Finding the right marketing partner changes everything. You want a team that not only gets the job done but makes the process enjoyable. When comparing Column Five and Ironpaper, you see two capable agencies taking different roads. Both help you grow, but the daily experience varies significantly. Use this guide to see which approach matches your specific goals.

Column Five focuses on building strong stories for B2B SaaS and tech companies. They make complex ideas easy to understand by prioritizing:

• Creative storytelling that connects with humans.
• Sharp data visualization and design.
• Content systems that ensure every piece feels on-brand.

Ironpaper helps companies create demand and master HubSpot. They often support large tech or manufacturing teams who need to:

• Automate the buying process.
• Turn interest into real sales opportunities.
• Track exactly where results come from.

The choice comes down to your current friction points. Do you need the people you are trying to reach to know and trust your brand? Or do you need to focus strictly on the mechanics of how people buy? This guide will dig into this by comparing Column Five to IronPaper.

A Closer Look: Column Five vs. IronPaper

Column Five bills itself as a B2B agency for SaaS growth, and they live up to it. They help teams get noticed and remembered with a resume that includes names like Instacart and Salesforce. Their process is driven by strategy and compelling storytelling, and they dig deep before they create anything. The secret to their successful content marketing is that everything they do feels connected.

IronPaper works best as a growth sidekick for companies that want to see clear, trackable results. They roll out demand campaigns, set up account-based marketing, and know HubSpot inside and out. They put a spotlight on what brings in actual dollars, and show that through dashboards and reports. If you want to see exactly which outreach steps led to new deals, this agency makes it obvious.

Both groups speak B2B tech fluently. Still, it helps to remember: Column Five shines when brand identity and industry-leading content are the focus. IronPaper gets to work when hands-on pipeline growth and marketing tech run the show.

Column Five: Story, Know-How, and How They Work

Column Five started in 2009 with the idea that telling your brand story is the best way to stand out. From their California roots, they’ve grown to a few dozen team members across the U.S. and earned a spot on the Inc. 500 list. They excel in their niche, helping SaaS companies carve out a competitive edge and forge meaningful connections through world-class content.

Before making a single piece of content, they listen. Their approach brings people together from research, strategy, and creative sides, pulling in every detail. It starts with:

• Audit—uncovering what’s already working and what’s missing
• Content strategy—mapping out where to go and what to say
• Creative execution—finally turning big ideas into things people want to read, watch, or share

Results can surprise in the best way. For example, when Blend needed more website visitors, Column Five’s strategy for SEO and content led to a 183% jump in traffic. Dropbox tapped them for a strategy that lifted brand perception 19%. Instacart leaned on their pricing campaign to reshape how its leadership looked at pricing altogether.

What do they bring to the table? Brand frameworks, creative systems, in-depth content strategies, and demand generation. Their menu includes visuals—motion designs, graphics, explainer videos, web pages—as well as written work like ebooks and executive leadership content. If a story helps people “get it” quicker, they’re likely already building it.

IronPaper: Story, Strengths, and Approach

IronPaper launched in the early 2000s and is based in New York and Charlotte. Around 70 people work at IronPaper, and they’ve earned high marks as a HubSpot Diamond partner and Google Partner.

IronPaper pairs strategy with doing. Their main goal is to help companies switch gears from “marketing costs us” to “marketing helps us grow.” They get their hands dirty building automation, running ABM campaigns, and making sure nothing falls through the cracks on its way to sales.

Stories at IronPaper often begin with measurable change. For Ambi Robotics, IronPaper launched a new brand image and fresh videos that moved them toward commercial scale. After tweaking the website and lead process at Goddard Technologies, conversions jumped by over 700% and millions in revenue were influenced. With Mobilewalla, smart tweaks brought in better-quality leads, rather than just more emails.

Core services include:

• Building systems for lead generation
• Creating ABM campaigns from scratch
• Setting up HubSpot and using automation so no inquiry goes cold
• Tuning the steps from first click to handshake
• Giving sales teams better tools and materials

They keep clients updated with clear ROI and pipeline reporting.

People working with IronPaper describe them as true partners. Solartis gained new customers after an uptick in brand awareness. Steelcase saw them as an extension of their own team. These stories repeat across the board.

Industry Focus and Special Skills

Column Five is a go-to for B2B tech and SaaS players. Their client list is highly impressive– LinkedIn, Google, HubSpot, and Oracle, among others. They also pitch in across finance, education, nonprofits, and real estate now and then.

IronPaper leans hard into B2B technology, cybersecurity, industrial, and manufacturing worlds. They “get” the quirks and long timelines of working in these spaces, especially when complicated products or multiple decision-makers are in play.

Their team lives for building demand programs and ABM workflows. They excel at rolling out complex HubSpot set-ups, building automation, and crafting sales materials designed to help real people make choices. Whether it’s running high-converting LinkedIn campaigns or turning SEO into sales conversations, IronPaper makes sure digital marketing doesn’t just sit in a spreadsheet.

Having HubSpot Diamond and Databox Premier partner status means IronPaper brings more than just good ideas; they know the tools inside out and help connect marketing with what works in the real world.

The Value of Staying Power

Column Five’s been doing this for over 15 years, enough time to smooth rough edges and figure out what truly moves the needle for B2B tech. Earning shout-outs from names like Microsoft, Adobe, and Salesforce says a lot about real impact and staying power.

Their agency structure has only grown sharper with time. They run on research, repeat what works, and always tie content back to outcomes. They’ve run blogs with hundreds of tailored posts and handled complex projects for years at a stretch. Consistency like that isn’t easy to find.

Client feedback backs up the hype. Vercel’s Keith Messick singles them out as some of the smartest, most talented partners he’s met. Amanda Smith from Instacart considers them the “gold standard” for close collaboration.

IronPaper, closing in on 20+ years, has a deep bench of experience building demand engines and automating marketing systems. Their work with clients like Steelcase, who juggle multiple product lines, proves they don’t shy away from detailed or messy projects.

The proof is in real numbers. They highlight how many conversions jumped or which pipeline improvements landed the biggest results. Their clients, in turn, often describe IronPaper as a real team member more than an outside vendor.

Strategy or Swift Moves?

Column Five never shortcuts the strategy. Their studio approach starts with precise research, not quick wins. They use their own proprietary frameworks to help brands claim a clear space in the market. In practice, this means doing several strategy reviews for Blend before going live, or spending weeks refining messages for Instacart so everything aligns.

Measurement isn’t just about numbers; it’s about understanding which accounts engage and when. Column Five doesn’t just churn out content. They build as an in-house team might, functioning as a larger extension of your team (especially helpful if you’re looking to scale).

IronPaper matches strategy with habit and hustle. When it’s time for execution, they get marketing and sales humming together. Automation, ABM, clear attribution—all of it tracks what turns outreach into meaningful growth.

They break down goals into step-by-step programs. Who are the best prospects to reach? What should they see first? Where can automation free up everyone’s time? Results show up not just as more activity, but as actual deals and new relationships. Their dashboards and reporting are built for teams who want to see progress, not just activity.

Creative Work and Portfolio Highlights

Column Five is all about creating compelling content that tells a cohesive brand story across touchpoints, whether that’s video for social, thought leadership for LinkedIn, or in-person advertising. They’re especially skilled at helping brands uncover unique stories and turn them into memorable content that resonates with audiences.

One example is the Fieldguide campaign, which mixed sharp visuals with smart proximity targeting. Their award-winning work with Mozilla used video to strengthen community bonds. And when HackerOne wanted to rally security leaders, Column Five helped turn big, technical topics into clear, motivating stories.

Feedback often highlights two things: creativity and reliability. Intuit’s Mackenzie Pedroza praised their industry curiosity and innovation. Zendesk appreciated fast turnaround and seamless project management. Narrative4’s Felice Belle noticed the close connection and care they brought to each project.

It all pays off in results, too. Their smart content and design pull in organic traffic and keep people sticking around for more—great for teams aiming to educate and inspire, not just market.

IronPaper also helps creative work do the heavy lifting. Their Ambi Robotics website redesign went well beyond visuals, adding motion, photography, and smarter navigation. It didn’t just look better; it worked better in conversations with customers.

For Goddard Technologies, new SEO and content immediately translated to more (and better) conversions. At Mobilewalla, they combined strong design with clear forms to raise the quality of new leads.

Every piece serves a job: landing pages built for answers, ABM creative to build momentum, quick-win sales materials, and technical stories that speak in plain language to the people making hard decisions.

How Working Together Feels: Pricing and Timelines

Column Five prefers ongoing partnerships but won’t say no to the right project. Their price list is open:

• Foundational monthly partnerships start from $15k/month, bringing a dedicated team on board
• Growth packages start from $20K.
• Their Scale packages start from $25K and include all the groundwork for campaign rollouts
• Other projects: Pricing depends on what you need (brand, motion, content, lead programs, paid campaigns, web design, etc.)

Timelines are clear, too. Projects get started a month or so after agreement. Typical delivery times include:

• Brand projects: 4-12 weeks
• Content strategies: about 6 weeks
• Infographics and motion design: around a month each
• Interactivity: 5-10 weeks, depending on what’s built
• E-books: 4-6 weeks
• Live videos: up to 12 weeks

Clients see them as quick and reliable, which matters when schedules stay packed.

IronPaper prefers longer partnerships, with custom retainers from $10k/month, usually running 6–12 months. Pricing is bespoke, adapting to the size and depth of what’s needed. They’re open to sprints for fast projects or steady month-to-month work.

Timelines aren’t posted, but common sense says expect a week or two for blog content, a month for whitepapers, and up to 10 weeks for video. Scoping together sets clear expectations and helps the process feel collaborative, rather than transactional.

When Each Agency Stands Out

Column Five is best for teams who want to stand out with standout with attention-grabbing content, unique storytelling, and cohesive strategy. The sweet spot?

• B2B SaaS companies aiming to outshine competitors through brand strength
• Need for powerful visual storytelling and data insights
• Priority on integrated brand and content systems—delivered with enduring value
• Organizations that build trust through steady, quality content
• Teams ready to use AI creatively, but keep the content sounding human

They know where your real story lives, then help you tell it on repeat without losing the spark or diluting the message.

IronPaper works well for teams focused on demand, pipeline, and scalable operations. Ideal matches include:

• B2B technology and industrial players looking at new growth moves
• Companies rolling out or rebooting automation—including HubSpot
• Teams who want real measurement at the account level, not just traffic gains
• Targets that tie marketing back to money spent and deals closed
• Full-funnel setups where sales and marketing need to work closely

Their work consistently boosts real conversations and conversions, and their hands-on approach gets things moving.

Sometimes two is better than one. When a brand wants to combine deep content with aggressive demand-building, consider working with both. Set clear roles and shared outcomes, and the collaboration will pay off.

How to Decide: Column Five or IronPaper?

The choice really comes down to what matters now. Want to leave a strong impression, tell your story clearly, and build trust? Column Five fits. Their transparent pricing, strong client roster, and standout visual work keep them top of mind for teams that care about brand.

But, if every outreach dollar needs to turn into new relationships or sales, IronPaper’s expertise with automation and pipeline metrics better aligns. Their case stories prove they move the revenue needle, not just the brand markers.

When sizing up agencies, match your main headaches to each agency’s strengths.

• Need a partner who works as an extension of your team to grow your brand? Column Five.
• Care about automation and proven lead growth? IronPaper.
• Faced with mixed needs? Test both. Clearly scope pilots and discuss who leads where.

Pilots help prove the fit. Ask for sample workplans, team profiles, and references that feel relevant—think about your own stage rather than just looking at the biggest brands. Review proposals that outline what success looks like, how teams will interact, and how work stays on track.

Column Five shows that a well-connected system is better than a pile of one-off tactics. With companies like Dropbox and Microsoft, their approach builds momentum—and that matters when the market crowds up. Their three-step playbook (audit, strategy, creative) reflects real experience, not just theory.

Above all, remember that the best agency helps you connect with the people you’re trying to reach, fosters trust, and moves results forward. Match their strengths with your goals, start small if needed, and build the partnership that goes the distance.

When you’re trying to reach different groups of people—and move them to act—you need good content and a clear call to action to finish the job. A well-crafted CTA can lift conversions across the board. The problem? Weak CTAs still sink plenty of campaigns. You don’t have to write award-winning copy, but a few simple tweaks to wording and placement can make a big difference in how people respond to your content. Here, we’ve rounded up some practical tips and real examples that show what types of CTAs work (and why).

As you read, watch for strong examples and action-ready prompts. Use them to spark ideas for your own approach.

But first, a quick recap.

What Is a Call to Action (CTA)?

Each piece of content you create can start a real connection with the reader, but you need something to keep that interaction going. A call to action is an invitation to take the next step.

A CTA can be a button, link, or short message that nudges someone to do something specific, like sign up for a demo, schedule a consultation, or download a guide. They are prompts designed to drive a specific behavior.

The best CTAs are:

• Clear
• Concise
• Compelling

Whether someone skims a blog post, watches a video, or checks the pricing page, using a simple CTA will help them move through the next stage on the path to purchase.

7 Tips to Write an Effective Call to Action

Because CTAs carry so much weight, you need to give them extra attention. No matter your industry or budget, use these simple tactics.

1) Use a command verb.

Strong verbs help people act right away. Marketing copy can set the scene, while the CTA gives direction. Imperative verbs make that direction clear (think commanding verbs like sign up, try, get, book, download, start, or join).

These types of words cut friction and guide the click.

Examples of command verbs:

• Claim your free trial now to start enjoying our premium features.
• Get your free e-book download today and learn how to boost your productivity.
• Try our limited-time offer!
• Join our community of like-minded individuals and start achieving your goals.
• Register now to secure your spot in our upcoming webinar.
• Upgrade your account now to unlock additional features and benefits.
• Start your 30-day challenge now and transform your life.
• Download our app today and enjoy instant access to all our services.
• Book your appointment now and take the first step toward a healthier you.
• Sign up for our free newsletter.
• Schedule your custom consultation.

Example: Bombas pairs “Go ahead, make yourself comfortable” with products built for comfort. The command matches the promise.

Example: Half Magic Beauty also uses an imperative command with “Take your glitterpill,” a cheeky play on words to encourage site viewers to shop their glitter cosmetics. 

