A successful marketing strategy relies on several content types working together to achieve your goals. Whether building a content strategy from scratch or looking to fine-tune an existing one, taking inspiration from real-life examples is a great way to get those creative juices flowing.

To give you a head start, I’ve gathered five content marketing examples that are a cut above the rest. Since my experience lies with B2B brands, this blog will focus on strategies tailored to that space.

Read on to discover:

3 effective B2B content types
Real -life content examples to spark your next big idea
A breakdown of why these content examples work so well
How you can replicate their success.

Content type 1: B2B blogging

If you’re not convinced by the power of blogging, here are some website statistics that may change your mind. According to Hubspot, companies with blogs generate 55% more traffic and have 434% more pages indexed by search engines than those that do not.

Here are some other blogging benefits:

B2B marketers who use blogs receive 67% more leads than those who don't
Blogs give websites 97% more indexed links, translating to better search rankings and more traffic.
Content marketing, including blogging, costs 62% less than traditional marketing and generates about three times as many leads.

In other words, high-quality and well-optimised blogs are a surefire way to put businesses on the map, increase website visibility and drive sales. Not bad, right? But remember, not all blogs are created equally. Any content creation should be built with intention, aligning with your organisation's goals and expertise. Let’s look at an example.

Semrush: a case study in exceptional B2B blogging

Today, Semrush’s blog is one of the most visited destinations for content creators to get up-to-date tips on everything SEO-related. The brand’s blogging success can be attributed to a few factors:

Strong credibility

We live in an era when AI can write a perfectly good first draft for a blog within seconds. As a result, many businesses are leaning more heavily on AI to generate content. While these powerful tools have vastly improved efficiency and productivity within marketing teams, they have also contributed to a lot of regurgitation and unoriginality.

By demonstrating Google's principles of Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T), Semrush signals to Google and its audience that it is a credible expert in delivering SEO guidance.

Some of Semrush’s strategies to demonstrate E-E-A-T include:

Showcasing author credentials and experience
Providing comprehensive coverage of specific topics
Linking to reputable sources and references, such as Google
Embedding screenshots of real-life examples, often from clients
Maintaining a consistent publishing schedule of high-quality content.

Actionable takeaway: When applying these principles to your brand's content, the main component to focus on is trust. As Google says, “Untrustworthy pages have low E-E-A-T no matter how Experienced, Expert, or Authoritative they may seem.”

To-the-point content

One mistake I often see marketers make is overexplaining to make a point. Readers appreciate clear, actionable information that not only states facts but gets really specific about it.

Semrush writers excel at this practice by actively avoiding vagueness. They remain relevant to their niche, give real-life examples and link back to their products where applicable — as shown in the example below. This approach helps their audience grasp tricky concepts more easily and put them into context.

Actionable takeaway: A few tricks up Semrush's sleeves enable them to achieve this writing style — and it starts before they've even jotted a sentence together.

Semrush writers begin by logically organising their ideas in an outline so they remain focused as they write. They structure the blog content with headlines — which we'll discuss next — and then use transitional phrases to connect their ideas.

Skim-readable headers

Semrush follows clear, skim-readable headline formatting (H tags) and even displays a table of contents so readers can jump straight to their area of interest.

Skim-readable content is something that not only readers appreciate, but search engines too. Google is known for keeping its exact ranking algorithms top secret, but it openly clarifies that H tags contribute to better rankings. This is partly because headers allow readers to understand what they’ll learn from a blog post before committing to a full read.

Actionable takeaway: Ensure your readers can get a basic understanding of your blog just by reading the headings. You should also structure the headings following a hierarchy of H1 (most important) to H6 (least important) tags.

Keyword placement

By naturally weaving long-tail keywords into their blog, Semrush effectively signals what the article covers to search engines, ensuring it appears in relevant user search queries.

They also use keyword clustering, a technique that groups search terms that share the same search intent (what the user wants to achieve) and targets them on a single page, often referred to as a pillar page.

The pillar page typically links to subpages (other blogs) that dive deeper into specific topics. For example, Semrush has written an ecommerce SEO guide for beginners. The guide is a pillar page covering multiple topics within the 20-minute read. The pillar page also links to several related subtopics in more detail, such as how to identify a user's search intent and how to use Reddit for keyword research.

