plan your content strategically with these handy templates.
- Editorial Calendar Template
- Buyer Persona Templates
- SWOT Analysis Templates
- SMART Goal Template
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Content Marketing and Social Media
Beyond SEO, social media is another major distribution channel for content marketing. Our data shows that social media shopping tools are now one of the top ROI channels, with 23% of marketers naming them a top performer.
The same report found that 40% of teams said their most effective channel change was moving from broad platforms to niche communities. Social distribution is shifting toward more targeted, higher-intent audiences.
And when marketers look at platform-level returns, Instagram (48%), Facebook (43%), YouTube (42%), and TikTok (32%) deliver the strongest social ROI.
Like blogging, social media is easy to set up. Unfortunately, many brands go about it the wrong way. Here are a few tips to help you nail your social media marketing game.
Don’t use social media for overt product promotion only.
Smart marketers use social media to interact with their audience. They also use it to build an online community around their brand. Whatever your goal is, remember to stick to the basics of content marketing. Prioritize helpful educational content over intrusive promotional content.
Focus on a few high-impact channels.
From text-based platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook to video-based platforms like YouTube and TikTok, there are over a dozen social media platforms in the market. And it’s tempting to focus on all of them. But this approach will prove ineffective unless you have a huge budget and team.
Alternatively, research the social media platforms that your target audience uses frequently. Then, focus on about three of them.
Infuse humor and personality.
Audiences crave funny content. It’s difficult to inject humor into long-form articles while maintaining professionalism, though. However, it’s easier to achieve this on social media. Here’s an example from our social media team:
Next, let’s talk about how content marketing works and look at some content marketing examples.
How does content marketing work?
Content marketers attract an audience with compelling stories and by sharing valuable information. They also use content channels to build community.
So, content marketing for business isn’t just a technique or strategy but a unique form of communication. With that in mind, people have different needs at different stages in the buying process. To make sure your content meets a need at every stage, you’ll want to think about your conversion funnel.
Top of the Funnel (TOFU)
The top of the funnel is to build awareness with your content. At this stage, your target audience might know they have a problem, but they aren’t sure how to solve it. As such, you can focus on broad pain points and common questions.
TOFU content should pull potential customers in to help them better understand a specific problem. This gives you a relevant opportunity to introduce them to your solution.
Common challenges for TOFU content include:
- Competition
- Balancing educational and promotional content
- Tracking ROI
To address these issues, create a content strategy that grabs the attention of a specific audience. This strategy will also help create a plan that aligns content topics and formats with business goals. Then, create a list of KPIs to track your content performance.
Useful content types at the top of the funnel include:
- Blog posts.
- Social media posts.
- Short-form video.
- Podcasts.
- Infographics.
- Checklists.
- Ebooks.
- Webinars.
- Video ads.
Middle of the Funnel (MOFU)
Once a prospect passes to the middle of the funnel, they’re considering your product. They may have visited your site more than once, or they’re engaging with your social media accounts. They might have signed up for your email newsletter.
MOFU content should build a relationship with that person. At this point, they understand their problem and are comparing possible solutions. So, content should educate them on the specifics of your solution and show how it meets their unique needs.
This is also an important moment to build trust. A prospect might not be ready to buy, so pay attention to changes in user behavior. It can be tempting to make assumptions or go for a quick conversion, but that can damage the relationship. Instead, offer in-depth information and value to nurture your lead.
Great middle-of-funnel content types include:
- Email newsletters.
- Product demos.
- Landing pages.
- White papers.
- Case studies.
- Longer-form videos.
- Blog posts.
- Interactive content.
- Webinars.
You may have heard that social media is just top-of-funnel content. However, more users are making purchases on social media, and it’s also a popular channel for customer service and support.
Bottom of the Funnel (BOFU)
Bottom-of-funnel content helps your prospect decide and, ideally, convert. BOFU content should make it easy to test a product, understand pricing, and make a purchase.