2) Speak to your audience’s desired future state.

A good brand tells a good brand story, and that is directly tied to the promise you’re making to your audience. What will they get by buying your product/service? How will they benefit? How does your product speak to their wants or needs, solve a problem, or improve their lives? Crafting a CTA that promises their ideal future state (in which they’ve bought and are now enjoying the desired results) will always make them want to click.

Connect your call-to-action to that future:

• “Streamline your workflow today”
• “Maximize your productivity”
• “Transform your life”
• “Achieve your goals”

A little energy helps. Even one well-placed exclamation point can really lift the mood.

Example: Mailchimp skips the feature pitch and goes straight to impact: “Convert more customers at scale.”

3) Speak to their pain points.

Relief motivates. If a product removes friction, say that. Show that you understand the pain and offer a clear path out. This is a smart way to not only present your brand as the problem-solver but also reinforce the pain that the user is currently experiencing.

Example: HubSpot uses “Migrate without the migraines.” The promise is simple: move fast without the headache.

4) Create a sense of urgency.

Urgency can help when it’s honest and relevant. Words like “now” and “today” help, as do limited-time offers, countdowns, or limited quantities.

Not every offer fits a flash sale, though. If timing isn’t the hook, use energy and emotion:

• “Turbocharge your sales!”
• “Save a dolphin’s life”
• “Give a child a lunch”

Add intrigue to spark curiosity when appropriate.

Example: Glossier uses the mystery of “What’s that?” in its CTA to prompt the click and reveal.

5) Use a number.

Numbers add specificity and trust. They set expectations and make outcomes tangible:

• “Make 50% more sales”
• “Save 4 hours a month”
• “Join 1,000,000 people getting fitter”

Example: LegalZoom taps social proof: “Join the millions who launched their businesses with LegalZoom.”

6) Keep it short.

CTAs work best when they get to the point. Aim for under 10 words when you can. Focus on clarity over cleverness.

Example: Grammarly says everything you need to know: “Brilliant Writing Awaits.”

7) Speak to your audience’s generational drivers.

Different age groups respond to different cues. Tailor the call to action to what motivates them.

Baby Boomers: quality, reliability, service
They respond well to CTAs that emphasize the quality and durability of a product or service.

• “Invest in quality that lasts”

Gen X: independence, practicality, value
They want control, straight answers, and no fluff.

• “Make your mark”

Millennials: innovation, convenience, experiences
They respond well to CTAs that emphasize the latest trends and technologies.

• “Join the future of fitness”

Gen Z: impact, community, authenticity
They choose brands that act on their values and speak like real people.

• “Make a difference with every purchase”

Example: ColourPop speaks native slang—“Don’t get FOMO”—to drive urgency and connection.

CTA Examples and Best Practices

CTAs turn passive readers into people who act. To work, they need to be obvious, specific, and aligned to what people want.

1) Start with your primary CTA.

What do you want most: newsletter signups, demo requests, or free quotes? Lead with that, then add a secondary CTA for those not ready yet:

• Primary: “Learn more”
• Secondary: “Get a free resource”

2) Use proven templates to move faster.

You can then refine the language to match your customer and your offer. Keep testing. Small tweaks add up.

3) Use CTAs across the buyer journey.

They should show up wherever people interact with you:

• Landing pages: “Get your free download”
• Blog posts: “Start your journey”
• Emails: “Claim your spot”
• Social: “Shop now”

Match the CTA to the moment and the action you want. When the timing feels right and the ask is obvious, more people say yes.

Of course, landing pages are one of the most important places to optimize CTAs, so pay special attention to those.

Landing Pages that Inspire Action

A landing page has one job: turn visitors into customers or leads. Make one primary call to action the focus, then design everything else to support it.

• Use a single, clear CTA with a strong verb: “Sign up,” “Get started,” or “Call now.”
• Keep the layout clean. Cut anything that doesn’t help someone take that step.
• Add an exit-intent pop-up to catch people before they leave. If scarcity is real, say it: “Only 5 spots left.”

Think about how people are viewing your landing page, too. For example, most people visit sites on their phones, so the CTA needs to be mobile-optimized, easy to see, and responsive.

• Place the CTA where thumbs naturally reach. Make buttons large enough to hit without zooming.
• Use short, action-first language that fits mobile behavior: “Tap to get your estimate,” “Shop the sale,” “Download the app.”
• Consider a sticky footer button so the CTA is always within reach.
• Test on different devices. Check speed, spacing, and how the page feels in one hand.

Most importantly, keep it simple. Aim everything at the one action that matters and make it effortless, especially on a phone. Take a critical look at all your channels to make sure you’re offering the same experience. Pay extra attention to your social media, too.

Social Media CTAs

CTAs work when they match why someone opened that app in the first place. On mobile, they should be native, fast, and easy to act on.

Design CTAs for the format:

• Stories: use link stickers, polls, and “DM for details” to start quick chats.
• Reels/TikTok: add on-screen text and captions with the CTA in the first 2-3 seconds.
• Feed posts: put the action in the first line of the caption and mirror it in the creative.
• YouTube: use end screens, pinned comments, and timestamps to drive the next step.
• LinkedIn: end with a simple ask that fits work mode (e.g., “Save for later” or “Comment with your take”).

Match the action to the moment:

• Discovery content: “Save this checklist” or “Follow for next week’s tip.”
• Consideration content: “Watch the walkthrough” or “Compare plans in two clicks.”
• Conversion content: “Book a table for Friday” or “Start a free trial today.”

Use social CTAs to build momentum, not just clicks:

• Spark conversations: “Reply with a question” or “Vote and tell why.”
• Encourage sharing: “Tag a friend who needs this” or “Share to your team chat.”
• Nudge micro-wins: “Add a reminder,” “Save this template,” or “Turn on notifications.”

Make it effortless:

• Keep the CTA and the value side by side in the creative.
• Use short links or native buttons to avoid extra taps.
• Add captions and subtitles so the ask lands with sound off.

Test where it counts:

• Swap CTA verbs by format: “Try,” “Watch,” “Book,” “DM,” “Save.”
• Rotate placement: first line, end card, sticker, or comment.
• Track with UTMs and compare by post type, not just by platform.

Keep it human, keep it native, and ask for the smallest next step that fits the moment.

How to Ensure Your CTAs Are Successful

If you want to write CTAs that always hit the mark, there are a few more ways to ensure your copy always lands.

• Keep personas up to date. Review them every six months so messages reflect real needs, pains, and motivations. Revisit your marketing personas.
• Inject your brand voice. Keep CTAs clear, but let your personality show where it helps. Familiar labels still work for high-intent actions. For example, “Contact Us” remains a strong, simple choice. But you can play with your brand voice elsewhere to add more personality.
• A/B test. CTAs are easy to test and quick to learn from. Experiment with verbs, benefits, and formats to find the most effective version for your people.
• Consider design. Use CTAs with strong visual cues, clean headlines, and smart placement to guide action. Sales pages, especially, benefit from clear prompts that remove guesswork.

That said, CTAs work best inside a strong content strategy. For alignment across your content, grab our free guide to content strategy. And if you want help bringing that strategy to life, see what it’s like to work with us on content strategy or reach out.

A good content marketing machine is a thing of beauty, each piece well-oiled and optimized for smart production. But like any machine, if a piece isn’t working—or is missing entirely—the whole system struggles. Content teams are often plagued by both issues.

• The tool that doesn’t work effectively.
• The missing perspective that could have turned a basic blog into a cornerstone asset.
• The social plan that needs sharper targeting and timing.
• The analytics setup that doesn’t track what matters.
• The process friction that drains hours.

It’s no surprise, though. Most marketing departments face headcount limits and lean budgets, so work piles up.

54% of B2B marketers only have between 2-5 people on their content marketing team. 24% don’t have anyone dedicated to full-time content marketing.

—CMI’s 2025 B2B Benchmarks Report

But just because you have limited headcount doesn’t mean you can’t have a successful content team. Whether you have two people or twenty, you just need to shift your perspective from the number of people on your team to the type of roles those people are filling.

Job Titles vs. Roles in a Content Marketing Team

Checklist hiring is common in marketing. A team needs social, so they look for a social media manager. A team needs copy, so a writer joins the team. The result often mirrors a standard marketing organization on paper, but this type of hiring means important roles or responsibilities go uncovered—and that’s a liability.

That’s why it’s important to think about roles in terms of skill sets, not titles. One person may carry several skills:

• An editor can also be a tight project manager and copy shaper.
• A marketing manager can be both data literate and social savvy.

When team members get room to use their superpowers, collaboration improves, experimentation follows, and the whole content marketing operation levels up. That’s how a small team can outperform a larger one.

So which roles matter most to build a resilient content team structure?

The Roles You Need on Your Content Marketing Team

Every brand shares the same core duties: planning, production, and distribution. Cover the full arc—from content calendar ownership and ideation to pitching and performance analysis—and quality rises. The key to covering your bases is understanding what roles need to be filled and who on your team can fill them.

This role breakdown comes from our years in the trenches. Each role drives a strategic function, fills gaps, and maintains quality control so your content marketing efforts are successful (and always aligned to your business goals).

Again, this isn’t a comprehensive list of people you need to hire but rather a list of what you need to cover with the resources at hand. Organize for efficiency, have collaborative conversations about responsibilities, and bring in support partners when needed.

For your convenience, we’ve mapped these roles to the stages of the content cycle: strategy, creation, and distribution.

1) Content Strategy Roles

Strategy anchors the entire content marketing strategy. You need to build a documented strategy that aligns to business objectives and clarifies audience segments, themes, and key performance indicators. (If you need a framework, see our ultimate guide to build a content strategy and grab the content strategy toolkit.)

To be successful, you need to include the right stakeholders.

Marketing Leader

Whether a founder, a chief marketing officer, or another senior leader, someone must steer. This role connects business development, sales, and marketing, ensuring the content strategy aligns with company goals and reflects brand voice and visual identity. The leader protects focus and ensures the marketing function supports the sales funnel and the full sales cycle.

Marketing leader resources:

• Chief Content Officer: The monthly print and digital magazine from the Content Marketing Institute.
• The Content Strategist: Contently’s publication, covering content marketing news and analysis.

Marketing Manager

A marketing manager keeps the engine running. This person aligns plans to the marketing strategy, directs team members, manages timelines, and clears blockers. They help translate the content strategy into briefs, coordinate content production, and connect distribution with campaigns. Strong operators here often have a proven track record of shipping high-quality content on time.

Marketing manager resources:

• Basecamp: A project management tool with clear visibility into project status.
• Marketing Brew: Marketing news worth reading.
• American Marketing Association: Strong resources, including the piece on the 5 types of marketing managers.
• HubSpot’s Blog: News, trends, and tips for marketers at all levels.

Data Expert

Measurement turns a content marketing strategy into a learning system. The data expert sets up analytics, defines key performance indicators, and pulls valuable insights for optimization across marketing channels. This role informs content ideas, validates keyword research, and spotlights content that drives lead generation.

Data expert resources:

• Google’s Analytics Academy: Training to make analytics useful.
• How to Determine ROI: Smart ways to calculate ROI.

2) Content Creation Roles

With goals set and keyword research in hand, production kicks off. Creation is labor-intensive, so tight planning matters. A strong content team blends editorial judgment with design and technical chops to ship quality content consistently.

50% of B2B marketers rely on multiple teams to create content.

—CMI’s 2025 B2B Benchmarks Report

Managing Editor

The managing editor owns the content calendar, keeps cadence, and ensures every piece maps to the content strategy. This role coordinates contributors, enforces voice and standards, and balances written content with visuals. It’s the bridge between planning and content production.

Managing editor resources:

• CoSchedule: Editorial calendar, social scheduling, and task management.
• Feedly: Organize sources for faster ideation.
• Stormboard: Digital whiteboard for collaboration and brainstorms.
• Editorial Calendar Template: A practical planning tool.

SEO & AEO Expert

Search engine optimization and answer engine optimization fuel sustainable growth. This expert audits the site, prioritizes opportunities, and ensures content aligns to search intent. Duties include research, technical fixes, on-page best practices, and continuous testing across search engines.

SEO expert resources:

• SEMRush: Tools, guides, and training for SEO.
• Search Engine Land: Daily coverage of search marketing.
• Neil Patel: Practical traffic and conversion tactics.

Subject Expert

Expertise builds credibility. Subject experts bring depth, data, and stories that resonate with a target audience. They sharpen outlines, validate claims, and elevate thought leadership.

33% of B2B marketers say they have trouble accessing subject matter experts.

—CMI’s 2025 B2B Benchmarks Report

Resources to increase expertise:

• Expertise Finder: Connects experts, writers, and businesses.
• Qualified data sources: A roundup of free data sources to boost credibility.
• ClearVoice: Find expert writers and creatives.

Editor

Editing still gets overlooked. A sharp editor improves clarity, structure, and polish. This role enforces brand voice and ensures quality content across formats, including blogs, reports, scripts, and social media posts.

Editor resources:

• Grammar Girl: Quick editing tips.
• Grammarly: Handy plugin for catching errors.
• Upwork: Find freelance editors.

Designer(s)

Design makes complex ideas easy to grasp and preserves brand integrity with every piece of content they create. From infographics and e-books to video and interactive content, a strong designer translates information into visuals to increase appeal, comprehension, and retention.

Designer resources:

• Behance/Dribbble: Portfolios to find the right talent.
• Data Visualization 101 e-book: A primer on chart and graph design.

Note: Depending on your content mix—static, interactive, or video—you may also need:

• Developers: You can also see our keys to make great interactive content.
• Video pros: See our tips for choosing a video agency.
• Audio pros: You may need additional support for things like podcasting.

Writer

A strong writer turns insight into narrative. This role crafts clear, compelling copy that reflects brand voice and connects to the target audience. Great writers collaborate with subject experts and editors to deliver high-quality content that drives marketing campaigns.

Writer resources:

• Ann Handley: Practical writing insights.
• Headline Analyzer: Score headlines for impact.
• Hemingway Editor: Improve clarity and flow.
• Tips to Write Compelling Messaging: Build brand stories that convert.

