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It’s an exciting time for content marketing. The landscape is always changing. That keeps us on our toes, but also offers many great ideas of how to connect clients and their customers.
In this post, we decided to take a look at how the most talked-about startups of 2016 are implementing content marketing into their businesses. We were impressed.
Here are five of our favorite examples of great startup content marketing.
Harry’s
Harry’s made Inc’s list of top companies to watch in 2016, and our list of top content marketing blogs. The subscription shaving service offers razor refills for $2 and a host of high-end personal care products.
The company’s blog, Five O’Clock Magazine, serves up equally high-end content. The site is full of varied and interesting content, such as the feature “A Barbershop in Myanmar,” interviews with interesting people, such as Mark Brumm, a writer for Colbert, and plenty of articles on everyday grooming tips.
Houzz
Home improvement and design platform Houzz, also on Inc’s top startup list, seems poised to do for the design and remodeling industry what Zillow did for the real estate industry. Idea books, feature articles, style guides, product listings, designer web profiles and advertisements, and consumer sketch and design apps come together in an interface unlike anything else.
The ability of website visitors to save products and articles for reference for their own home projects encourages many to create an account. Site members can then customize a personalized news feed with content for specific design styles, global regions, rooms, materials, and more. Â
Farmigo
Fresh produce startup Farmigo promises to bring fresh produce, dairy, and prepared foods from the farm to customers, bypassing the traditional farmers market. The online platform aims to save on overhead and offer farmers a higher return by reducing waste. Customers place orders for specific quantities ahead of time and pick up their order at one of the company’s distribution points in New York, New Jersey, Seattle or the Bay Area.
Farmigo’s content marketing includes articles on the company’s farming and food prep partners, company news, food news, recipes, and community updates. Recent pieces include “Grains With Integrity,” a post about the only California-grown and milled wheat flours, polenta, and pastas on the market, and a recipe for a tasty-looking German potato salad.
Betterment
The online investment platform Betterment is proof that financial content need not be boring or predictable. That comes in handy for a company whose primary user base is Millennials seeking financial advice on topics ranging from retirement and IRAs to taxes.
Betterment’s content marketing stands apart from many other financial startups. Though their blog has content verticals such as “Featured,” “Our Story,” and “Product News,” the company also has more than two dozen posts under the niche tag of “Engineering.” A recent piece, “Server JavaScript: A Single-Page App to… Single-Page App,” doesn’t shy away from the tech details — tech details that would be of interest to Millennial engineers and developers well positioned to become Betterment customers.
Ring
Home automation tools, like video doorbell startup Ring, are also finding their own content marketing niche. While founder Jamie Siminoff’s pitch to “Shark Tank” fell short in a 2013 episode, his idea has since taken off, garnering support from Richard Branson and becoming one of Business Insider’s top-25 LA startups.
Ring’s content marketing takes a two-fold approach. There’s a solid blog, with targeted, value-adding pieces such as an “Ultimate List of Burglar Deterrents” and “15 Neighborhood Watch Success Stories.” However, there’s also a Customer Stories playlist, which features wide-angle video and audio calls between homeowners with the smartphone app and home visitors filmed through the Ring doorbell device.
The Future of Content Marketing
If this list is any indication, the content marketing field is just getting started. There are endless ideas out there to explain your business’s value proposition, entertain and delight customers, and gain a dedicated following.
It just goes to show, working to integrate a strong, original, valuable content marketing strategy into your business marketing is never a waste. Keep your customer and brand top of mind, and you’ll go far.