Content that converts should drive action and create a sense of urgency. Prepare to respond to common objections and other blockers that can impact sales with your content. Personalization can add to the impact of your content at this stage. Creating powerful CTAs is also important.
Bottom-of-funnel content types include:
- Personalized emails.
- User-generated content, like customer testimonials.
- Case studies.
- Pricing pages.
- Competitor comparison blog posts.
- Video demos.
- White papers.
- Remarketing campaigns.
Check out this post for more on how to align your content with the buyer journey.
Now, let’s cover your content marketing strategy.
Implementing your strategy makes your content marketing efforts impactful. The result? You reach your target audience, convert leads, and generate sales.
How to Get Started with Content Marketing
- Find your target audience.
- Set SMART goals.
- Determine your KPIs.
- Decide on the type of content and content formats.
- Choose your content channels.
- Set a budget.
- Create a content publishing schedule.
- Create and distribute the content.
- Analyze and measure results.
Let’s dive into the steps you’ll want to work through in order to develop an effective content strategy. Treat this guide as your content marketing 101.
1. Find your target audience.
Creating content for a broad audience sounds like a good idea. But it’s hard to stand out with content that appeals to everyone.
Instead, focus on a niche of people with specific interests and needs. This can help you build a community with your content. To get started, look at your buyer personas. Then, answer the following questions about your target audience to help you narrow down the right content for them:
- What do they need from you?
- What challenges are they looking to overcome?
- Why do they need your product or service?
- How can you help them succeed?
- Where do they spend their time?
2. Set SMART goals.
The next part of your content marketing strategy is to set SMART goals. These should be specific to your business. They’ll likely complement your broader marketing strategy and company goals. Here are some SMART goal examples and SMART goal templates to help you get started.
3. Determine your KPIs.
Next, set key performance indicators (KPIs) for your SMART goals. KPIs are quantifiable data points you can use to measure your actual performance against your goal.
4. Decide on the type of content and content formats.
Next, choose the type of content to create and the top content formats. Types of content are the broad categories of content you plan to produce. Content formats are the specific presentation methods within a content type.
For example, blog posts are a content type. But, a blog can include content formats like listicles, how-tos, thought leadership, product reviews, and more. To get started, run a content audit to see what kind of content is already resonating with your customers.
Do some competitive analysis and look at industry trends. This research can help you figure out what content strategy will work best for your business. Then, look back at the various content we reviewed earlier and your target audience research to decide on content types and formats.
Content Marketing Planning Templates
Plan your content strategically with these handy templates.
- Editorial Calendar Template
- Buyer Persona Templates
- SWOT Analysis Templates
- SMART Goal Template
Download Free
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5. Choose your content channels.
Once you’ve decided on the type of content you’ll market with, it’s time to choose your specific content channels. Where will you share your content? Where will it live and be shared from?
For some of the content types, the channel you need to work with will be obvious. For example, if you’re creating Facebook content, your channel will be the social platform itself.
6. Set a budget.
Now, set the budget. Think about the type of content you’re creating and which channels you’re marketing that content on. Then, ask yourself the following questions to figure out your budget:
- Do you need to purchase any software or technology to create the content? Think about tools like Adobe Photoshop, a subscription to Canva, or a camera to take high-quality photos and videos.
- Do you need to hire any content marketers or designers (such as artists, writers, editors, or designers)?
- Do you need to pay for ad space?
- Do you need access to specific tools or resources to enhance or measure your specific type of content?
Make note of how your responses impact your budget, whether that’s an increase or decrease in what you may have already estimated.
7. Create a content publishing schedule.
To ensure you’re consistently producing content and sharing it with your prospects and customers, use a social media calendar or an editorial content calendar as part of your overall content planning strategy. This will help your team stay on top of all the content and allow you to schedule it ahead of time.
Use a free editorial calendar to schedule and optimize your marketing content and help boost conversions.