3) Content Distribution Roles

Great content needs reach. Distribution puts the right message in front of the right people at the right time. These roles grow channels, build partnerships, and turn content marketing efforts into measurable marketing outcomes.

Distribution Strategist

This role designs the go-to-market plan for content, including paid, earned, and owned. The strategist develops partner lists, pitches publications, coordinates influencer collaborations, and aligns distribution to the overall marketing strategy and business objectives.

Distribution strategist resources:

• Muck Rack: Find relevant journalists.
• Boomerang: Schedule and follow up on pitches.
• Respona: How to find influencers.
• The Ultimate Guide to Content Distribution: A field guide to distribution.
• How to Pitch Like a Content Agency: Tips to secure publisher placement.

Email Marketer

Email builds durable reach. The email marketer drives list growth, segmentation, and testing. They design journeys that support the sales funnel, connect content to offers, and improve conversion with clear CTAs.

Email marketer resources:

• Sumo: Tools for conversion optimization and list building.
• HubSpot: All-in-one support for automation and analytics.
• Unbounce: Rapid landing page testing to drive lead generation.

Social Media Expert

Social media marketing evolves quickly. A social expert tracks platform trends, tunes content formats, and balances organic with paid. They protect tone, plan social media posts, and report what performs, feeding insights back into the content strategy.

Social media expert resources:

• Social Media Examiner: News, tips, and tools.
• NUVI: Real-time social monitoring.
• BuzzSumo: See what’s getting shared.
• Guide to Choose the Right Metrics for Your Social Strategy: Measure what matters.

The Other Folks

Beyond the core team, pull in partners across the marketing organization and even operational professionals.

• Customer advocate: Sales and service teams surface pain points and proof. Use those insights to create relevant content and stronger campaigns.
• Tech support: Keep your site fast, stable, and flexible—essential for embeds, interactive stories, and your content management system.
• The wildcard: People outside marketing often bring fresh angles. A product marketer, a creative director, or even operational professionals can unlock stories and data others miss.

How to Support Your Content Marketing Team (Even More)

Even strong teams need extra hands or a fresh perspective. Bring in a content marketing manager or a content strategist on a project basis, or work with content marketers who can span planning and production. Integrated marketing wins when other teams collaborate across goals and channels.

• If you’re not sure what to outsource, here’s how to figure out if you need an agency or freelancer.
• If you need a content agency, here are 12 things to look for in a content marketing agency and our best tips to collaborate effectively once you find the right partner.

Remember: The goal is to create a flexible team structure that supports a durable content marketing strategy, fuels marketing efforts across channels, and gives most businesses a competitive advantage through quality content that compounds.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How to structure a content marketing team?

Organize by roles, not titles, across the full content cycle:

• Strategy: Marketing leader, marketing manager, data/analytics expert
• Creation: Managing editor, SEO, subject expert, editor, designer, writer (plus dev/video/audio as needed)
• Distribution: Distribution strategist, email marketer, social media expert

Prioritize complete role coverage over headcount; one person can own multiple roles. Anchor everything to a documented strategy, editorial calendar, and clear KPIs.

2. When should we outsource content—and what should stay in-house?

Outsource when bandwidth or expertise is the constraint (e.g., design, editing, specialized writing, dev/video/audio). Keep the core in-house: business-aligned strategy, voice/standards, briefs, and final editorial control, so that outside work still advances your goals.

3. What does a Managing Editor actually own?

Editorial calendar, cadence, and quality. They translate strategy into briefs, coordinate contributors, enforce voice/standards, balance copy + visuals, and ensure each piece maps to objectives.

Infographics are an excellent way to communicate, and the right infographic ideas can help deliver a lot of content in an easy-to-read format. And, yes, they do look pretty. But they’re much more than a pretty package. When used correctly, they are a powerful storytelling device. By combining great visuals, great data, and great copy, they stimulate powerful learning centers in the brain, helping connect ideas much quicker than images or text alone. (If you want to learn more about their application, check out our guide to infographics.)

So how do you put them to work for you? Whether you’re a newbie who’s never worked on one before or a seasoned content creator who’s produced a ton of infographics, remember that all good infographics start with good infographic ideas.

I’ve sat through a couple thousand infographic brainstorms, and I know firsthand that coming up with a killer idea doesn’t always happen at will. So, to make things easier—and share some hard-earned knowledge—I’ve compiled a list of some engaging and tried-and-true ways to come up with great infographic ideas, as well as a few examples to inspire you. I hope it helps your next brainstorm.

16 Tips for Infographic Ideas

1. Industry Trends

You’re consuming information relevant to your industry all day: newsletters, articles, blogs, think pieces, reports, etc. These can all be great fodder for an infographic. Next time you run through your bookmarked content, think about what information stands out and how it might be translated into a piece of visual content.

If a particular item you come across stays with you—or irks you—there is probably a great infographic idea somewhere in there.

2. Pop Culture Trends

Music, entertainment, sports, fashion—these are great sources for infographic ideas. These popular subjects are always trending and, when gamed right, can help elevate the visibility of your infographic. We’ve visualized everything from rap artists’ lifestyles to breakdowns of blockbuster movies, so the options are pretty endless.

3. Social Trends

Cultural trends can be a powerful source to tap into for infographic inspiration. Organizations like Pew Research are constantly releasing reports on a variety of issues relevant to the larger culture, from demographic data to social opinion polls.

Whether they’re serious or light-hearted, broad or niche, think of how these trends may be turned into interesting infographics. For example, we’ve previously tackled the selfie-obsessed generation and the brunch phenomenon.

4. News Items

There’s no shame in newsjacking. It’s a great way to insert yourself into the conversation. For example, when California’s drought was in the news (and our SoCal HQ office was withering), we created our “7 Ways to Hack a Drought” infographic to spread the word on water conservation.

Monitor headlines and take a look at Google Trends to keep your finger on the pulse. One caveat: Avoid tragedies or hot-button political issues. We’ve seen too many brands mess up royally. (See our tips to make sure you’re newsjacking the right way.)

5. Upcoming Events

Ideally, you’re working ahead and carefully planning your editorial calendar. Make sure you’re regularly reviewing upcoming events—everything from major holidays to movie releases—to spot any opportunities to plug in content.

Tip: Forekast is “the Internet’s calendar,” and it tracks holidays, awareness months, etc. We’ve used it to inspire everything from our interactive infographic in honor of Black History Month to a camping guide to Coachella.

6. In-House Data

One of the best ways to differentiate yourself from your competition is to tell unique data stories. Not only are these interesting to consumers—and the press—but they are totally original because they’re based on proprietary data. (Translation: Your competition can’t copy them.) Beyond annual reports, case studies, or sales data, there are so many ways to find unique stories in your data. See our guide to data storytelling to turn your spreadsheets into great content.

7. Surveys

Whether you coordinate with your marketing team to poll your own customers or wait for a major industry publication to release their most recent survey results, this data is ripe for visualization. Pair it with a structured narrative, and you have infographic gold.

We especially enjoyed working on CWIF’s Egg Tracker Interactive Report. It was a ton of data made easy to understand through visualization.

8. Existing Content

If your brand has been actively content marketing, then you likely have an archive of previously produced content. Everything from blog posts, to press releases, to case studies can be repackaged to tell a new story. This is the easiest and leanest way to get more mileage out of your existing content.

For example, we turned a section of our Ultimate Guide to Content Distribution e-book into an infographic on how to optimize your blog for content distribution.

9. Company Culture

Content marketing is vital to a company, but culture marketing is also integral to your brand. If there are causes, hobbies, or other things that are of particular interest to you and your coworkers, let them feed your infographic ideas.

For example, after a discussion on women’s health, our team created the#PeopleForPeriods interactive, which aims to help destigmatize the discussion of menstruation. We also once tracked our Beer Friday consumption.

10. Academic Studies

There’s no substitute for amazing scientific data, especially when it helps support the fresh perspective and message you’re trying to convey. Google Scholar can help you search a ton of studies in a variety of fields, from social psychology to tech. You can use this to inspire your next idea or to help enhance one you already have.

11. Government Reports

There is a wealth of public data available from every branch of the government, all of which can be put to good infographic use. Most of it is easily accessible, and each organization has an active newsroom that puts out press releases for notable findings, which can be a great source of infographic ideas.

Here are 00+ data sources to comb for inspiration. You can bookmark particular findings or pull a stat to chew on later. For example, we used public health data to create this infographic on pandemics throughout time.

12. Target Keywords

You are making an infographic for a reason: You want it to be seen. You know evergreen pieces will give you the most value for the work you put into them, so why not use SEO to your advantage?

Depending on your goals, you’ll want to search relevant keywords to see what terms you might rank for. Consider what type of subjects or angles might be relevant to those search terms, and turn them into an infographic. For example, we created this infographic on designing effective visual communication to help our SEO as a design agency.

13. Tutorials

You can tell someone how to do something, or you can show them. Infographics are a powerful form of information design, so they’re ideal for tutorials. However, simply slapping pictures and words together doesn’t mean you’ve created a clear and easy-to-follow instructional infographic. You need to use visual cues and strong copy to effectively guide people through a process. For example, here’s a tutorial we made about the 4 ways to fold a shirt.

14. Something Someone Else Did

How many times have you come across a killer piece of content and wished you’d thought of it? It can be frustrating, but odds are if you thought of it, you can also think of ways to make it better.

Good content is about providing great value. If you can do something better, do it. Over the years, we’ve seen plenty of visualizations for particular cocktails, but when the Kentucky Derby came around, we decided to visualize how to make multiple versions of the classic Mint Julep. It was a specific spin on a visualization style plenty of other people have done, but we made it our own.

15. Company Materials

Time, energy, and attention are precious commodities. Communication in the digital age should focus on making the biggest impact in the least amount of time. Take a look at your existing company materials: sales brochures, press releases, employee handbooks, etc. It’s likely there is material in there that can—and should—be visualized to create a more efficient and enjoyable experience for customers and even employees.

This is a great opportunity to demonstrate your creativity to turn these boring pieces into visual gold. A great example of this is marketer Amos Haffner‘s resumé, which he turned into an infographic.

16. Your Personal Passions

If there’s something that you particularly love, or are just curious about, you can sometimes find a unique angle that might be worthy of infographic exploration. It’s especially impactful if you turn your company values into interesting infographics about causes you care about or ideas you want to promote. This helps you share your beliefs and cultivate a community around them.

How to Create Your Infographics

We hope these prompts have inspired a slew of ideas to keep your publishing calendar full. If you’re ready to bring those ideas to life…

• See our guide to create infographics according to best practices.
• Find out what types of infographics catch a publisher’s eye.
• Get 104 of the best free data sources for your next infographic.
• Follow our publishing checklist to make sure your infographic gets the most traffic.
• Avoid these design mistakes in your visual content.

And if you need any help creating your infographics, bring in professionals who can turn your concepts into professional-looking infographic ideas that truly resonate. Let’s chat about how we can help.

Maintaining quality and consistency in your brand’s content is a challenge, especially if you’re creating a large volume of content (or working with many content creators). Without the right direction, you can easily end up with Frankensteined content plagued by incorrect colors, misplaced logos, and off-brand messaging. Creating a seamless brand experience is crucial. (According to research, 35% of organizations achieved 10-20% revenue growth by presenting their brand consistently.) But how do you ensure your content is always on brand?

Create a comprehensive brand style guide—and use it.  

A brand style guide acts as the blueprint for everything your team creates. It’s never just colors or logos. It’s a complete approach for a unified look, voice, and feel across every single audience touchpoint.

What Is a Brand Style Guide?

A style guide is simply the documentation of your brand identity, presented in a format that makes it easy to apply the identity to any content you create. From your logo to your brand voice, it’s a toolkit to help you present a consistent, cohesive brand to the world. 

Why Do You Need a Brand Style Guide?

Everything you create should represent your brand accurately. But the larger your network, the harder it can be to monitor content and make sure everything is up to par. (Sometimes it isn’t even a freelancer’s fault; in-house teams can get a little too lax as well.)

This is why a brand style guide is so important. Not only does this provide consistency but it actually benefits your brand in several ways.

• More quality control: Not everyone has an Art Director available to look over every project, and oftentimes you’re up against a deadline. These, and many other variables, can result in content that is disjointed and ineffective. Your reputation depends on the quality of your creative content, so having well-documented guidelines ensures that you’re always putting out content you’re proud of. 
• Increased comprehension: Clear communication and good design make life easier for your reader or viewer. Guidelines for things like data visualization, color use, or typography help creators design content that is more effective, creating a better content experience overall. Also, this simple act is a tremendous service for the people you want to connect with. It shows that you value their time and are invested in helping them get the info they need and want.
• Better brand recognition: Brand guidelines help you deliver a cohesive brand experience, making it easier for people to recognize your valuable content. When you provide consistent, high-quality content, people come to rely on you and—even better—seek out your content. They trust you will deliver what they want every time, and that trust is the basis of every strong relationship. 

Ultimately, if you want to build a successful brand, you need a style guide.

Example: Whether it’s an e-book or infographic, LinkedIn adheres to a strict visual language, including consistent use of their signature blue color, data visualization style, and other details. 

What Should a Brand Style Guide Include?

Your goal is to create a practical style guide that empowers brand creators to create a variety of on-brand content. While style guides are often thought of as design-only, you want a document that helps people understand how your brand looks and speaks. What might that look like?

Brand Heart: This is basically the high-level explanation of your brand’s core principles, which can influence everything from the way you speak to customers to the way you design your websites. It encompasses your:

• Purpose: Why do you exist?
• Vision: What future do you want to help create? What does the future look like?
• Mission: What are you here to do? How do you create that future?
• Values: What principles guide your behavior? 

Verbal Identity: This is everything related to how you speak about your company, describe your products, communicate with customers, etc. This includes your:

• Brand essence
• Voice
• Tone
• Personality
• Messaging
• Tagline
• Value proposition
• Messaging pillars/differentiators

Visual Identity:

• Logo
• Colors
• Typography
• Additional elements (if needed)
• Photography
• Illustration
• Iconography
• Data visualization

Note: If you’re a new brand, you may not have a full brand identity created. But you should at least have the basics (logo, color, typography), as well as brand voice and personality guidelines.

