5 startups ruling the world of content marketing
Content marketing is hard and time consuming. Building a base of loyal readers is a slow process requiring a lot of hard work. It can also be quite discouraging when you write an article you think is particularly amazing and then struggle to get it read.
As the popular saying goes, “nothing good comes easy”. Content marketing might not be quick and easy but it’s really rewarding. I love interacting with people commenting on my articles or replying to Customericare’s newsletter. There’s nothing more rewarding than reading people commenting on your work or telling you they shared it with their colleagues.
Some brands are just a little better than everyone else at content marketing. Here’s a list of 5 startups with a killer content marketing strategy.
1) Buffer
Buffer has one of the best blogs on marketing and social media right now. What I love about them is that they always back up their claims with interesting data and research.
They actually published a guest blog post about it: How to write persuasive research-backed content. (Guest Post written by the founder of Groove, another startup featured on my list).
In few words, that’s the Buffer formula: long articles (usually more than 1500 words), studies & numbers to back up their claims, graphics and images to illustrate their point.
A great tip from them: Turn data into images, it makes it easier to read and attracts the user’s attention.
I recently subscribed to their newsletter and they rock that too. The welcome message is really nice and personal and the newsletter itself is a great way to find out about their newest posts.
2) Groove
Their blog is very unique and different from what’s usually found online. Groove sells a CRM solution that’s primarily targeted to startups and small businesses. Instead of posting list articles about their industry like everyone else, they decided to document their journey as a startup.
What I admire about Groove is their overall blogging strategy. It aligns perfectly with their target and in the end allows them to compete with giants like Zendesk.
They explain how their blogging is bringing them leads in this interesting article: The ROI of blogging. We honestly can all learn a lot from that.
A great tip from them: Use your personal experience to connect with potential users. Turns out people (even B2B clients) like to buy from people they feel close to.
3) AppSumo
One thing AppSumo mastered is their newsletter. It’s actually one of the rare newsletters I’m looking forward to. They specialize in awesome deals on softwares and online tools to help you grow your business.
What I love about their newsletter is the casual tone they chose to adopt and that’s now very typical of the Sumo brand. They don’t just advertise the product they discount, they explain how they used the product and how it helped them. All this in a very funny and casual way.
For example they sell this How to Make a $1,000 a Month Business Monthly Plan. In order to advertise it, they recently published an article on how they grew Sumo Jerky to $10,000 a month.
A great tip from them: Write about your own experience with the product you want to sell, or find people to write about their experience with it. Then tell a story, don’t just write numbers.
Noah Kagan, the founder of AppSumo, also has a great marketing blog definitely worth checking.
4) Helpscout
Helpscout is a gem in the customer service blogging world. They combine great data-oriented content with awesome design. I especially love their ebooks. They have them entirely online with an option to download a PDF version.
I love how their articles look though surprisingly they use a lot less images than other blogs. They just manage to format the text to make it easier to read.
A great tip from them: Make quotes stand out, turns out people love quotes and love sharing them. It also helps with your credibility.
5) Uberflip
I love good looking design so I might be a bit biased here but Uberflip has one of the best looking blogs I’ve ever seen. That’s actually what dragged me to them in the first place.
They also have a great social media strategy based mainly on visual content. They make an awesome use of pictures on Twitter, have amazing slideshares and youtube videos.
One last thing they do well is publishing articles mixing pop culture or big events with content marketing. Check out their Avengers article for example.
A great tip from them: Take care of your visual identity. If you don’t have design skills, keep it simple, just choose few colors and fonts that will represent your brand online.
Any brand you’d like to add to the mix? Please share your thoughts on the comments!
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About Customericare: We sell a live chat solution to help businesses connect with their website visitors. We’re all about building quality human interactions in customer service, marketing, sales or anything else really.