8. Create and distribute the content.
Create and distribute your content so your audience members can consume it — and possibly convert. This step is about more than creating high-quality content. Keep learning to make your content useful and engaging. Practice writing headlines, make the most of the latest content trends, and build skills in the media that your audience favors.
Promote your content on email, social media, and more. Connect with influencers, build co-marketing partnerships, and post ads to get more eyes on your best content.
9. Analyze and measure results.
Lastly, analyze and measure your results. Figure out what’s not working and make adjustments to enhance your content marketing efforts and reach your audience.
Look at your SMART goals and KPIs to track the success of your content marketing strategy. Did you achieve your goals and KPIs? Were you close to reaching them, or were you off in your estimations? Use tools like HubSpot Marketing Analytics Software or HubSpot Social Media Management Software to track analytics and results.
Content Marketing Examples
Successful content marketing is demonstrated through case studies and measurable business outcomes. The following examples will give you a better understanding of that and how you can incorporate content into your marketing strategy.
1. Instagram Content Marketing
Glossier’s Instagram account is on-brand and complements the rest of its marketing content. Even if the page didn’t say “Glossier” anywhere on the profile, customers would likely still know the profile belongs to this brand.
The Instagram page shares the Glossier product line, displays different products, and shows how to use each product. The profile feels and looks uniquely Glossier and depicts members of their wide customer base.
2. Infographic Content Marketing
I generated this infographic using ChatGPT to show how easy it is to create attractive, on-brand images that articulate key themes of an article. The infographic is well-organized and easy to read. It clearly shares information about the topic in a digestible manner.
3. Blog Content Marketing
Apollo.io runs a B2B-focused tech blog that publishes content on sales development, outbound strategies, data enrichment, and go-to-market execution. The blog focuses on specific operational problems, such as building outbound sequences, improving reply rates, or scaling prospecting workflows.
Each article is structured to answer a clear question and provide step-by-step guidance, templates, or frameworks that sales teams can apply immediately. This approach builds authority around Apollo’s core product use case while naturally introducing its platform as part of the workflow.
The content is tightly aligned with buyer intent and reinforces Apollo’s positioning as a sales execution tool for revenue growth.
To create similar workflow-driven content at scale, use HubSpot’s Free AI Content Writer to generate drafts, outlines, and long-form content in a fraction of the time. Then refine it to match your brand voice and unique expertise.
4. Podcast Content Marketing
Harvard Business Review (HBR) has a weekly podcast called HBR IdeaCast, which features industry leaders in both business and management. You can either subscribe to receive their hundreds of podcasts or pick those you want to listen to.
The podcast is on-brand and complements the rest of HBR’s published content. It also serves as a great way for HBR to connect with its target audience, enhance brand awareness, and gain more followers through a medium that differs from its typical work (e.g., podcast versus HBR article).
5. Video Content Marketing
HubSpot runs a multi-format video strategy across YouTube, Shorts, and social clips, where the same idea is distributed in different formats depending on intent. For example, a long-form YouTube video might break down a topic like “how to build a content strategy,” while shorter clips and Shorts extract one key insight (e.g., a framework or mistake) and distribute it on LinkedIn, Instagram, or YouTube Shorts to capture attention.
What makes this approach effective is how the content is designed for repurposing from the start. One video becomes multiple assets: short clips for reach, mid-length explainers for engagement, and full videos for depth. Each format serves a different stage of the buyer journey while reinforcing the same core topic. Over time, this builds both audience and authority without creating entirely new content from scratch.
6. Paid Ad Content Marketing
Revolve, a clothing and accessories company, uses paid and sponsored ads on social media (like this one on Facebook) to reach its target audience while they browse their news feeds. The content ads feature some of their products and details about their free shipping and return policy to drive target audience members to their site (and, hopefully, convert them into paying customers).
HubSpot’s Campaign Assistant can generate compelling marketing copy across landing pages, emails, and ads. Powered by AI, simply describe the campaign, define the target audience, and choose a brand tone. The tool will produce conversion-focused copy with headlines, body content, and call-to-action elements tailored to each platform.