If there are any of these elements you haven’t built out yet, see our guides to:

• Articulate your brand heart.
• Find your brand voice and personality.
• Write a great tagline and value prop.
• Create your messaging pillars.
• Design a brand identity.

What Makes a Good Style Guide?

An incomplete style guide is basically just as effective as no style guide at all. If you want yours to be as helpful as possible, it should be:

• Comprehensive: Again, your style guide should help anyone create on-brand content, so make sure you have included as much relevant information as possible.
• Practical: You want your style guide to be comprehensive, but you don’t need to overwhelm people with information. (This will make it cumbersome, and your team will probably avoid using it.) Provide clear direction with simple, succinct language, and helpful examples.
• Accessible: Everyone on your team should know where to find your style guide.

Most importantly, your style guide should be customized for your brand’s unique needs—whatever they may be. For more insights, check out how to create brand guidelines that work.

How to Create a Style Guide

So how do you make guidelines that work for everyone? Just follow this step-by-step guide.

Step 1: Choose Your Format

Depending on your needs, you can design your style guide for multiple mediums. 

• Static (print): If you’re going old school, you can create printed guidelines. We’ve seen plenty of brands transform their guidelines into works of art in this way. (See the award-winning hard copy of the Fisher and Paykel brand guidelines.)
• Static (web): Digital guidelines are the easiest way to make your guidelines accessible from anywhere. You can simply create a PDF for your site or server.
• Interactive (web): More and more brands are opting for interactive style guides, which are easy to navigate and more dynamic. 

You may even experiment with all three formats, depending on your needs.

Step 2: Create a TOC

Your brand guidelines are the summation of your brand strategy. They basically function as your bible; therefore, they should include everything anyone might need to know about your brand. To guide your creation, outline the elements you plan to include.

Again, you don’t have to include each of these items if they aren’t relevant, but you should include the basics (verbal identity and logo, color, typography).

Brand Heart: You can also include your company history, milestones, or any other relevant info one would want to know about the company’s background. This information is important because it explains the core of your brand: who you are, what you do, and why it matters. 

• Purpose
• Vision
• Mission
• Value

Verbal Identity: In addition to these, you can include any other elements that help people communicate more effectively or provide more context (e.g., a list of words you DON’T use, or the standard descriptions of your services).

• Brand essence
• Voice
• Tone
• Personality
• Messaging
• Tagline
• Value proposition
• Messaging pillars/differentiators

Visual Identity: 

• Logo
• Colors
• Typography
• Additional elements (if needed)

Photography

Illustration

Iconography

Data visualization

Depending on the size of your company, the industry you’re in, or the content or products you produce, you might include directions for additional things, such as audio branding or even scent branding.

Step 3: Build Out Your Style Guide

Now that you have your outline, you can start to flesh out your guidelines. Focus on clarity and practicality as you write your copy and add design. To make your style guide easier to apply, you can also include tips, call-outs, sidebars, etc. We find it especially helpful to include: 

• Dos and don’ts: This is helpful to identify the key mistakes to avoid.
• Checklists: It’s probably not realistic for every single piece of creative content to be approved by an Art Director, but it’s important to give content a final edit/once-over to ensure on-brand design. A simple checklist can help catch any of those little errors like incorrect logo usage—before it goes out the door. 
• Examples: How should your brand voice be used for social, press releases, marketing emails, or product descriptions? What does your typography hierarchy look like? What are the correct logo dimensions? Showing what these things look like in real life makes them much easier to emulate.
• Tools and resources: Do you use an app to double-check your hex codes? If it helps you, it will probably help others.

For each section, give enough detail to explain but don’t exhaust your reader. If your brand guidelines are the size of an encyclopedia, they will only serve as a beautiful paperweight on someone’s desk. (And if a noob can’t interpret it, you’ll be in trouble.)

Example: The Expanded Special Project for Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases guidelines provide direction on proper logo use, including when and where colored logos should be used. 

Remember: Helpful brand guidelines don’t just tell—they show. When and where you can, let design do the heavy lifting. Also, your brand guidelines themselves are a piece of branded content. Inject your brand personality wherever you can.

Step 4: Vet Your Style Guide

The whole point of a style guide is to eliminate questions about how to design on-brand content. Whether you have 5 content creators or 500 working for your brand, it’s smart to ask someone to proof and sanity-check your style guide before you distribute it to everyone. (Otherwise, you may be flooded with questions and comments.)

Share it with someone who is intimately familiar with the brand to find out:

• Is it clear?
• Is there anything missing?
• Are there additions that may improve the reader’s experience?

Ultimately, a style guide only helps a brand if it helps the people who work for the brand.

Step 5: Make Your Brand Guidelines Easy to Access

One of the most common reasons people ignore brand guidelines is simply because they can’t find them, and that’s how you end up with 1,000 brochures printed with your old logo.

Make sure your guidelines are in an easy-to-find place (e.g., company server or company Wiki) and shared with everyone, especially new employees or creative partners. Even if you have a printed version, render a digital PDF too. 

5 Awesome Brand Style Guides to Inspire You

Every brand is unique, but if you want to add a dash of creativity to your guidelines (and who doesn’t?), here are some of our favorite style guide examples that do it the right way. For more, see brand identity design and examples and our curated list of brands with a bold and beautiful visual identity.

1) Mailchimp

Mailchimp offers interactive guidelines for both copywriting and design. The level of detail they provide for copywriters is unparalleled. Want to know how to write legal content? Newsletters? Social content? They detail it all, along with writing principles, web tips, word stylization, and more.

Similarly, their design guidelines are both beautiful and succinct, communicating the brand’s design philosophy through the guidelines themselves.

2) Zendesk

A strong brand identity is able to tell a strong story, and Zendesk does that supremely well. In fact, their style guide feels less instructional and more editorial, as they break down the elements of their brand identity, including simple dos and don’ts, tips, and resources to make it easy to apply.

3) Gusto

Not every brand needs to design a clean interactive. A well-designed PDF can be just as helpful, as Gusto proves. Their brand guidelines shine because of their simplicity and efficacy. Not only do they provide practical guidelines but they really educate the user on why these guidelines are so important and how they communicate the brand’s philosophy.

4) ELM

Colorful, clean, and engaging—those are the hallmarks of ELM’s brand guidelines. Smooth interactivity, animation, and visuals make this a joy to behold. They do a fantastic job of letting design do the heavy lifting, too. For example, instead of simply explaining how the primary, secondary, and accent colors should be applied, they created a colorful data visualization that breaks down usage across the brand. This is exactly the type of creativity that can turn brand guidelines into a powerful piece of communication. 

5) Starbucks

For a megabrand like Starbucks, maintaining a cohesive brand identity is a challenge. But with their comprehensive brand style guide, Starbucks provides all the guidelines creators need to succeed.

The interactive guidelines are beautifully designed according to the brand identity itself, featuring the brand’s signature colors, as well as animation and a bevy of case studies (aka visual real-world examples) to capture attention.

Always Keep Your Brand Guidelines Updated

Your brand is always growing and changing, so your brand guidelines should reflect that. Work with your brand team to schedule regular content reviews to make sure the guidelines are being appropriately applied. Brand stakeholders should also identify what needs to be updated, expanded, clarified, removed, or edited.

Most importantly, have regular conversations about what is or isn’t working, and ask your team for any ideas that will make using brand guidelines easier. For expert help, preserve your brand integrity with professional brand guidelines.

Brand Style and Storytelling Pay Off

At the end of the day, a sharp, consistent brand style creates trust. Your content will better connect. People will start to recognize and remember what your company represents. That feeling of familiarity? It pays dividends over time.

That said, if assembling guidelines feels like too much, consider calling in outside experts who live and breathe consistency. Find out what it’s like to work with Column Five on your brand identity. We’d be happy to take it off your plate.

• Set measurable goals using the OKR method (Objectives & Key Results) to track progress and demonstrate ROI. Here are the most common marketing metrics to track by stage:
• For awareness, track:
  • Reach:
    • Impressions
    • Page Views
    • Unique visitors
    • Publication pickup
    • Social content (followers, likes, subscribers)
    • Email/newsletter (subscribers, unsubscribers, open rate, churn rate)
    • Organic traffic (SEO)
  • Perception:
    • Brand indexes/surveys
    • Social sentiment
• For consideration, track:
  • Engagement:
    • Site traffic
    • Time on site
    • Lead gen rate
    • Bounce rate
    • Return rate
    • Pages per visit
    • Comments
    • Asset downloads (e-books, coupons, etc.)
• For analysis, track conversions, including:
  • Leads
  • Qualified leads
  • MQLs
  • SAL
• For purchase, track deals closed, upgrades, upsells. 
• For the loyalty stage, track satisfaction and advocacy, including:
  • Referrals
  • Product usage
  • Customer review scores
  • Product registrations
  • Account renewals
  • Product return rate
  • Testimonials

Read more → How to Choose (and Use) the Right Content Marketing Metrics

If creating “good” content is your marketing strategy, you’re already losing the game. Good content is quickly becoming invisible content. Why? Because we live in a world where creating good content has never been easier. AI-powered tools and streamlined workflows allow us to produce in minutes what would have taken hours (or even days) a few years ago. Everyone can create good content, so audiences not only expect it but they consider it table stakes. They want something more. They want truly great content that really stands out. 

Are you giving it to them? 

Content: The Key to a Winning Brand

Brands have been generating a steady stream of content for years, but with the advent of AI, that stream has become a tsunami. A lot of it is bad, but more and more of it is actually good. It’s comprehensive. It’s easy to understand. It’s perfectly decent. 

But the truth is if it doesn’t stop scrolls or turn heads, it’s just white noise. 

Remember: Brand is the last remaining competitive advantage. Your content is often your audience’s first introduction to your brand, helping inform their perception of you. So it’s your content that directly influences whether they trust you, rely on you, or feel confident spending their money with you. 

Yes, your product/service matters. But your customer experience matters more. And that is directly affected by your content. If that content doesn’t strike them as unique, interesting, or valuable, it won’t stand out and—unfortunately—your brand will be entirely forgettable. 

Why Marketers Fall into the Good Content Trap

In this landscape, the savvy brands—those with adequate resources, the right partners, and the space and support to do truly great work—are going to thrive. But too many marketers are hampered by a range of problems that make it hard to break out of the “good enough” content rut. 

The most common we’ve observed in our clients:

• Resource constraints: According to the Content Marketing Institute, 49% of B2B marketers expect their budget to stay the same or decrease. Marketing teams that were once specialists are being forced to become generalists, spinning plates, racing deadlines, and struggling to do more with less. As a result, they often don’t have the resources or time to put in the work to create best-in-class content.
• A checklist mentality: A lot of organizations view content as a tedious marketing task, a commodity to be produced, or just another box to check. This mindset makes it incredibly hard to create an enduring brand that wins. They just continue pushing unoriginal content out the door and hoping it’ll move the needle. (In all likelihood, it leaves them fighting for scraps in a crushingly competitive market.) 
• Organizational challenges: In some organizations, it can be difficult to get buy-in from senior leadership who are either deeply risk averse or simply don’t understand the true value of content. (Or, worse, they think that AI-generated content is the simple solve.) This is one of the most significant challenges to overcome, especially when these people are the budget gatekeepers. 

No matter what the immediate barriers are, it doesn’t change the fact that content is the most important tool you have to engage your audience. And it is more important than ever, especially as B2B buyer behavior has shifted. These buyers are far more independent. They want more self-serve options (which means more content). And they’re incredibly close to making up their mind by the time they even reach out.

According to The APAC B2B Buyer Journey Research Report, 73% of the buyer’s journey has occurred before prospects engage with sellers. 

That means B2B buyers have already done 73% of the work on their own—researching, reading, comparing, etc. And guess what? A simple Google search isn’t the only way they’re going to find or assess you. Critical business decisions now happen in private Slack groups, on LinkedIn, and through AI chat tools. You need to think about how your content shows up across these channels—and how it compares to your competition.

Luckily, there is one thing that will actually make your content better and help you outshine everybody.

The Secret to Make Good Content Marketing Great

If you want to make the shift from good to great, add one thing to your content: experience. 

Anyone can create expert content (especially with AI). You can spit out lengthy guides about any topic all day long. But these pieces of thought leadership are rarely unique. They tend to sound like the same recycled piece that everyone else is publishing. There’s one thing that AI and your competitors can’t imitate, though, and that’s your experience. 

People are desperate to hear from real people’s experience (especially in a world of AI-generated fluff), so the more you can couple your expertise with your personal experience, the more people will trust you. 

There are so many ways that you can infuse this into your content, including:

• Personal lessons (wins and failures)
• Insider tips and insights
• Employee/expert spotlights
• Behind-the-scenes content
• Experiments/results
• Frameworks/processes
• Case studies and examples
• Client testimonials 
• Proprietary data 
• Polls (ask others to share their personal experiences)

And remember that experience can come from multiple individuals/teams in your company. There are probably plenty of in-house experts whose insights might be interesting to your audience; you just need to tap them for those gems. (To do this, see our tips to turn those coworkers into great content creators.)

Yes, sourcing this expert insight can be more time-consuming. But it is well worth it. 

On that note, it’s also worthwhile to reassess your entire content strategy and hone in on what’s working and what’s not. Some key questions to ask: 

• Does your content strategy align with your brand’s larger goals? If you don’t have a clear throughline, it doesn’t matter how great your content is. It won’t get you any closer to your larger goals. (Find out more about how to align your brand and content strategy.) 

• Are you focusing on quantity over quality? You should focus exclusively on what moves the needle. That means you might need to do less—but better. Create a stringent system to vet ideas and make sure they’ll resonate with your audience. When you’re ideating new content ideas, this means saying no more often than yes. But that’s OK. That’s how you raise the bar and make your content stand out. (Find out more about why we’ve been encouraging brands to make less content.) 

• Are you investing the right resources in content creation? You may be underinvesting or overinvesting, depending on the type of content you’re creating. This is why it’s important to be critical about the things you’re creating. For example, we once sunk a lot of resources into a fancy, lengthy interactive e-book, but we soon realized our audience preferred a simple, easy-to-reference downloadable PDF. We ended up translating the content into that preferred format, but we could have saved ourselves a lot of time and energy if we thought more about our audience’s needs vs. our own desires. 

