How to Create Outstanding Content (With Riveting Examples From Boring Industries)

Selling content is easy with compelling content. This is great news for marketers in the so-called sexy sectors like skydiving, travel, leisure and travel.

It's not easy to get people excited about your brand for accounting firms, insurance brokerages, or plumbing repair services.

However, creativity and a willingness to think outside the box can make any industry engaging and interesting.

How can you get your visitors to share your content?

Random internet users were asked what motivates them to share. The number one answer was to entertain. You have the answer: produce entertaining content. 44% of respondents listed entertainment as their primary motivation, while 25% shared content to educate their friends and followers on social media. 20% share content to show their identity. Another 10% wants to support a cause.

Inbound marketing is a powerful tool that can be used to attract people to your blog and to talk about your brand. You won't be able to stand out among the rest.

The best content marketing will get you in, without you even knowing it. The power of great content is more evident in finance, which is not the most glamorous of industries. It is not difficult to make vacation destinations or fashion brands appealing. Tax accounting? That takes skill.

If you want to increase awareness and encourage people to talk about your brand and buy from your website, then you need to put on a great show. How?

Create an exciting storyline

What do you think about the industry that you market for? If you think it's dull, that will reflect in your marketing. This can lead to dry-as a bone campaigns that no one wants. To create content that people love, you must first change your perceptions.

If you want to convince others, it is essential to understand why your industry is so boring.

These are some questions you can ask to get your creative juices flowing.

• What if your product or service were a hero? A plumbing company can save homes from water damage and protect customers from financial ruin. Customers can have peace of mind knowing that home insurance covers all risks.
• How would your life be without your brand's product. One word: Out-in-the Cold. There are no waste management services. Swimming in germ-infested, putrid garbage. Yuck.
• How did your brand evolve to be the hero? This section focuses on what makes your brand stand out from other brands in the industry. It's the ability to transform and change into something new – your personal brand transformation. A financial company may have begun to fill a niche in the local market but has since evolved to meet both client and company expectations.

Look Local and Relevant

Joe Friedlein, a marketing expert shared a great tip on how to create content that goes viral in a podcast. He suggested that in order to reach potential leads and make outreach easier for air conditioner rental companies, which is dominated by spec sheets, who-cares and comparisons, it was important to look for creative geographical angles.

His team conducted research on temperature control at work in the US and created a fun campaign called the “thermostat wars”. Their findings were used to attract people to office air conditioning rentals. They demonstrated that thermostat control is an ongoing source of warfare in the workplace. This was a funny, entertaining, and relatable way of presenting a boring topic. Who hasn't had to get into a heated argument about turning up/down their thermostat at least once in his/her life?

Use entertainment to entertain

You want to entertain? In your next marketing campaign, you can play with popular culture. It takes some sophistication. To generate leads, you don't want just to throw in some celebrity names or hitchhike to the blockbuster of the summer. It is important to find out what your target audience is most interested in and where popular culture intersects.

Arby's brilliant @Pharrell tweet is one example of the most masterful marketing use of pop culture. It's hilariously playful. It doesn't feel forced. This means that you must be able recognize opportunities as they arise and act quickly. This tactic is perfect for social media marketing.

Allow Your Audience to Interact with You

It doesn't really matter what industry you are in. You can get attention if you have an app that allows people to find something that is relevant to their market, an interactive video or a contest. However, this attention won't last if your interactive media isn't entertaining enough and useful enough for your audience.

Payson Petroleum, a small Texas-based oil and natural gas drilling company, came up with a unique way to be recognized as an industry leader by potential independent oil investor. The brand app was created to connect potential investors with Payson Petroleum's brand. It provides market updates, investment calculations, and expert commodity predictions.

The app is updated regularly and has a professional appearance. It also offers a wealth of insight. This is in keeping with the company's ethos. They are known for prioritizing transparency, honesty, integrity. Their primary focus is on building relationships with clients. Payson Petroleum's app delivers on this promise, unlike many other brands. This is a nice touch in an industry that has been relatively unremarkable.

Think Outside Your Industry

Finally, don't limit yourself to your brand's box. You don't have to only talk laundry detergent if you are marketing laundry detergent. You can cover all aspects of home living, including interior design, fashion, and still keep your laundry sparkling clean.

It is possible to expand your topic range while still being useful to your audience in any industry. This includes topics such as productivity, wellness topics for life insurance, and career advice for office supplies. Your brand can also market with tributary subjects. This allows you to show more personality through visually appealing, educational and value-driven content.

You can make it interesting and easy to understand, as well as giving your audience a lot of personality. This will help you create engaging and shareable content that is both informative and fun, no matter if you're marketing for a sewage company.

