10 Examples of Content Marketing Campaigns on Social Media

It was 1996 when Bill Gates wrote an essay wherein he quoted ‘Content is King’ and described the future of the Internet as a marketplace for content.

Well, fast forward to 2023, content still is the reigning king ruling the marketing arsenal. Even when the world turned upside down, and everybody was confined to their home due to the pandemic, the content remained the ultimate pillar for businesses to survive.

It’s no news that content is one of the most powerful drivers of business growth. And if a business is not thriving with its content then it’s not going to be an easy ride for them.

To help businesses set their pace, and get some inspiration, we have curated some of the best examples of content marketing on social media.

1. Starbucks – “Whatsyourname’’

Starbucks’ #whatsyournameukcampaign, the winner of Channel 4’s Diversity in Advertising Award was an integrated brand campaign that focused on identity and acceptance. 

The campaign was inspired by the real experiences of people who were transitioning. Focusing on the renowned welcome gesture of Starbucks – writing the name of the customer and calling it out – the brand took a cue to empower every individual, including gender-diverse people to feel a part of the community by sharing their name without being judged. 

Combining both TV and social media, the campaign was one of the best examples of how empowering is the impact of content and social media when it comes to a business and the values they wish to propagate.

2. Apple – #Shotoniphone

With more than 20 million posts, Apple’s UGC campaign is an unparalleled example of content marketing on social media. And the best lesson from this campaign is how making your customers the voice of your brand can take your brand to another level of success. 

The challenge #Shotoniphone was nothing but a quest to market the exceptional camera quality of Apple’s iPhone. It all began as a challenge where Apple invited all its users to post their best iPhone shots on Instagram & Twitter with the #ShotOniPhone hashtag. 

Today #Shotoniphone has become an online revolution representing the highest standard of quality that Apple has been offering its customers since the inception of the brand.

3. Procter & Gamble – #Distancedance

Another great example of content marketing on social media is the #Distancedance TikTok campaign by P&G. This campaign was initiated with the partnership of social media influencer Charli D’Amelio, to advocate the importance of staying safe and taking preventative measures amid the ongoing pandemic.

The campaign #DistanceDancechallenge aimed to generate sponsored donations for the organizations helping people affected by Covid-19. With more than 17 billion views, this campaign was a hit and led P&G to reignite its brand awareness.

4. Zoom – Virtual Background Contest

When people were confined to their homes during the lockdown, Zoom became a synonym for video conferencing. Zoom leveraged the virtual shift of work and turned its social media marketing to increase brand awareness and drive engagement with the help of contests and giveaways.

Zoom began a contest asking its community to share pictures with the virtual background feature where three winners were offered amazing prices every month. 

To spark brand awareness, Zoom made a separate landing page and a Twitter account for the #virtualbackgroudcontest best entries, thus deriving enormous brand engagement by creating excitement among the target audience to use the fun and funky backgrounds.

5. Dove – #Passthecrown

Another great example of content marketing is Dove #Passthecrown campaign. Aiming to end the race-based discrimination based on hair color, Dove initiated a social media campaign to tell the stories of real women. It established a sentimental connection of the target audience with the brand. 

Dove partnered with The National Urban League, Color Of Change, Western Center on Law & Poverty, co-founded #TheCrownCoalition to pass the crown act and encouraged social media users to sign the petition to end hair color discrimination that has been prevalent in the US. 

6. Spotify – #YearWrapped

Spotify came up with an exceptional content marketing idea displaying every user’s most-played songs in their accounts to mark the year-end. This campaign got some amazing engagement and customer reach on social media with #2019Wrapped & #2020Wrapped hashtags. 

The campaign resulted in more than 3 billion streams and rewinds of the wrapped playlist making Spotify one of the best online music streaming platforms.

7. Pedigree’s Dog Selfie Campaign – #HollyWODselfie

Pedigree Australia launched a content campaign on social media on the account of National Pet Dental Health Month along with an app DentaStix. The campaign was initiated to spread awareness regarding the importance of dental hygiene and the marketing of the dog selfie app. In the campaign, the dog owners were asked to share selfies with their pets along with #HollyWODselfie, and these selfies were shared on the website’s social hub section. 