• Do you have the right team and tools in place? Yes, AI tools can help increase your productivity and eliminate pesky tasks, but you still need human oversight—especially in content creation. Make sure you have the right infrastructure to effectively ideate and produce high-quality content. 

• Are you measuring what matters, not just what’s easy to track? It’s easy to fill your reports with vanity metrics that look great and tell you nothing. Focus on meaningful measurement that gives you genuine insights to shape your strategy. 

• Is your content truly differentiated, or just following the crowd? It’s easy to get stuck in a rut when it comes to marketing content. But just because you’re used to creating a particular type of content, or using a particular format, doesn’t mean it’s best for your audience. Try new things and track how they perform. You might be surprised to see what actually resonates. (You can also use our free template to conduct a proper content audit, which will help you spot gaps and opportunities to create more effective content.) 

You might not be able to makeover your content strategy overnight, but thoughtful, incremental changes will help you drastically improve the quality over time—and that is the most significant thing you can do to position your brand successfully. 

If there’s anything you take away from this, remember: Creating exceptional content isn’t just about standing out; it’s about survival. Yes, platforms come and go. Algorithms evolve. Workflows adjust. But the fundamental principle remains the same. The brands that win are the ones that can create undeniable content—content that earns attention naturally, builds genuine trust, and makes the brand the obvious choice.

A great data story starts with great data. That means it’s comprehensive, complete, and credible. But where do you find it? The best free data sources come from all sorts of places. You may have some in-house. You may come across some in an interesting study. Or you may need to start from scratch. Luckily, you can always turn to your dear friend, the Internet, to find fantastic, free data from a ton of solid sources.

We’ve used public data to create all sorts of content, from infographics to interactives, so we know what a goldmine it is. We also know that finding it can be a challenge. That’s why we’ve created this roundup—to make your search a lot easier. Here, you’ll find over 100 free data sources from reputable organizations around the world. And to make your search even easier, they’re organized by category so you can find the data you need as fast as possible. We hope it helps.

Free Data Sources: General/Academic

1. UNData: A statistical database of all United Nations data.

2. Amazon Public Data Sets: A repository of large datasets relating to biology, chemistry, economics, and physiology, including the Human Genome Project.

3. Pew Research: Public opinion polls, demographic research, content analysis, and other data-driven social science research.

4. Google Scholar: A wide array of information, including articles, theses, books, abstracts, white papers, and court opinions.

5. Datasets Subreddit: A dive into anything and everything, from English grain prices of the 14th Century to U.S. homelessness rates.

6. FiveThirtyEight: Statistical analysis that tells compelling stories about elections, politics, sports, science, economics, and more.

7. Qlik DataMarket: A place to check out data related to economics, healthcare, food, agriculture, and the automotive industry.

8. The Upshot by New York Times: News, analysis, and graphics about politics, policy, and everyday life.

9. Enigma Public: Broad collection of open data, curated for easy perusing.

10. Harvard Dataverse: A repository for research data.

Free Data Sources: Content Marketing

11. Buffer: Data insights on digital marketing.

12. Moz: Insights on SEO.

13. HubSpot: A large repository of marketing data.

14. Content Marketing Institute: The latest news, studies, and research on content marketing.

Free Data Sources: Crime

15. Uniform Crime Reporting Statistics: Statistics on violent crime, such as murder, rape, robbery, and assault; has decades of data at city, county, state, and national levels.

16. FBI Crime Data Explorer: Statistical crime reports and publications detailing specific offenses and outlining trends to understand crime threats at both local and national levels.

17. National Archive of Criminal Justice Data: Original research based on archived data concerning criminal justice and criminology.

18. Bureau of Justice Statistics: Information on anything related to U.S. justice system, including arrest-related deaths, census of jail inmates, national survey of DNA crime labs, surveys of law enforcement gang units, etc.

Free Data Sources: Drugs

19. U.S. Food and Drug Administration: Drug approvals and databases, including therapeutic equivalence evaluations for approved multi-source prescription drug products.

20. National Institute on Drug Abuse: Resources that cover a variety of drug-related issues, such as drug usage, emergency room data, and prevention and treatment programs.

21. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime: Research, trend analysis, and forensics with global and regional data collections.

22. Drug War Facts: Thorough look at drugs and drug policy, applied to public health and criminal justice issues.

23. Drug Data and Database by First Databank: Drug data and drug databases provided with the hope of drug knowledge inspiring change in the medication decision-making process.

Free Data Sources: Education

24. Government Data About Education: Education datasets, apps, resources for the classroom, and details about paying for college.

25. Education Data by the World Bank: Comprehensive data and analysis source for key topics in education, such as literacy rates and government expenditures.

26. Education Data by Unicef: Data related to sustainable development, school completion rates, net attendance rates, literacy rates, and more.

27. National Center for Education Statistics: The primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education.

Free Data Sources: Entertainment

28. Million Song Dataset: A collection of 28 datasets containing audio features and metadata for a million contemporary popular music tracks.

29. The Numbers: Detailed movie financial analysis, including box office, DVD and Blu-ray sales reports, and release schedules.

30 BFI Film Forever: Research data and market intelligence focused on the UK film industry and film culture.

31. IFPI: Global statistics about the recording industry.

32. Statista: Video Game Industry: Statistics and facts about the video game industry, ranging from global gaming software expenditure to U.S. brand equity of Nintendo Wii.

33. Statista: Film Industry: Statistics and facts about the film industry, from the number of movie tickets sold in U.S. and Canada to the number of 3D cinema screens worldwide.

34. Statista: Music Industry: Statistics and facts about the music industry, ranging from concert revenue to record company market share.

35. Academic Rights Press: A repository of historical and current music sales data with insight on how such numbers can be applied.

36. BLS: Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation: Related industries at a glance, with statistics and datasets relevant to arts, entertainment, and recreation.

Free Data Sources: Environmental/Weather Data

37. Global Biodiversity Information Facility: An international network providing data on all types of life on Earth.

38. National Center for Environmental Health: Nationally funded data systems that have a relationship to environmental public health.

39. National Climatic Data Center: Quick links  from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, covering everything from storm data to climate indices.

40. National Weather Service: Climate data, including past weather conditions and long-term averages, from specific observing stations around the United States.

41. Weather Underground: Tracked weather by regional radar, regional severe weather, and global temperatures.

42. National Centers for Environmental Information: Weather record published since 1927, including monthly mean values of pressure, temperature, precipitation, and station metadata notes documenting observation practices and station configurations.

43. WeatherBase: Travel weather, climate averages, forecasts, current conditions, and normals for 41,997 cities worldwide.

44. International Energy Agency Atlas: A look at climate change that focuses on how each country produces and consumes energy.

45. Environmental Protection Agency: Information for more than 540 chemical substances, containing information on human health effects that may result from exposure to various substances in the environment.

Free Data Sources: Financial/Economic Data

46. OpenCorporates: The largest open database of companies in the world.

47. Google Finance: Real-time stock quotes and charts, financial news, currency conversions, or tracked portfolios.

48. Google Public Data Explorer: Searchable large datasets on economic development worldwide.

 49. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis: U.S. economic statistics, including national income and gross domestic product.

50. National Bureau of Economic Research: Macro data, industry data, productivity data, trade data, international finance, data, and more.

51. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: Quarterly datasets of extracted information from exhibits to corporate financial reports filed with the Commission.

52. World Bank Open Data: Education statistics about everything from finances to service delivery indicators.

53.  Financial Data Finder at OSU: Plentiful links to anything related to finance, no matter how obscure.

54. IMF Economic Data: Global financial stability reports, regional economic reports, international financial statistics, exchange rates, directions of trade, and more.

55. The Atlas of Economic Complexity: Analysis of trade flows and the sectoral composition of an economy with data visualizations.

56. World Bank Doing Business Database: An incredibly useful source of information that evaluates business environment indicators around the world, including trade capabilities and costs.

57. UN Comtrade Database: Raw data on high-level trade with visualizations.

58. Global Financial Data: Covers 60,000 companies across 300 years, analyzing the twists and turns of the global economy.

59. Visualizing Economics: Data visualizations about the economy.

60. Federal Reserve Economic Database: Data on money, banking, macroeconomics, international and regional economics, etc.

Free Data Sources: Government/World

61. Consortium for Political and Social Research: Provides access to a vast archive of social science data.

62. U.S. Census Bureau: Government-informed statistics on population, economy, education, geography, and more.

63. Data.gov: Open data of the U.S. government, focuses on everything from agriculture and ecosystems to manufacturing and science.

64. Unicef: Evidence on the situation of children and women around the world to inform national and global decision-making.

65. Data Catalogs: Comprehensive list of open data catalogs in the world, curated by a group of leading open-data experts.

66. European Union Open Data Portal: Data pulled from European Union institutions.

67. Open Data Network: Government-related data with some visualizations tools built in.

68. Gapminder: Massive collection of data sources that cover everything from agriculture and employment to aid given and death.

69. Land Matrix (Transnational Land Database): A meticulously developed database of international land transactions with plenty of visualization tools.

70. The World Bank’s World Development Indicators: Huge collection of national data on hundreds of indicators, with data on every country.

71. UNDP’s Human Development Index: A ranking of country progress under the lens of human development.

72. OECD Aid Database: Visualized data regarding aid collected from governments.

73. The CIA World Factbook: Facts on every country, dependency, and geographic entity in the world; focuses on history, people, government, economy, energy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues.

Free Data Sources: Health

74. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Public health data and statistics by topic, from alcohol use to viral hepatitis.

75. World Health Organization: Information, data, statistics, and reports concerning international public health.

76. President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition: Information aimed to promote, encourage, and motivate Americans of all ages to become physically active and participate in sport.

77. Partners in Information Access for the Public Health Workforce: A collaboration of U.S. government agencies, public health organizations, and health sciences libraries.

78. Health Services Research Information Central: Selective links aimed at providing information and data regarding health services resources.

79. MedicinePlus: Health statistics ranging from percentage of obese citizens to rates at which people are catching the flu.

80. National Center for Health Statistics: Datasets, documentation, data access tools, growth charts, and resources for further vital records.

81. America’s Health Rankings: Health reports that view the nation holistically, with in-depth data and analysis.

82. Health & Social Care Information Centre: National provider of information, data, and IT systems for health and social care.

83. Medicare Hospital Quality: A database on complication rates by hospital for interesting comparisons.

84. SEER Cancer Incidence: Cancer-related statistical summaries, interactive tools, and publications.

85. The BROAD Institute: Cancer program legacy publication resources and cancer-related datasets.

86. HealthData.gov: High-value health data for entrepreneurs, researchers, and policy makers; includes data on Medicaid, Medicare, clincial studies, and treatments.

Free Data Sources: Human Rights

87. Human Rights Data Analysis Group: Nonprofit, nonpartisan group applying rigorous science to the analysis of human rights violations around the world.

88. Harvard Law School: A collection of links that cover a variety of topics, including everything from international relations and human rights data, from political institution databases.

89. The Armed Conflict Database by Uppsala University: A look at fragile and conflict-affected states that dives into minor and major violent conflicts around the world.

90. Amnesty International: Human rights information, run independent of any political ideology, economic interest, or religion.

Free Data Sources: Labor/Employment Data

91. Department of Labor: Closely watched measures of employment and unemployment.

92. U.S. Small Business Administration: Employment data from business owners’ perspective, including economic indicators and projections.

93. Employment by U.S. Census: Data that measures the state of the nation’s workforce, including employment and unemployment levels, as well as weeks and hours worked.

94. Bureau of Labor Statistics: U.S. government’s data collection of employment-related stats across regions, states, and local areas.

Free Data Sources: Politics

95. Gallup: Data-driven news based on U.S. and world polls.

96. Real Clear Politics: A look at everything from policy support to election polling data.

97. Intro to Political Science Research by UC Berkeley: Statistics and data for those interested in political science; an ideal starting place.

98. California Field Poll: Independent, nonpartisan, media-sponsored public opinion news service that examines California public opinion.

99. Rand State Statistics: Social science data for the U.S. at the national, state, and local levels.

100. Roper Center for Public Opinion Research: U.S. and international polling and public opinion survey data.

101. Open Secrets: Nonpartisan, independent, and nonprofit; nation’s premier research group tracking money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy.

102. Crowdpac: Calculates objective scores for political candidates showing their overall political position and their position on specific issues.

Free Data Sources: Retail

103. Love the Sales: Free data for insights into the global retail industry.

Free Data Sources: Social

104. Facebook Graph: API that pulls data about Facebook engagement.

105. SocialMention: Real-time social media search and analysis.

106. Google Trends: Data and trends by search engine engagement.

Free Data Sources: Travel/Transportation

107. Monthly Tourism Statistics – U.S. Travelers Overseas: A look at U.S. international air passenger statistics.

108. SkiftStats: Latest statistics, research, and data about the travel industry.

109. Search the World: Statistics, population, weather, webcams, and travel information for millions of locations worldwide.

110. U.S. Travel Association: Covers a wide variety of travel-related topics, from impacts of travel on state economies to analysis of what a stronger dollar means for the travel industry.

111. Bureau of Transportation Statistics: Transportation statistical data, research activities, and budgetary resources.

How to Start Data Storytelling

Regardless of the data you choose, turning that data into a compelling story is key. From copy to design, make sure to follow best data storytelling practices at every stage. If you’re ready to start:

• Find the story in your data set. Download our free e-book, The Content Marketer’s Guide to Data Storytelling, for more tips on bringing your data to life. You can also follow our step-by-step guide to uncover the stories in your data (and look into your own data if none of these sources were quite what you were looking for).
• Craft an effective narrative. Try these tips to turn your data into a compelling story.
• Choose the right visualization. Once you know your narrative, make sure to choose the right visual format for your story.
• Source your data correctly. Follow these 5 tips for sourcing to make sure you maintain your credibility. 
• Follow best practices for data design. Learn how to design the most basic charts and graphs, and follow these tips to upgrade your visualizations.

If you need any help telling your data story, hit us up. And if you have any tips for finding great data or great data sources, leave a comment and help us share the data love.

