If what Seth Godin said is true, then “content marketing is the only marketing left”. And that’s great news to all of the content marketers out there. Right now, businesses are jumping through hoops to outshine their competitors and get the attention on them. The world of content marketing has gotten complex. But when you strip away the complicated strategies, detailed data evaluations, automations, calendars and funnels, your audience just wants one thing; Interesting content that will add value to their lives. We’re all about thinking outside-of-the-box and quite often, we like to pretend the box never existed. Take a chance on unusual content marketing ideas and your fans might reward you. In this exploration of beyond-the-box ideas, we’ll be suggesting that you: Act cool (even if you’re not) Animate your Instagram Stop selling your product (huh?) Be negative (yes, really) Share your honest opinion (no more hiding) Wondering if we’ve finally lost our minds? Maybe you’re right. But we’ve backed everything up with real-life ideas from major brands, so perhaps it’s not so crazy after all.

Get Cool & Current with Memes

  Memes have officially taken over. You’re probably nose-laughing at memes right now as you skim this post. If so, avert your attention back here! Memes are an in-joke amongst the entire internet community. Showing that you’re in on the joke and you’re current shows your followers that you don’t take yourself too seriously, and that you can post content that isn’t all about pushing sales. As far as unusual marketing ideas go, this can be tricky to get right and is not relevant to every industry. Though, if you can explore humour through memes and other trending content, it can be extremely rewarding. To make this work, staying current is key. No one enjoys outdated memes; all they do is show people you have a life outside of the internet. (How dare you?!) Be aware of the trends that are making an impact on social media at the time and jump on them. While meme marketing probably won’t become a major stage of the sales funnel anytime soon, they can certainly build engagement and brand awareness. Don’t be afraid to get silly with your content and play to your audience’s likes and dislikes. They’re tired of product flatlays; make them laugh instead.  

Animate your Instagram with GIFs

    In the same breath as the previous piece of advice, make your Instagram stand out with GIFs, the internet’s favourite type of bite-sized content. Why do we love GIFs so much? Could be something to do with those ever-diminishing attention spans we’re always told we have. If you’re a visual brand, this could offer a fun new dimension to your product photos. Endless loops of mesmerising video. What more could your followers want? Keep them on your page for longer with a little extra effort. Social media marketing ideas are always developing, so stay fresh and ahead of the crowd with cute GIFs. Humour absolutely recommended.        

Quit Selling your Product

Let me rephrase that. Don’t quit selling your product exactly. Just be a little more subtle about it. By that, I mean that your followers are going to get tired of hearing about how great you are all the time. They want content that resonates with their lifestyle. Something of interest. Something shareable. (And you know ‘shareable’ stuff is the holy grail of content marketing). Let me demonstrate with one of my favourite content marketing examples and truly one of the best storytelling brandsout there. Red Bull. The energy drink gets its own wings by creating news, rather than just content. This isn’t just on their YouTube channel, either. Their home page is packed with absorbing videos and news, without a mention of their products. The Red Bull story isn’t about an energy drink. It’s about pro surfers, extreme BMX riders and a 128KM freefall from space. As the official sponsor of a number of global athletic events and sportspeople, they get around-the-clock attention. While Red Bull drinkers might not be extreme athletes themselves, it turns out that they enjoy watching them. Find something that ignites your audience’s passion and build your brand around it.  

Showcase your Negativity

Life isn’t all rainbows and butterflies, so we can stop pretending that it is. In fact, it turns out that people are often drawn to negativity, especially when it’s showcased in headlines. No content marketing ideas list is complete without a mention of blogging, which is still alive and well. How do you get people to read your blogs? It starts with the headline. Along with numbered lists and titles that include the phrase “this is why”, negativity drives some of the most clicks. Play on your readers’ insecurities by using negative superlatives (like “worst”) because Buffer found that headlines with such words earned a 63% higher click-through-rate than those with positive ones. They put this down to a couple of possible reasons: Positive terms have become overused and cliched. E.g. “The best content marketing tips”. Snore. Negativity is unexpected, so can surprise and intrigue readers. One brand that is doing this right? BuzzFeed. They’re not just good for finding out which Gossip Girl character you are. Xoxo…    

Get Off the Fence & Have a Say

    Opinions are underrated and, in a world where the majority of people are worried about backlash, neutrality is the safest option. If an international event or topical issue arises that’s related to your brand, take the stage. Jump on the back of trending news and show the world your inner journalist. I will say this; only get involved if you have genuine knowledge on the issue. Otherwise, you could just end up looking stupid. Back up what you say with data (and maybe humour if it’s appropriate) and you should see a positive response and increased traffic to your site. One study found that creating compelling content is the biggest challenge that marketers face, so your valuable point-of-view could help you overcome this. The fence might be comfortable, but no one goes viral while they’re there.

Say Goodbye to the Box

There’s a reason why we’re such big advocates for getting out of the box and doing something that takes a bit of grit. Without unusual content marketing ideas, developing your brand might just mean creating a persona that so many other people are already showcasing. Take a leap of faith and feel inspired by those successful brands that refused to blend in.