The App’s camera flash sound grabbed the attention of pets long enough to let the owners take photos all the while strengthening their bond with the pets. Thus the campaign drove impressive engagement as people were curious to take selfies with their notorious pets and share them on social media.

8. Airbnb – #Weaccept

In 2016, Airbnb acknowledged the rigid racial discrimination on its platform and launched a campaign to eradicate this discrimination at a community level. 

This campaign got hype when the US federal government banned travel from seven Muslim-majority nations. Airbnb transformed its community-level initiative to a full-fledged global social media campaign called #Weaccept. The brand leveraged the event to turn its message into an actionable opportunity for people to act and support Airbnb’s refugee relief initiative. 

The campaign is yet another great example of content marketing on social media with over 87 billion impressions and a more than 13% increase in website visitors. 

9. Under Armour – I Will What I Want

This campaign was intended to build brand equity among women by empowering and celebrating women athletes. A video of ballerina Misty Copeland striving hard to continue her dance practice while listening to rejection audio depicts her hardships. The campaign stirs up the emotional connect of the audience, while very swiftly presenting Under Armour as one-of-a-kind brand that delivers innovative sportswear, shoes, and accessories for women. 

The campaign inspired many women to follow their dreams irrespective of people trying to bring them down. The campaign was successful with more than 5 billion impressions worldwide, resulting in a 28% increase in women’s sales and a 42% increase in traffic to UA.com.

10. Netflix’s Wanna Talk About It Campaign

Post Covid-19, Netflix came up with yet another amazing content campaign wherein people could talk to mental health specialists and discuss their mental health on Instagram LIVE. In addition, catering to the tough situation, Netflix utilized Instagram efficiently to bring a smile to their audience’s faces by sharing show spoilers and TV-related memes.

Both of these initiatives resulted in greater brand engagement and reach as the campaign made their customers realize that the brand cares about their audience’s well-being in these tough times. 

Things to focus on for a successful Content Marketing campaign

All brands have the same purpose for initiating a content marketing campaign on social media. But what are a few common elements that help a brand’s content marketing campaign get the most engagement? Well, let us explore a few common traits of some successful social media campaigns. 

Share brand values  

The majority of content marketing campaigns on social media focus on showcasing their brand’s values. Staying true to the core values helps brands create content that their target audience will resonate with, thus gaining more engagement and reach. But make sure that your campaign creatives are in unison with your brand and don’t disrupt your Instagram aesthetic feed or business pages on LinkedIn and Facebook. 

Original Content 

The major reason behind the success of a content marketing campaign is the unique value of the message that the campaign is focused on. Every content campaign that gets the most engagement has something unique to offer. And this unique approach is what intrigues the customers to engage with the brand.

Focused on one goal 

Every successful content marketing campaign aims to cater to one goal or message, thus making it acceptable and interesting for the audience to engage with. Every content piece that you share on social media needs to have a distinct purpose and a central message to offer so that your customers do not get confused about the actual aim of the content campaign.

Searchable Content 

Brands are well-aware of the importance of visibility on social media. With numerous forms of content available across all the social media channels, using distinct keywords or hashtags is of utmost importance. Thus with every successful content campaign on social media, you’ll be able to see an out-of-the-box hashtag associated with it that increases the engagement of the content.

Platform-specific Content 

Being well-versed with the different formats and styles of content on different platforms is important for brands. It ensures to syndicate content catering to the specific formats of the various social media platforms.

Psychological Impact 

One common factor of every successful content campaign is that these campaigns are created keeping current situations or events in consideration. For example, the majority of brands turned their social media marketing to leverage the Covid-19 and the work-from-home situation making sure to have a psychological impact on the target audience.

Analysis & Improvement 

Another important element of all successful content marketing campaigns is the acceptance of improvements. These campaigns are quantified and improved as per their engagements and the target customer’s behaviors. Using a social media project management tool that helps you manage and analyze your social content is all that a brand needs to have a successful social media presence. Some of the more prominent project management tools being used to manage content, marketing and social media include Asana and Airtable.

Conclusion 

Now that you’ve gone through some amazing examples of content marketing on social media, it’s time to start a content campaign for your brand on social media. Social media can be an asset if used strategically. A great social media campaign not only bolsters your brand image and awareness but also leaves a lasting recall value for your customers.