To generate high-quality content consistently, you need a steady stream of content ideas, a solid workflow, and—most importantly—a well-crafted content plan. With a solid plan, you can stay organized, execute your content strategy successfully, and ensure you’re creating content that will actually connect with the right people and convert them into lifelong fans. If you’ve never created a plan before (or aren’t sure you’re doing it the right way), you’ve come to the right place. Here, we’ll walk you through the content plan process—and help you avoid common mistakes along the way. 

But first, let’s go back to basics. 

What Is a Content Plan?

In short, a content plan is a way to document the content marketing you want to create—and ensure everyone on your team stays on the same page. 

Why Do You Need a Content Plan?

Good content marketing is strategic and intentional. It also involves many moving parts, from copywriting to design. The better you can plan, the easier it is to… 

• Publish consistently. If you want to build your brand through content, you need to show up for your audience regularly. Publishing a steady stream of content is one of the most effective ways to do that. But if you don’t have a reliable content infrastructure (aka the knowledge and resources to create content), it is very difficult to produce and publish high-quality content consistently. A content plan helps keep everyone on the same page to ensure you hit your deadlines and publish the right thing at the right time. 
• Tell your brand’s best stories. We like to think of content marketing as a unique ecosystem, where every piece of content helps reinforce your brand story. If you’re making content piecemeal, or on the fly, it’s harder to control the quality and message that you’re sending. But with a solid content plan, you can ensure that you’re creating the right mix of content for your audience. 
• Maximize resources. According to the Content Marketing Institute, 54% of B2B marketers say a lack of resources is their biggest challenge. When you know what content you plan to create, you can identify and allocate resources more effectively. In fact, the more you plan, the more mileage you can get from your content. 

Note: What’s most important is actually documenting your plan. That can help you keep track of your content, spot additional content opportunities, and more.

How to Create a Content Plan

Creating a content plan is simple and straightforward (if you know what you’re doing). Follow these five steps to set yourself up for success.  

1) Complete your content strategy.

Successful content marketing doesn’t start with content—it starts with strategy. Before you make your content plan, you need to know what your goals are, who your audience is, how your content will support those goals, how you plan to measure success, etc. If you haven’t established this foundation, your content won’t be very effective. (In fact, you’re almost guaranteed to waste valuable time and resources for little reward.)

This is why it’s important to start with the basics. Use our content strategy guide and toolkit to ensure you have the information you need to build a content plan that is aligned to your goals.

2) Build your content pipeline.

Good content rarely happens when you’re scrambling to create something last minute. Thus, your content plan needs to account for any significant events or dates that you will create content for.

This may include all sorts of notable events, such as:

• Holidays
• Seasonal events (e.g., annual tradeshow)
• Company milestones
• Launches

To make sure these events are on your radar from the start, we suggest building a content pipeline, wherein you document important events for each quarter. (Download our free content pipeline template to do it.) Although you may not be focusing on those events yet, it’s important to have them in the pipeline so you can brainstorm and prepare far ahead of time. 

3) Decide on your cadence. 

How often do you plan to publish? What is a steady, reasonable cadence? This will rely on your team’s knowledge, skills, and ability to create various pieces of content. You may publish daily, weekly, or monthly—it all depends on your brand. What matters most is that you choose a reasonable cadence that you can realistically maintain.

Tip: If you don’t have the ability to create something in-house, outside support can help. See our tips to figure out if you should turn to a freelancer or a content agency.

4) Brainstorm ideas by month.

Every brand’s content needs will be different, but if you’re building your content operation from scratch, it helps to break content plans down by quarter (via your content pipeline), and then by month.

We find it especially helpful to choose a specific topic, set of keywords, or seasonal theme to brainstorm around each month.

Note:  While you can loosely plot these themes out, they shouldn’t be written in stone. Things can (and often do) change. If you’re brainstorming too far ahead, and something unexpected happens, it’ll throw your whole calendar off. Instead, plan 1-3 months at a time.

When it comes time to brainstorm specific content ideas, there are a few best practices to keep in mind:

• Include stakeholders. Don’t leave anyone important out of these meetings. More minds make better ideas. Plus, you don’t want to go back to square one if a stakeholder doesn’t approve of the idea.
• Vet your ideas. Don’t go with your first ideas. Instead, use your marketing personas to vet and prioritize the ideas that will resonate with your audience most.
• Consider the platform. Where does your audience live online, and what type of content do they like to consume on these platforms? This may influence the types of ideas you brainstorm.

Once you have your list of ideas, think about what order you will want to publish them in. For example, if you’re just starting to publish content, you will want to publish your larger, more broad pieces first. 

5) Build out your editorial calendar. 

Now you can use our editorial calendar template to schedule your content. (You may also use a calendar tool like CoSchedule.)

This is where you get into the nitty-gritty content-planning details. Build and schedule a calendar that keeps everyone on track, including all the relevant details like topic, keyword, author, etc. Again, you want to schedule things out far enough in advance that no one is unprepared or blindsided by a deadline. However, this is marketing, and things change (hi, pandemic!). You may need to be flexible and move some content up, or push other content back. 

For more on this, find out how to build a proper editorial calendar.

6) Plan your distribution strategy.

No matter how good your content is, if people aren’t seeing it, it isn’t doing its job. Focus on channels that align best with your goals and have the highest potential reach. For example, if your goal is brand awareness, prioritize channels with high visibility, like social media. For lead generation, use channels like email or gated content on your website. This approach ensures you’re not spreading resources too thin.

• Identify where your audience spends time. That might be LinkedIn for B2B or Instagram for younger audiences.
• Tailor your content for each platform. Segmenting by platform lets you adapt your message and format—using visuals and shorter copy for social media or long-form articles for your blog—ensuring your content resonates effectively with different audience segments.
• Analyze your audience’s engagement patterns to determine optimal posting times. Many platforms have peak engagement times (e.g., LinkedIn during weekdays), which can vary based on industry and audience type. Planning distribution around these patterns will help you maximize visibility and engagement.

For more tips, see our guide to build a distribution strategy that gets the right eyes on your content. 

How to Make Your Content Plan Successful

As you begin to document your plan (and measure the results as you go), we have a few final tips to make sure your content-planning work pays off.

• Optimize your infrastructure. Follow our tips to master content creation and work smarter, not harder.
• Choose the right mix of content. Think of your content as nutrition—your audience needs a well-balanced meal to stay interested (and satisfied). Find out how to serve the right type of content that will keep people engaged.
• Repurpose content. Maximize your content by looking for ways to repurpose content For example, you might break an ebook into a blog post, social media snippets, data visualizations, or even a podcast episode. This strategy boosts your presence across channels without having to create entirely new content. (For more tips on doing this, find out how a divisible content strategy can help you work more effectively.
• Test and tweak. Good metrics are the key to content marketing success because they tell you whether or not your content actually works. Measure your efforts, and use the insights to improve your content going forward.
• Don’t be precious with your content. If it isn’t working and you’re supposed to create the same content next month, mix it up.

Of course, if you need a partner to guide your strategy and content, we’re always here. See our content strategy FAQ, or hit us up directly. We’d love to help you create a content plan that resonates with the people you’re trying to reach. 

B2B marketing is tough. Industries are volatile, there are more decision-makers than ever, and it can feel nearly impossible to stand out in the crowd. Over the last decade, we’ve guided our clients through these pitfalls (and more), and we know what it takes to create great campaigns, produce stellar content, and build winning brands. We also love any chance to showcase our work—and share the insights we’ve learned to help others in the B2B marketing space. So let’s take a look at 10 successful B2B marketing case studies to analyze how we solved each client’s unique challenge, why it worked, and how you can apply the same ideas to your own strategy.

10 Successful B2B Marketing Case Studies

From large campaigns and SEO strategies to experimental formats and standalone pieces of content, each of these projects allowed us to flex our skills and create the best results for our clients. 

1) Blend Increases Site Traffic 183%

The Challenge: Blend, a FinTech company in the mortgage and consumer banking space, needed to scale content and position the brand as an industry expert. Having never focused on SEO, the team approached us to build their SEO strategy from scratch.

What We Did: To build a robust and high-ranking content ecosystem, we constructed a keyword cluster framework targeting Blend’s core audience and adopted a two-pronged approach to tackle those keywords.

• First, we optimized Blend’s core site pages to drive traffic. 
• Then, we created fresh content to expand Blend’s reach.

Collaborating closely with the Blend team, we established an efficient workflow and regular publishing schedule, enabling us to scale content production and consistently support our SEO objectives.

After numerous iterations and over 100 blog articles, Blend achieved significant improvements, including:

• 183% increase in site traffic
• Over 50 unbranded keywords ranking on Page 1
• Site visibility increase from 1.82% to 13.89%

The Takeaway: SEO requires constant adaptation, so it’s important to create a flexible strategy that can evolve as you grow. See our guide to choose the right keywords for your brand, and learn about the latest SEO practices to compete against AI. Although it’s tough to start from scratch, if you target the right keywords with a steady stream of valuable content, you’ll see your rankings improve over time. 

2) Lucidworks’ Interactive Educates Executives

The Challenge: Lucidworks helps companies build AI-powered search and data discovery solutions for employees and customers. To position the brand as a thought leader and provide much-needed education about data, Lucidworks wanted to create a fresh piece of content around the provocative subject of dark data. 

What We Did: Dark data can be a dry and tedious topic. To make it more engaging and captivating, we proposed an interactive microsite that would immerse users in the story—through the metaphor of an iceberg. Using copy, imagery, animation, and interactivity, we guided users into the dark abyss below the surface to reveal the value of dark data. This creative treatment brought the story to life in an unexpected way, becoming the perfect hero piece to showcase Lucidworks’ expertise. 

The Takeaway: Visual storytelling can be a powerful tool, and interactive content is especially enticing. If you’re not sure what types of stories you might tell in this format, follow these tips to brainstorm great interactive ideas.

3) Unbabel Creates a NSFW B2B Campaign

The Challenge: Unbabel is a Language Operations platform that facilitates customer interactions in any language. To grab attention and educate small businesses about the significance of Language Operations, the Unbabel team asked us to craft a bold and edgy campaign.

What We Did: We knew we needed to do something unusual and provocative in the B2B space, so we devised a daring campaign centered around the provocative acronym STFU. Traditionally meaning “Shut the F*** Up,” we reimagined STFU to stand for “Start Translating Fearlessly with Unbabel.” This bold phrase allowed us to convey Unbabel’s key benefits across a variety of formats, including a hero video, e-book, blog articles, social media content, and an interactive game. Not only did this campaign turn heads but Unbabel’s CMO called it one of the most visually compelling campaigns they’ve done to date. Best of all, the fresh messaging strategy positioned Unbabel as a true leader in the space.

The Takeaway: One of the biggest myths in B2B marketing is that it has to be boring. Just like B2C, unique and provocative campaigns can be just as successful. If you’re looking to push the envelope in your marketing, follow these tips to brainstorm edgy and exciting ideas.

4) SAP Creates an Award-Winning Podcast

The Challenge: SAP is a global enterprise software company that wanted to raise awareness about its cutting-edge SAP Leonardo technologies, which include machine learning, big data, and blockchain tech. In a push to move beyond traditional B2B content, they aimed to engage a wider audience through innovative and creative storytelling that could captivate and inform people in an unconventional way. 

What We Did: Instead of the usual types of B2B content (e.g., ebooks or infographics), we developed Searching for Salai, a fictional 9-part science-fiction podcast. This series reimagined the cultural narrative around new technologies while weaving in elements of time travel, history, and mystery. By combining entertainment with education in an audio format, we engaged SAP’s audience in a unique way, successfully reframing the perception of advanced technologies.

The podcast was a big risk; fortunately, it paid off. Searching for Salai garnered two prestigious awards: Best Podcast/Audio Series and Content Marketing Project of the Year at the Content Marketing Institute’s 2019 Content Marketing Awards.

The Takeaway: It’s easy to get used to producing the same type of content, whether it’s blog articles or videos, but experimenting with a different format can give you surprising results. If you’re not sure what that might look like, here are five fresh creative formats to try.

5) Dialpad Gets the LOLs with a Comedic Video Campaign 

The Challenge: Dialpad, a communication software solution provider, needed to effectively launch and promote their new VoiceAI product. This required a robust brand strategy, content strategy, and supporting content to increase awareness and clearly communicate the benefits of their innovative features. They asked us to come up with a creative approach to differentiate the brand and engage their audience in a memorable way.

What We Did: We began by refreshing Dialpad’s brand strategy to clearly define their brand heart (including purpose, vision, mission, and values) and target personas. With this strong foundation, we crafted key messaging centered around the tagline “Make Smarter Calls” to ensure consistency across all touchpoints. To lead Dialpad’s content campaigns, we produced two humorous videos spoofing common challenges in phone calls and showcasing VoiceAI’s unique benefits, such as note-taking during meetings and automating voice communications.

We’re happy to say the videos garnered 300,000+ views and were named Webby Awards honorees in the “Branded Entertainment Scripted” category.

The Takeaway: Creative storytelling only works if you deeply understand your core brand story. If you haven’t already done it, build out your brand messaging framework to identify your tagline, value prop, and key brand story pillars, which will help you create on-brand content that is consistent and cohesive—no matter the format. 

6) ELM Learning Makes a Splash in a Crowded Industry

The Challenge: ELM Learning, an eLearning agency known for its innovative approach combining neuroscience with human emotion, was struggling to stand out in the corporate learning industry. They needed to increase brand awareness, clarify their offerings, and attract higher-quality leads, so we embarked on a strategic branding engagement to highlight ELM’s unique value proposition and creative strengths.

What We Did: We began by conducting extensive competitive research and stakeholder interviews to understand the market landscape and ELM’s unique strengths. This led us to re-engineer the ELM brand around a “people-first” positioning, emphasizing their trademarked NeuroLearning methodology and the positive experiences clients had working with their team.

We then developed a fresh visual identity, revamped the ELM Learning website, and created new brand messaging and a content strategy that effectively communicated the new brand story to the market. As a result of their rebrand, ELM’s opportunity rate increased 60% in the first 30 days of site/brand launch, attracting multiple high-profile enterprise accounts.

The Takeaway: A successful rebrand is not about a new logo and fresh color palette. It requires serious research and strategic decisions to better communicate a brand’s story. If you’re considering a rebrand, here are 7 things to know before you start.