7. X Content Marketing
HubSpot uses X (formerly Twitter) to market software as well as create a community among customers, target audience members, and industry leaders and experts. HubSpot shares product information, relevant content marketing tips, industry knowledge, and original research on X. HubSpot also interacts with users and makes sure anyone in need of customer support knows exactly where to go for help.
8. TikTok Content Marketing
Chipotle is an active brand on TikTok. The company uses the platform to reach and engage its customers and target audience members.
Besides reacting to others’ Chipotle-related TikTok content, the brand posts TikToks of its menu items, recipes, people enjoying their food, their restaurants, and more. They have over 2.8 million followers and over 63.4 million likes.
9. Viral Content Marketing
One of the clearest viral content marketing examples from 2025 came from Jet2holidays. The brand’s audio and slogan became the center of a massive TikTok trend, as creators used the sound in travel-fail, holiday-mishap, and parody videos all summer.
TikTok later named Jess Glynne’s “Hold My Hand” the platform’s Global Song of the Summer 2025, and said the sound had been used in more than 9 million TikTok videos.
Jet2 confirmed the business impact in its 2025 interim results: the campaign’s tagline reached more than 80 billion global views across 11.8 million social media posts, expanding the brand’s reach and awareness with younger audiences. The reason this example works is simple: the brand’s sonic identity was easy to remix, easy to recognize, and strong enough to travel far beyond the original ad.
Featured Resource: 20 content marketing examples that stand out
10. Interactive Content Marketing
Spotify expanded its annual Wrapped campaign in 2025 with Wrapped Party, an in-app feature that lets users compare their listening data with friends in real time. The experience combines personalization, social interaction, and gamification inside the product.
Since users were prompted to share their Wraps and compare listened minutes, this campaign ignited millions of social shares and increased brand exposure.
11. Brand Film Content Marketing
Canva launched its 2025 global campaign, “Put Imagination to Work,” to show how professionals use its platform across real workflows, from sales to HR to small business operations. The campaign includes brand films supported by product-focused content tied to launches like Visual Suite 2.0.
Each video shows a clear use case and outcome, which connects brand awareness directly to product value. The campaign also integrates across channels, including social, product pages, and in-app experiences.
12. Product-Led Content Marketing
Notion scaled its growth through a library of free templates, guides, and user-generated workflows. The library covers use cases like CRM tracking, content planning, and team collaboration. Instead of relying only on blog content, Notion built a content ecosystem directly inside its product.
Notion turns real user workflows into reusable templates, then distributes them through its website, community, and SEO-driven landing pages. Each template targets a specific intent (e.g., “content calendar template” or “CRM for startups”), which attracts high-intent traffic and converts users directly inside the product.
Content Marketing Planning Templates
Plan your content strategically with these handy templates.
- Editorial Calendar Template
- Buyer Persona Templates
- SWOT Analysis Templates
- SMART Goal Template
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Traits of Effective Content Marketing
With so many companies creating and publishing content online, it’s essential to go beyond the bare minimum. A secret?
HubSpot strives to meet the following criteria to make sure our content meets our readers’ needs. The result is millions of visits to our blog posts and web pages per month. You can achieve similar results for your company if your content:
1. Provides Value Beyond Your Product Offerings
Content marketing isn’t just about sharing your products to get readers to become customers. It’s important to offer value that empowers your customers to execute tasks more efficiently, such as making their businesses more profitable or shortening their morning routine.
Whatever the case may be, strive to create content that gives a solution for your customers’ most urgent needs. Your product may be a solution, but if you’re not explicitly writing a product page, you should only incorporate product mentions if they make sense.
In the blog post below, hair care brand Curlsmith helps readers understand how to reach the right balance between high-protein and high-moisture products. It doesn’t mention its products until the very end; instead, it educates the reader first.
2. Targets Readers’ Specific Buying Journey Stage
Providing value and answering customers’ needs is only a part of the story. In each piece of content, you should also target your customers’ specific buyer journey stage. There are three stages of the buyer’s journey: awareness, consideration, and decision.