The benefit of keyword clustering is that it establishes topical authority and supports internal linking strategies. As a result, users and search engines can navigate a website more effectively, thereby improving rankings.

Actionable takeaway: You can (and should!) apply this technique to your brand's content strategy by selecting 3 to 4 pillar topics within your area of expertise and then regularly publishing content around them.

Strong and enticing call-to-actions

Writing blogs takes time, effort and skill. But, what makes a blog really successful is the reader taking another action. For example, in the blog screenshotted below, Semrush writers want readers to learn about a specific technique and test it using their product.

Actionable takeaway: Before you write, consider what goal you want to achieve from the piece. From encouraging readers to sign up for a newsletter to clicking on a product page, including a call-to-action in blog posts is a must.

Content type 2: Whitepapers

Whitepapers are in-depth, longer solution pieces that make for terrific marketing and sales tools, giving organisations the opportunity to seize brand ownership of their industry.

However, the depth of a whitepaper can also be detrimental. Not everyone has time to read hefty content, particularly those in senior or leadership positions. For that reason, the design and flow of a whitepaper are crucial to keeping readers engaged.

Let’s look at two great whitepaper examples that take two different approaches to tackling this challenge.

Technical whitepaper example: Crowdstrike

Crowdstrike’s technical whitepaper, “Application Security Posture Management (ASPM): Securing Cloud-Native Applications at Scale”, gives an overview of the landscape and introduces ASPM. The whitepaper also discusses how to operationalise ASPM and what technologies organisations require to implement it successfully.

The 27-page content piece aims to make a strong case for why businesses should adopt ASPM technology and reinforce the risks of not doing so. It also demonstrates how manageable the implementation of Crowdstrike's solution is, pushing prospects further toward making a purchasing decision.

While meaty and detailed, the whitepaper has clear signposting and headers, allowing readers to take what they need without reading 8,100 words of copy. It also breaks up heavy text and technical concepts with charts and graphics.

Marketing whitepaper example: GWI

GWI, the market research platform, is well-versed in reinventing the traditional PDF whitepaper — and The Global Media Landscape Report is an excellent example.

The report takes original data and combines it with qualitative case studies and interviews to present facts about how brands can appeal to shoppers, streamers and scrollers. Putting their own findings into action, GWI also rejects the traditional PDF whitepaper and opts for an interactive and scrollable report.

Similar to a blog, the reader can engage with images and videos. Additionally, they always have access to a navigation bar, allowing them to jump around the report with ease. However, unlike a blog, the content is gated. Therefore readers must provide details before accessing it.

Finally, GWI chose a topic for the whitepaper that effectively showcases its expertise and product offering: a consumer research platform. The bright pink call to action button is always within the reader's eye line and only possible through a digital format like this one.

Actionable takeaway: Ultra-digestible whitepaper copy enables readers to absorb and apply what they have learned more effectively, increasing the likelihood of conversion.

Content type 3: Social media posts

Social media is a must-have for brands wanting to build a community. However, for B2B brands, this can feel challenging if their industry has a reputation for being a little mundane. So, how can B2B brands use social media to forge a genuine connection with their audiences without sounding flat?

Let’s take a look at an example.

Xero: Injecting fun into finance through social media marketing

Xero is a player in the financial industry proving that money-talk can be fun and personable. To date, the global small business platform has a combined following of 511.3k across LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram. Not bad, right? So, what’s their secret?

Xero’s social media strategy uses copy to engage customers on a personal, human-to-human level. That isn’t to say there isn’t a place for product promotion on Xero’s social media feed, but for the most part, the posts are educational, people-focused and fun.

Actionable takeaway: To replicate Xero’s success, brands should focus on authenticity and building relatability with their audiences.

Still unsure which content types suit your strategy best?

If you’re unsure where to start, pressed for time, or would rather leave content marketing in expert hands, I’ve got you covered. With over a decade of experience, I specialize in helping startups transform their content strategy into a powerful growth engine.

Let’s work together to elevate your content and achieve real results. Schedule a call today!

About the author

Anna is senior freelance copywriter, focusing on B2B content marketing for technology, cybersecurity, SaaS, and beyond. With over a decade of experience in content writing and strategy, she’s worked with renowned companies such as Gartner Digital Markets, Capterra, GetApp, Atlassian, Intigriti, and more.

3 content types that actually work for B2B businesses — with real examples