7) Instacart Finds Fresh B2B Revenue with a New Content Strategy

The Challenge: Instacart needed to scale the B2B side of their business by showcasing how their online and in-store technology supports ambitious retailers. To build awareness and expand reach, they asked us to build and deploy a cohesive content strategy. 

What We Did: To increase both awareness and conversions, we bolstered several key parts of Instacart’s strategy. 

To establish a stronger, more B2B-centered presence online, we crafted a robust content and SEO strategy around crucial keywords. This blog content resulted in an average ranking increase of 29 spots.

To further engage their audience as they moved down the funnel, we also designed the Instacart Ads Academy, an interactive learning platform where partners could get certified in ad basics. This helped increase familiarity with Instacart’s offerings and provided valuable education.

Additionally, after analyzing existing sales materials, we reimagined how the sales team could use data to highlight insights more effectively. With this improvement, their 5-point scale sales efficacy rating jumped from a 3.8 to a 4.2.

The Takeaway: A well-rounded content and SEO strategy is the key to B2B revenue growth. Follow our tips to master SEO, brainstorm high-value ideas for your audience, and bridge sales and marketing to create a stronger buyer journey. 

8) Bloomreach’s Paid Media Strategy Surpasses Goals by 30%

The Challenge: Bloomreach, a platform that personalizes the e-commerce experience, sought to build brand equity and increase awareness with new audiences through their first-ever brand campaign. They approached us to develop a comprehensive multi-channel paid media strategy that would effectively maximize their spending across various platforms. 

What We Did: To help them hit their goals, we focused on hyper-segmentation and real-time testing. Utilizing geofencing, historical data, and targeted job titles, we segmented the exact audiences Bloomreach wanted to reach, then partnered with specialized vendors to deploy the campaign across multiple channels (digital platforms, connected TV, programmatic channels, and podcasts).

Through a test-and-learn approach, we continuously improved the campaign’s effectiveness in real time, ensuring optimal results. As a result, we surpassed Bloomreach’s goals:

• Moved 10% of their target account list from ‘unaware’ to ‘aware’
• Garnered 13 million impressions
• Maintained a $10 average CPM
• Secured 429,000 completed audio listens at an average cost of $0.03

The Takeaway: Adopting an agile test-and-learn strategy is a savvy way to optimize spend and improve marketing results across the board. If you’re not familiar with this approach, see our ultimate guide to agile marketing to implement it in your marketing operation. 

9) Directive Turns Dull Data into Engaging Storytelling

The Challenge: Directive, a customer generation agency for tech brands, wanted to position the brand as a thought leader in the SaaS space by transforming proprietary data into a comprehensive report about the most effective paid media platforms. They approached us to create a compelling piece of lead-generating content, leveraging our expertise in data storytelling to make the data both accessible and engaging.

What We Did: Initially, Directive envisioned a static PDF report about which platforms bring the highest ROI. However, after assessing their content and goals, we proposed transforming their data insights into a sleek, streamlined interactive experience (along with a downloadable PDF appendix). By blending data storytelling with eye-catching design, we transformed a large volume of data into a compelling narrative, making it easy and enjoyable for their audience to navigate. Best of all, this approach enabled Directive to track traffic, downloads, and other valuable metrics, helping them understand which content was most impactful for their audience.

The Takeaway: Data storytelling is always gold for marketing, especially if it’s based on proprietary data. To uncover your own stories, look at your internal data, and find out how to translate those insights into interesting content. 

10) Hummingbird Educates with a Fresh Explainer Video 

The Challenge: Hummingbird, a financial compliance platform, struggled to convey their innovative technology to an audience that predominantly relies on manual processes. To educate viewers and generate excitement about the platform’s revolutionary impact on financial compliance, we created a sleek and compelling explainer video. 

What We Did: Our approach to solving Hummingbird’s communication challenge was two-fold.

• First, we aimed to build suspense and craft an engaging narrative about how Hummingbird’s technology combats financial crime.
• Second, we needed to differentiate Hummingbird from its competition and position it as a unique, forward-thinking company.

To do this, we developed a human-centric story that highlighted the tech-led solution. Then, to infuse the explainer with dynamic energy, we used a mixed-media mosaic approach that combined illustration, photography, and animation (inspired by Hummingbird’s existing brand). The resulting video is now a key piece of sales enablement, allowing the team to communicate the product’s benefits quickly and effectively. 

The Takeaway: A good explainer doesn’t just state facts; it uses emotional hooks and visual tools to bring people into the story. To improve your own videos, learn about the keys to a good explainer, and get inspired by these 50 explainer video examples.

How to Master B2B Marketing Yourself

No matter what your industry is, or what unique challenges you face, there are a few key ways to improve your marketing—and make sure you’re growing in the right direction. 

• Start with the right strategy. From goals to metrics, platforms to editorial calendars, it takes a lot to build a functioning marketing machine. Use our free B2B marketing strategy toolkit to build a cohesive strategy that covers every gap and helps you achieve your goals. 
• Tell stories your competition can’t. As AI-generated marketing floods the Internet, it’s harder and harder to stand out against the competition. That’s why it’s important to showcase what makes your brand special. Start with our tips to brainstorm truly unique stories only you can tell. 
• Stay educated. Whether it’s the latest industry news or B2B trends, stay in the loop to keep your brand competitive. You can also subscribe to our Best Story Wins podcast to hear industry leaders’ tips to win hearts, minds, and market share. 

Most importantly, make sure you have the right team to win. Find out more about how to curate the perfect content marketing team, and consider bringing in an expert to fill any gaps. You can start your search with our tips to find the right content agency, or take a look at how we tackle content strategies. 

Regardless, remember that success doesn’t happen overnight. Good content marketing requires patience, experimentation, and diligence. 

Good luck out there. 

In an era when everyone is tired of being talked at and sold to, people crave more genuine connections with brands. They want to know what brands care about, how they do business, who is behind the brand, and more. Ultimately, they want authenticity, honesty, and transparency—the core ingredients of a strong relationship. But how can your brand communicate these things? By telling a strong brand story.

Through the power of story, you can effectively humanize your brand, create connections, and build a lasting community. But telling a strong story requires more than an About page on your website. It’s an ongoing, multi-channel effort that takes thought and effort. Luckily, when you invest in telling your story, you get better ROI, cultivate stronger relationships, and help your brand grow over time.

Of course, this work takes practice. If you’re new to brand storytelling—or not sure what it looks like in real life—let’s take a deep dive into everything you need to know, plus our best tips to do it.

First, What Is Your Brand Story?

Your brand story is, in essence, the story of who you are, what you do, and what you believe—as a brand. Brand storytelling is the act of communicating that story through content.

68% of consumers say that brand stories influence their purchasing decisions.
—The Brand Shop

The more you tell that story at touchpoints across your buyer journey, the easier it is to increase brand awareness and forge stronger bonds with your community.

Why Does Your Brand Story Matter?

As industries become increasingly crowded, and people have more choices than ever, story is the one thing that can help you stand out and maintain a competitive edge. When you can pique people’s interests, bond with them over shared values, or tell great stories that break down barriers between your brand and audience, you make your brand more exciting than your competitors.

But storytelling doesn’t just increase brand awareness; it can have a direct affect on your bottom line. A study by Origin and Hill Holiday found that people spent more on everything from hotel rooms to paintings when products or promos were paired with a story. Similarly, a study by neuroeconomist Paul Zak found that a character-driven story caused people to donate 56% more money to charity.

Perhaps most importantly, consumers actually prefer storytelling to more traditional forms of marketing and advertising.

92% of consumers want brands to make ads that feel like a story, and companies with compelling brand stories have a 20% increase in customer loyalty.
—The Brand Shop

As much as storytelling benefits your consumer relationship, many brands forget that consumers are not their only audience. Your employees also play a huge role in your long-term success. Your brand story is a fantastic tool that can be used to both attract potential employees and connect with your current employees. This helps you retain the best and brightest people, create a better culture, and drive innovation—all of which are crucial to your business.

The Science of Brand Story

Now, we’ve talked about why brand storytelling is so helpful. But why is storytelling so effective at creating connections? Because it triggers a biological response. Whether it’s a video, a print ad, or a novel, a good story can trigger your brain to release cortisol (the stress chemical) or oxytocin (the feel-good chemical). This makes people feel more invested and connected to whatever story you’re telling. (It also explains why you feel anxious while watching a horror film or happy when the lovers finally get together at the end of a book.)

That said, different mediums and storytelling tools can affect us in different ways. For example, video triggers emotional contagion, a phenomenon where our emotions mirror what we see on screen (again, think of the horror film response). Similarly, when we hear someone speaking, such as a narrator in an animated video, it triggers neural coupling, an experience where our brain activity mirrors what a speaker is saying.

Combined, these factors increase our emotional attachment and recall.

55% of consumers are more likely to remember a story than a list of facts.
—The Brand Shop

But packaging a message as a “story” isn’t the silver bullet solution to all your marketing problems. It isn’t just about seeing images or hearing a human voice; it’s the core story that matters. It needs to be interesting, intriguing, or captivating. To do this well, you need to understand what makes a brand story (specifically your brand story) impactful.

The Keys to a Great Brand Story

How do you know which stories will connect with your audience? Ultimately, it comes down to five specific elements. When you tell stories that fall into these categories, you can set your brand up for success from the jump. 

1. It’s meaningful. Everyone is dealing with content shock. A million brands are vying for attention, hopping on whatever bandwagon their competitors are on. Thus, too many brands are focused on what they want to create (or what other brands are creating)—and not on what people actually care about. If you want to tell a good story, it has to be interesting and relevant to the people you’re trying to reach.
2. It’s personal. You can tell all sorts of stories. They can be entertaining, educational, or inspirational. But people need to feel personally connected to them. This is important not just to pique interest but to draw them into the story. How does your brand improve their life? Why should they take the time to invest in this story? Remember: If there is no place for someone in your story, there’s no reason for them to pay attention to it.
3. It’s emotional. A strong brand story is all about stimulating emotion and empathy. It’s not just about what you do but how you affect people. Sure, your software may automate emails, but it’s ultimately making people’s lives easier and stress-free. That’s the emotional hook of the story. If you can trigger that emotion in the first paragraph of a blog or the first few seconds of a video, you will have them hooked. 
4. It’s simple. One of the most common mistakes in brand storytelling is trying to say too much. It’s far better to tell a very simple story and maximize emotional attachment than bombard people with different stories. You could tell a story about large-scale problems facing the healthcare industry, but showing how these issues affect a real patient gives the story a singular focus and makes it easier to connect to. In short, focus on one person or one problem at a time so you don’t confuse or distract your reader.
5. It’s authentic. When you share your brand story, people should know it’s your story. That means being open, honest, and transparent. It means letting your personality shine through.

You also need to be consistent in your storytelling so that people can not only identify but trust your content.  

How to Tell Your Brand Story

Whether you’re telling the story of how you built your business or the story of how your product improves people’s lives, there are so many ways to connect with people across the buyer journey. Here, we’ve outlined the steps to help you create stories that accurately reflect your brand—and align to your long-term goals.

Step 1: Document your core story. 

One of the biggest barriers to telling your brand story is not really understanding your own brand—who you are, what you do, what you care about, and why it matters. Without this clarity, it’s difficult to tell the right stories in the right way. So, before you start brainstorming ideas, it’s important to go back to basics. 

• Define your Brand Heart. Use our free guide to identify your core principles (purpose, vision, mission, and values), so that you understand what your brand is really trying to achieve.
• Articulate your brand messaging. Consistent messaging is crucial if you want to tell your brand’s story. Use our brand messaging framework to articulate your tagline, value prop, and brand messaging pillars. (Those pillars can be a great source to brainstorm unique stories.)
• Know your target demo. If you haven’t done it before, follow our guide to create personas.

Once you have a clear idea of who you are and what you’re trying to do, then you can begin to examine the stories that will help you communicate that. 

Step 2: Brainstorm brand story ideas. 

No matter your product, service, or industry, you have an interesting brand story. (In fact, you have a few.) Sometimes you just need to take a step back and look at your day-to-day business. We find there are often many great stories that are waiting to be told—brands just don’t always know how to uncover them. 

When you’re trying to come up with ideas, we find it helpful to brainstorm around specific aspects of your brand. We like to ask ourselves a few questions to help jumpstart these ideas. 

1) Who Are You?

You aren’t a faceless corporation. A real person (or people) started your brand. Real people work in your office, make your product/service, and run your social media. Putting a face to your brand is one of the best ways to cultivate a connection, so consider ways you might peel back the curtain to show people who you are, what your culture is like, and what you care about. (This is what we call your showcasing your employer brand, and it is a great way to engage potential employees.) 

This type of content is especially fun to create because it offers a chance to inject your brand personality—think of things like behind-the-scenes spotlights, employee showcases, favorite things, etc.

Example: For our 10-year anniversary, we told our brand’s origin story and wrote about the biggest lessons we learned in that time. 

If you want more inspiration, you can also experiment with these ideas to showcase your culture on social media. 

2) What Do You Do? 

Think about the product or service you provide. There are many ways to talk about or showcase these highlights beyond traditional sales materials.

Are there unique features that make your product particularly useful or effective? Are there surprising ways people have benefitted from your service? With a little creativity, you can create interesting content that showcases your brand in exciting ways.

Note: Telling a brand story that starts with a challenge or problem is a smart way to do this because conflict creates a bit of stress or intrigue. If you can show your product as the “hero” and provide a satisfying resolution, your story can also provide feel-good oxytocin. Explainer videos are an especially popular way to tell these types of stories. (If you want to see this in action, see our roundup of 50 creative explainers.)

Example: We helped Hummingbird share the story of how they’re making financial compliance sexy with a sleek animated explainer video that highlights their tech-led solution. 

3) Who Do You Do It For?

Think about the people you want to help. These are the people whose business you’re trying to win. Why do you care about them? How do you want to help them? Think about not only what you do but how it improves people’s lives. For example, if your app helps people book vacations easily, it’s ultimately so that you can help people truly relax and enjoy life.

People want content that educates, entertains, inspires, or even celebrates them. (Remember relevancy!) So think of brand story opportunities that incorporate them into your brand story. For example, you might make your brand the helpful sidekick in a customer’s story (“This brand’s comfy shoes helped me cross the finish line!”). Or you can use things like personal anecdotes as storytelling tools. 