- In the awareness stage, buyers are still researching their issues.
- In the consideration stage, they’re researching solutions.
- In the decision stage, they’re about to pick a provider.
If you’re writing a “What is [X]?” post, then the person who’s reading that article is likely not ready to decide about their provider. They are still in the awareness stage, completing research so that they can find out who offers a solution.
Conversely, if you’re writing a product page, the reader who visits that page has already researched potential products and found you as a possible provider.
That means you should pitch your product at every turn, reiterating your value proposition and differentiating yourself from the competition.
For example, Perfame isn’t shy about highlighting its products’ most valuable features. It claims it makes handcrafted and affordable perfumes that have a higher concentration of oils.
3. Demonstrates a Consistent Brand Voice and Image
No matter if you’re creating a blog post, web page, or ebook, your visitors should be able to tell who you are immediately upon consuming your content. Your brand shouldn’t sound as if ten different people are writing for you, even if that may be the case.
That’s why it’s critical to create both a writing style guide and a brand style guide. Both documents will confirm that:
- Your brand visuals look the same across all platforms and devices.
- Your brand tone and voice sound the same across all written communications.
Once you create both, share them with your content writers and your freelance or in-house designers. Your content marketing publications will be much more cohesive and consistent, which will keep readers coming back to you as a resource and make you look more polished and professional.
4. Timely and Engaging
Do your customers typically plan their finances at the start of the year? If you’re a finance startup, you might publish a blog post in January about budgeting quarter-over-quarter to prevent clerical errors and avoid overspending.
At the end of the post, you might include a prompt to check out your software or lead users to a template they can download after providing their email.
This is one example of content marketing that is timely and engaging. If you know your customers’ behavioral and spending patterns throughout the year, it’s critical to capitalize on that.
Publish blog posts and offers that capture them at the right time and answer their immediate needs. You’ll be ahead of the companies that publish similar content later on — and oftentimes, being first is all you need to win a customer over.
Now that we’ve seen the top traits of effective content marketing, let’s dive into the best resources you can use to learn more about it.
Best Content Marketing Resources
There are thousands of tools today that qualify as excellent content marketing resources. For the sake of this article, we’re going to keep things simple by providing a handful of our favorite options.
- HubSpot Academy offers free education to become an effective content marketer.
- HubSpot’s Resource Library gives you access to resources that will propel your content marketing strategy toward success.
- Content Marketing Institute has some of the best content marketing online education, print, and events available today.
- Blog articles, trends, strategies, and tips for content marketing by industry experts (like HubSpot).
- Podcasts about content marketing, such as This Old Marketing, or business trends, such as HBR IdeaCast, can inspire your content marketing strategy.
- Google Trends allows you to search for trends across broad topics like content marketing or for niche topics within content marketing.
- You can track the latest content marketing statistics on a reputable database source like Statista.
- Easy-to-use visual content and design software, such as Canva.
- Free or paid social media management tools, such as HubSpot, Buffer, or Sprout Social, to help you create and share your social content.
- Free or paid content and project management tools, like Trello or Asana, can help you plan and organize your content marketing strategy.
- Free or paid marketing software, like HubSpot Marketing Hub, connects your content marketing team, plan, strategy, and results to your greater marketing plan (and even a CRM).
- Free or paid email marketing software, like HubSpot’s Email Marketing Tools or Mailchimp, handles all aspects of your email campaigns and content.
- Your network on platforms like Twitter or LinkedIn lets you connect with those in your industry to discuss relevant trends, answer each other’s questions, and provide or ask for feedback.
Best Content Marketers to Follow on LinkedIn and X
1.Luvvie Ajayi Jones
Luvvie Ajayi Jones is a best-selling author, digital strategist, podcast host, and speaker. She’s known for combining humor with her experiences and background in marketing, communications, and new media. Her LinkedIn content inspires people on topics like work culture, authenticity, leadership, content, marketing strategy, and more.