Marketers can make debt consolidation and car insurance sparkle. They're masters at their craft. These are some examples of B2B content marketing from the finance sector that really shine.

Example 1: Progressive Insurance With the Perfect Brand Persona

Progressive Insurance's Flo, the insurance-loving and helpful brand personality, has outdone Geico's adorable mascot, Geico gecko. The company has a common theme of providing flawless, friendly service. It all starts with Flo. But it is evident in every piece of content.

• A collection of examples of corporate social responsibility on Instagram
• Website design that is clean and simple with little text. There are a few clear CTAs. Flo in her trademark starched white uniform with cherry red lipstick and Flo's signature smile.
• A simple-to-use app that customers can use with intuitive features. Flo's smiley face is a bonus!
• Video marketing featuring ever-perky Flo

The entire Progressive content strategy is based on a simple message: Relax, Flo has you covered. Progressive, and she will provide you with perfectly tailored coverage due to a passion for risk reduction. It is simple, straightforward, and discreet.

Example 2: Accredited Debt Relief With Seamless Social Proof

Accredited Debt Relief is a debt consolidation company that uses social proof and influencer marketing to build trust and confidence in their content. Accredited even offers a free calculator that will show you exactly how your customer will experience Accredited's services.

Progressive's brand name is a hint at the experience that a customer should have.

This content message addresses the pain points of anxiety, uncertainty, and fear of their target customers. Don't worry. These are industry awards, testimonials from clients, proven results, and even Shark Tank TV stars to show you that Accredited Debt Relief can help you get out of debt.

Example 3: Financial Services for Customers with Discover Financial Services

Discover's content strategy is very people-oriented. UVPs, as well as a brief overview of the company's philosophy will not be found on this website. Discover offers customers nothing but the best.

• Blog for financial well-being
• FICO credit score free – even if your not a customer
• Security alerts for personal data
• A brand Twitter account that allows users to resolve customer service problems
• The brand's credit card design places the customer first. It offers metallic pink, purple and gray credit cards. Who wouldn't want one?

Discover is a trusted brand that is able to provide more for customers thanks to this buyer-centric content model. This is brilliant marketing for credit card companies. You don't need to worry about high interest rates when your company is getting so much love.

Example 4: Deloitte Accounting and Customer Delight

A business tax and advisory firm is not necessarily a leader in customer delight. Deloitte's marketing department is a master at building customer relationships. They do it the hard and difficult way. They focus on in-depth, informative content and not loyalty programs or discounts.

Deloitte's content will show you how hard it is to convince customers and qualified leads that your brand is worth their time.

• Industry conversations in real-time
• Webcasts from thought leaders
• Subscribe to email newsletters – there are many to suit different customer interests
• An online library of accounting information for free
• This website is a standalone, free site that covers accounting news.
• Deloitte University Press has created a useful blog that is well-suited for the task.
• Active social feeds are available across all company social media accounts. This includes a great example B2B LinkedIn Marketing in action. Direct links to company leaders' Twitter accounts. This subtle tactic fosters community and establishes the management team as industry experts.

Example 5: Ally Bank Fun and Engagement

Ally Bank went the fun, make-the-customer-smile route with their content marketing. Ally Bank is a top online bank that offers budget-friendly banking to customers who can manage their finances without having to go into a brick and mortar store. Their content was somewhat unconventional.

Although their website remains faithful to the traditional professional bank format, which includes service overviews and free financial calculators. Rate comparisons are also available. There are many CTAs. However, Ally has added quirky headlines in purple, along with images of similar quirky people, to give the brand a fun twist. Ally stands out from the rest, making it more interesting than their competitors while still providing a reliable and professional banking service.

You can have a lot of fun when you reach out to Ally's social channels. Customers will find an Instagram account filled with photos of employees having fun at work, metaphor-rich posts on Facebook, and some of 2017's most hilarious marketing videos.

Example 6: Morgan Stanley and Brand Community

Morgan Stanley's world could be your home for a lifetime. With its content marketing, this financial institution has created a community that is immersive. The content marketing strategy will provide information that is not only helpful for saving and investing. Morgan Stanley's website and social media platforms allow customers to access videos, podcasts and blog posts about the current global zeitgeist.

The environment, technology, health, energy, global trends and behavioral economics are all covered by their audience. They provide curated insights to help people better manage their money. The whole strategy is thought-leadership, from the Ideas podcast and the Twitter feed. You want to be the first? Join the Morgan Stanley team.

There is no brand that can be boring!

These examples of content marketing demonstrate what imagination, market knowledge, and smart use of tools can do. It doesn't really matter what industry you are in, it matters how creative and relevant your marketing is. With the right content, even accounting can be captivating.

Who said that numbers were boring?