Example: We collaborated with Charles Schwab to create a mini-documentary series about female investors. This helped combat the stigma that investing is a men-only game, while encouraging everyday women to “invest like a woman.” 

4) Why Do You Do It?

No matter your product or service, whether you’re a tiny startup or an established brand founded a century ago, there’s a reason you exist—and, most likely, a higher purpose. If you’re a home security company, you protect property to give people peace of mind. If you’re a granola bar company, you provide healthy treats to nourish people’s bodies.

Using content to share or fulfill this larger mission is a great way to both promote your brand and show people what you really care about. Think about ways to tell stories about your Brand Heart (purpose, vision, mission, values) or the causes you care about. 

Remember that this type of content can be especially helpful for your recruiting efforts.

Example: We helped Dropbox increase their brand perception 7% by creating a storytelling strategy to attract talent away from top competitors. By promoting Dropbox’s core belief (“We believe the world can work better”) through interactive experiences, video, and social content, we showcased Dropbox’s culture and connected with a larger pool of applicants. 

If you want more examples to do this well, here are 10 brands that put their values front and center in their content. 

5) How Do You Do It?

Much like your mission, people want to know not just why and what you do but how. Telling a brand story that provides visibility into your product, production, or process can be especially impactful.

Do you use a unique technology? Are your materials sustainably sourced? Do you use an innovative manufacturing technique? This type of content both educates and provides insight into the way you run your business, providing the transparency that people crave. (FYI, beyond the B2B or B2C sphere, this type of storytelling is particularly effective for nonprofits.)

Example: Our annual report for the Telluride Arts council in Telluride, Colorado, shows donors how their funds were allocated across community initiatives. Annual reports can be dry and dull, but telling a simple story that highlights the work in a clear and meaningful way, along with clean and compelling visuals, is much more effective. 

6) What Does Your Future Look Like?

Think about ways to talk about how your brand is evolving, what you’re working toward, and how you plan to grow into the future. Sharing these types of stories generates excitement, and invites people into your brand story. 

Plus, when people know you’re invested in their future, they’re more likely to build a long-term relationship with you.

Example: In this motion graphic, JetBlue explains the steps they’re taking to offset carbon emissions and adopt fuel-saving technology, demonstrating their commitment to making air travel better for the planet. 

One last tip: If you’re not sure what type of brand story might resonate with people, map your buyer’s journey. This helps you see what types of messaging people need to hear at each stage—and can help you identify gaps in your brand storytelling. You can also take a look at these 15 awesome examples of brand storytelling for more inspiration. 

Hopefully, having brainstormed around all of these topics, you’ll have a list of story ideas to comb through. If that’s the case, you’re ready to move on to the next step. 

Step 3: Vet your ideas.

It’s easy to get carried away with cool, creative ideas, but if they aren’t an authentic extension of your brand story, they won’t help your brand. That’s why it’s important to have marketing personas that clearly detail your audience’s wants, needs, and emotional drivers. The sweet spot of brand storytelling is where your brand story and their interests overlap. 

Hence, when you’re coming up with brand story ideas, ask yourself:

• Why do I want to tell this story?
• What’s my unique angle?  
• What value will this provide to my personas?
• What will they take away from this?

Example: Course Hero is an online learning platform that helps students access course-specific study resources contributed by a community of students and educators. To help their audience learn more effectively, they asked us to translate the complex material of classic novels into easy-to-digest study guides. This infographic series empowered students to learn while positioning the brand as a helpful resource. 

Step 4: Choose the right format.

The most important goal for every piece of content is to communicate your brand story as efficiently and effectively as possible. Therefore, choosing the right format is vital. You might get caught up in trying to produce the flashiest, trendiest types of content, but this is a disservice if it doesn’t fit your story. (In some cases, it can seriously detract from the story.) 

Identify the best format for your story before you dive into content creation, as the format will influence the way you craft copy. 

Some of the most popular storytelling formats: 

• Articles
• Case Studies
• Data visualizations
• E-books
• Explainer videos
• Infographics
• Interactive infographics
• Microcontent
• Motion Graphics
• White papers
• Video

Example: Happy Money is a personal loan company that empowers people to take control of their finances. To engage their Millennial audience on social, they revamped their strategy by focusing on three core brand story themes: financial education, wellness, and mental health. By transforming these stories into colorful, eye-catching content (including motion pieces), they were able to grab attention, provide value, and reinforce their brand story with every post. 

Step 5: Craft a narrative. 

Once you have your story idea, you need to hone in on the angle and construct a compelling narrative that captures people’s attention. Research has found that people are particularly attracted to a familiar narrative structure. So let’s go back to English class for a second. Remember Gustav Freytag’s pyramid? A great brand story crafts a narrative that follows that arc—and ends with a resolution (or solution—ideally, your product). 

(Interestingly, a Johns Hopkins study examined popular Super Bowl ads and found that the most popular ads weren’t those that were the silliest, most outrageous, or most hilarious. It was the ones that followed a familiar dramatic arc.)

Regardless of your story, think of ways to take your readers or viewers on a journey. Some of the most popular ways to do that:

• Problem/solution
• Before/after
• Tutorials
• Underdog stories (think of a small mom-and-pop business disrupting an industry)
• Personal stories 

Case studies are a great storytelling tool, and they are even more effective when they fit a narrative arc. See our tips to tell the most compelling story in your customer success stories. 

Step 6: Add your branding.

Every piece of content should accurately reflect your brand, from the way it looks to the words you use. And while branded content shouldn’t be overly branded (e.g., a million logos slapped everywhere), people should know who it was created by. Thus, make sure your content reflects your brand story in: 

• Personality, Voice, and Tone: Don’t know what your brand voice is? It sounds like your company conversations, Google chats, and water-cooler jokes. Follow our guides to find your voice and personality if you haven’t clearly articulated this before. Also, once you complete a draft of content, give it a second pass for word choice and such. These are the easiest ways to color up your content.
• Visuals: Your visual language is the aesthetic experience of your brand. Everything from your logo to color palettes can affect how your content is interpreted. Whether it’s a brand video, infographic, or interactive, a consistent, on-brand visual language creates a cohesive experience. Follow our step-by-step guide to build a powerful visual identity.

That said, maintaining consistency in your content can be a challenge if you have multiple content creators working for you (whether in-house or outsourced). It can be helpful to create brand guidelines to keep everyone aligned, or check out our tips to keep your content on brand.

Step 7: Share your brand story. 

Once you’ve completed a piece of content, you don’t want to be the only one talking about it. Encourage your people to share your story by making it easy to do so. Publish to your blog or email list, test your social sharing buttons, optimize your content for SEO, etc. 

For more tips on how to get eyes on your content, find out how to choose the best distribution channels, and check out our ultimate guide to paid media.

Look for More Ways to Grow and Experiment

Telling your brand story isn’t a one-and-done thing. Figuring out which stories resonate is an ongoing task, especially if you’re just starting out. As you continue to experiment, focus on setting your team up for success at every stage.

• Document your content strategy to keep your team on the same page. 
• Use our handy content marketing ideas template to brainstorm 30 brand storytelling ideas in an hour.
• Find out how to optimize your content production process to produce high-quality content consistently. 
• Make sure you’re tracking the right metrics to gauge success. 

And, of course, don’t be afraid to bring in support if you need it. Whether you’re stuck on strategy or having trouble getting content out the door, a creative agency can be a huge asset. Follow our tips to find the right creative agency for you, or holler at us. We’d love to help you tell you bring your brand story to life. 

According to Gartner’s Annual CMO Spend Survey, average marketing budgets have fallen 15%. Now, marketers have to do more with less—with more pressure than ever. Worse, marketing is a never-ending carousel of tasks, from content creation and strategy to distribution and reporting. How do you handle them all when you have a small marketing budget? Luckily, we’re here to help you maximize your budget and make the most of the resources you have. 

7 Strategies to Work with a Small Marketing Budget

We’ve been in the game for over a decade, and in that time we’ve helped our clients clean up their messy marketing, optimize their infrastructure, and create repeatable processes to improve efficiency, so we know how to hack our way into working smarter, not harder—and getting better results. If you’re looking for ways to improve your market (even with a small budget), here are seven successful strategies you should try ASAP. 

1) Put AI to use.

One of the best things about AI is its ability to automate or absorb tedious tasks that eat up time. When you’re struggling to solve big-picture problems, you don’t need to waste precious brainpower on this type of labor. Instead, consider ways you can implement AI at every level of your marketing organization to save time and build a better brand experience for your customers. Whether it’s A/B testing subject lines, synthesizing data, brainstorming ideas, or outlining content, there are so many ways AI can boost your marketing. 

Tip: AI marketing is overwhelming for a lot of people, but you just need to know how to apply it. Find out more about the 30 ways AI can help your marketing, use these 75 prompts to build an AI-driven strategy, and see our ultimate guide to AI to learn more about its applications. 

2) Choose the right tools.

AI tools are the hot new kid on the town, but there are many additional tools that can help you streamline your work, outsource labor, and create content (especially when you have a small marketing budget).

We’ve experimented with a variety of tools for a variety of tasks over the years, which has empowered our team to work quicker and more efficiently. 

Check out our tool roundups for:

• Blogging
• Branding
• Content Creation
• Content Strategy
• Content Marketing
• Copywriting
• Ebooks
• Employer Branding 
• Infographics
• AI Marketing

Tip: To avoid making your whole team go through the learning curve when working with a new tool, it can help to assign a small team to become proficient and build out a handy user guide. This makes it easier for everyone else to adopt it. 

3) Use a divisible content strategy. 

Any content takes time, energy, and resources to produce, so you want to maximize every new piece of content you create. A divisible content strategy is one of our favorite ways to do this. 

With this approach, you create a hero piece of core content intended to be broken into smaller content pieces and formats, such as blog posts, social media content, infographics, or quotes. These smaller pieces can delve into different aspects of the core content, present the info in a different package, or start different conversations with different audiences.  

Most importantly, this approach helps you expand your reach, maximize resources, and create a larger volume of content with less investment.

Tip: To do this effectively, you need to carefully plan out each piece of content before you create it. This means you start with a more detailed outline for the core content, then identify what content you will flesh out into supporting pieces. For a more detailed guide on how to map this content, find out more about how a divisible content strategy works. 

(BTW, you will also want to periodically refresh and update your core content to make sure it’s relevant.) 

4) Repurpose and recycle existing content. 

While a divisible content strategy hinges on the creation of new content, you probably have a ton of existing content that can be reimagined, recycled, repackaged, or repurposed for use. (Again, anytime you’re investing in content, you want to make the most of it.) 

Comb through your archive to find pieces you can update or, even better, translate into different formats to expand reach across channels. For example, you might…

• Convert a blog post into a video or podcast episode. 
• Turn a series of tips into a video series. 
• Turn your ebooks into eye-catching infographics. 
• Turn presentations into interactive slideshows. 
• Turn old blogs into a fresh ebook.

Tip: Data storytelling is always a good way to gain credibility and enhance any piece of content you create. Find out more about how to repurpose data visualizations throughout your content.

5) Turn your team into content creators.

There is so much untapped talent in your company—outside of your marketing team. Not only should this talent be used but it should be celebrated and spotlighted. If you are struggling to create content (thanks to a small marketing budget), get support from people outside the department. 

• Who are the experts developing your product/service?
• Who has a unique perspective on the industry?
• Who extracts interesting insights from your data?  
• What interesting conversations have salespeople been having?

There are plenty of opportunities to translate their thoughts into interesting, relevant, and even newsworthy content. 

Tip: You can certainly recruit people to write articles for you, but there are also low-effort ways to turn their thoughts into high-quality content. 

• Do an expert Q&A via email.
• Record a podcast conversation with a thought leader. 
• Ask your team for their best tips on a specific subject and publish them as a roundup. 

For more tips, see our guide to turn your coworkers into content creators.

Additionally, although thought leadership is great, you can also use other employees to showcase your brand’s culture. (This is a great way to humanize your brand to potential customers and potential employees.) See our guide to culture marketing, and try these ideas to showcase your culture on social media.

6) Experiment with agile marketing. 

There’s nothing more frustrating than wasting money on campaigns that flop. (We know this firsthand.) That’s why we’ve been experimenting with an agile marketing approach that relies on simple test-and-learn experiments to gather market insights.

By deploying these simple, constructed experiments, you can better adjust your spending, optimize your content, and improve your campaigns—with better results. 

Tip: Allocate a portion of any paid media spend to agile campaign testing. For more detail on how to implement this strategy, see our guide to agile marketing.

7) Leverage User-Generated Content (UGC)

In addition to your own internal resources, your own audience can be a great way to generate low-lift content that increases engagement. This can take many forms:

• Polls
• Quizzes
• Contests
• Tips
• Customer Success Stories
• Social Takeovers

You can also piggyback off of content you’ve already created by encouraging your audience to create their own version, add their perspective, etc. 

Not only does this reduce the amount of content you have to personally create but it gives you a chance to build stronger connections with your community. (For more ideas, find out how to incorporate UGC into your content strategy.) 

How to Improve Efficiency Overall

We hope you can incorporate these tips into your existing marketing practice, but remember that maximizing your budget is, ultimately, about maximizing your investments of everything: time, money, and energy. A few more things that might help: 

• Optimize your production process. See our guide to improve your end-to-end process and produce content as efficiently as possible. 
• Improve your brainstorms. Prompts are a great way to get your creative wheels turning. Use our content brainstorm template to come up with 30 ideas in under an hour.
• Create more sales enablement content. If you can bridge marketing and sales to collaborate on sales enablement content, you can help close more deals. Find out what type of sales content you can invest in (beyond presentations) that can transform your sales process.

That said, if you’re doing the most but still getting subpar results, you may have a larger content strategy issue. If you need any expert guidance, consider bringing in the right partner. If you need a good agency, see our tips to find the right content marketing agency or find out what it’s like to work with us. 

Either way, one of the best ways to work smarter is to experiment more. Whether it’s trying a new tool or testing a new strategy, be flexible. Use what works and forget the rest. And if you stumble across any life-changing marketing hacks of your own, our inbox is always open.