2. Zontee Hou
Zontee Hou is a digital marketer, strategist, speaker, and consultant. She works with scaling companies to help them establish effective marketing strategies that work for their unique goals and audiences. On her LinkedIn profile, Hou shares her expertise in content marketing, social media marketing, marketing analytics, and digital marketing.
3. A. Lee Judge
Lee Judge is a co-founder and digital marketing strategist at Content Monsta. He’s also a podcast and video producer, speaker, and rev ops practitioner. On his LinkedIn profile, he covers a wide range of topics related to lead generation, social media marketing, how to apply marketing analytics and data, digital experiences, multi-channel marketing, the importance of sales and marketing alignment, and more.
4. Ann Handley
Ann Handley, Head of Content at MarketingProfs, is a bestselling author and speaker. She offers education and training around marketing that businesses can learn from and apply. Handley offers in-person and virtual training for companies on content marketing, storytelling, lead generation, and branding — topics she also discusses and shares content about on her X page.
5. Neil Patel
Neil Patel is a bestselling author, marketing expert, speaker, and website and SEO consultant. He’s a thought leader and industry expert in content and digital marketing. His X page includes information about his training and services, industry trends, marketing strategy tips and resources, and questions/conversational topics meant to engage followers and other industry experts.
6. Guy Kawasaki
Guy Kawasaki is a marketing strategist, author, entrepreneur, venture capitalist, podcast host, and the chief evangelist of Canva. On his X account, Kawasaki asks followers thought-provoking business questions and provides links to and information about new podcast episodes, industry trends, marketing strategy tips, and insights based on his experiences.
Frequently Asked Questions About Content Marketing
What is meant by content marketing?
Content marketing is a strategy where businesses create and distribute useful information to attract and educate potential customers. Instead of directly promoting a product, brands publish resources such as blog posts, videos, guides, podcasts, or social media content that help people solve problems or learn something new.
The goal is to build trust and authority over time so that when buyers are ready to choose a product or service, they already recognize the brand as a credible source. In modern marketing, content also plays a key role in SEO, AI search visibility, and lead generation.
What are the 5 C’s of content marketing?
The 5 C’s of content marketing are a simple framework used to plan and evaluate content strategy. They help teams ensure content is useful, consistent, and aligned with business goals. The five C’s typically include the following.
- Clarity: Communicating ideas simply
- Consistency: Publishing regularly and maintaining a clear brand voice
- Creativity: Producing engaging and original content
- Credibility: Backing claims with expertise and data
- Customer focus: Creating content that solves real audience problems
What are the 7 steps of content marketing?
A typical content marketing process includes seven steps that guide teams from planning to measurement. The process includes:
- Defining the target audience
- Researching topics and keywords that reflect the audience’s needs
- Planning the content strategy
- Creating the content
- Distributing it across channels
- Optimizing it for search and engagement
- Measuring results
The final step helps marketers understand what topics and formats drive the most traffic, leads, or conversions.
What is an example of content marketing?
A common example of content marketing is a company publishing a practical guide that helps customers solve a problem related to its product or service. For instance, a marketing software company might publish a guide titled “How to Conduct Market Research,” explaining methods, templates, and tools.
Readers learn how to solve a real problem while becoming familiar with the company’s expertise and relevant features. Over time, this type of educational content builds trust and often leads readers to explore the company’s products or services when they need a solution.
Engage your target audience with content marketing.
With effective content marketing, you can reach your target audience and increase conversions. There are several ways to market with content to boost revenue, grow your brand awareness and recognition, and build relationships with your prospects and customers.
To get started, decide which type of content works best for your business and audience and develop a content marketing strategy to begin boosting your bottom line today.
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in August 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.
Content Marketing Planning Templates
Plan your content strategically with these handy templates.
- Editorial Calendar Template
- Buyer Persona Templates
- SWOT Analysis Templates
- SMART Goal Template
Download Free
All fields are required.
Form not available
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