We genuinely believe there’s scope to be creative and produce engaging, good-quality content no matter what industry you’re in. And we know that people will doubt this.
So, we’re giving away a free idea for every industry out there!
According to Prospects, there are 24 main sectors in the UK economy. We’ve listed all of these below and detailed a content marketing idea for each.
So, let’s crack on!
Content marketing ideas
Below are the 24 sectors and 24 content marketing ideas. Now, obviously, we've had to keep these quite generic, so they're not going to win any awards for innovation. However, we're hoping they'll give you that spark that starts an overwhelming fire of great content ideas.
Now, we’re sure you’ll scroll straight to your industry (we’d do the same), but make sure to take a look at other sectors too. Why? Well, there might be a transferable idea in there that you can make your own.
So, let's get into it!
Accountancy, banking and finance
In this sector, the Trust element of Know, Like and Trust is arguably more important than in other sectors.
One way to do this is to showcase your ability to provide relevant, effective advice to individuals. Therefore, creating case studies could be highly effective.
IDEA: With the permission of your clients, film consultations and put these out as short clips.
Caleb Hammer, an American personal finance nerd, does this, racking up millions of views. He’s so good at it, that people sign up simply to appear on his podcast and hear his advice.
Business, consulting and management
It's about showcasing your business, consulting, and management expertise.
But here’s something to think about first.
Just like in sports, many people in business want to be like the all-time greats. But for many SMEs, the huge conglomerates can seem a million miles away and totally unrelatable.
So, why not make it relatable and showcase your expertise simultaneously?
IDEA: Find case studies of best practices by big brands and break them down to show how your target audience can implement the learnings.
Charity and voluntary work
In this sector, tapping into emotions is key.
To make people act, you need to make them feel something. And one of the best ways to get your audience to feel something is to tell them a story.
IDEA: Tap into the real-life stories behind your service users and beneficiaries. These could be in video format, blogs or long-form social media posts. Or all of them!
Although not directly within the charity or voluntary sector, Youth Aspire Connect has created a powerful piece based on the real-life experiences of young people in Hull.
Creative arts and design
One of the big challenges this industry faces is people getting people outside the sector to understand their worth.
We work closely with this sector and know that people are constantly beating this drum and telling people their worth. But sometimes you need to show rather than tell.
IDEA: Document the creative process for the projects you work on. From start to finish, bring the audience along with you.
Ultimately, this sector is creative by nature. So even the “boring” parts of your work are probably quite sexy to people working in other industries.
By bringing people along on that journey with you, you’re not only showing them something cool, you’re showing them what goes into your work and ultimately showcasing your worth.
Energy and utilities
Although this might not be the most exciting sector for Joe Bloggs on the street, it is one that most of us have to interact with at some point or another.
However, it is highly unlikely a member of the public is going to follow an energy or utility provider on social media because they’re a huge fan of their product. So, you need to look at giving them a reason to follow you. Especially in the current economic climate where any brand loyalty you can build in this sector is beneficial.
IDEA: Create a series of tips which will help customers (and your competitor’s customers) use their energy and utilities more efficiently and save money.
Engineering and manufacturing
As consumers, we often interact with the end product or service but we might not understand what goes into that process.
So, here’s an idea for B2B businesses.
IDEA: Create blog posts detailing the processes behind what you do, featuring interviews with key team members.
This will tap into your audience's inquisitive nature whilst giving you a great opportunity to showcase your quality and expertise.
Environment and agriculture
Having worked with farming clients, it’s safe to say that so much goes on behind the scenes that the general public doesn’t get to see. Stuff that might seem mundane to you.
IDEA: Create a life on the farm vlog that features everything from the products you sell to the ducks that have made your pond their home.
This will help build a connection with the audience and allow you to showcase any initiatives you have, such as sustainable and ethical farming.
Healthcare
Expertise is so important in the healthcare sector. And content can play a role in building your role as an expert.
The challenge is getting people to listen to you. So, why not tag onto the coattails of others?
IDEA: Create a podcast interviewing experts in complementary fields, sharing clips across social media and asking guests to share them to their profile too.
Although slightly more business-focused nowadays, Ali Abdal’s Deep Dive is an example of a similar approach. He speaks to people about how to live your best life and, in turn, builds his brand as an influential voice in this space.
Hospitality and events management
Despite having had a tough few years and experiencing ever-decreasing margins, the hospitality and events sector is often seen as an expensive sector to interact with.
For events-based businesses, this could present an opportunity.
Many event hosts will want to capture their event in one way or another. And you will also want to capture content to promote your business.
IDEA: Approach clients and offer to pay for half the cost of a video company in return for being able to use the footage they produce.
This way, you can build up a bank of event videos, covering different types, for half the price.
Information technology
A common frustration for Joe Bloggs on the street is that IT can seem daunting and overwhelming.
To become their go-to service provider, you need to become a trusted advisor.
IDEA: Use a screen recorder to capture short tips and tricks in a vertical format which you can share across short video platforms.
Law
Law firms are, generally, seen as expensive and difficult to understand due to their use of jargon.
One way to overcome this is to provide easy-to-digest content which is useful to a specific audience.
IDEA: Create webinars about specific topics that require an email address at registration. At the end of the event, send a branded guide, covering everything discussed in the webinar to those who would like to receive it.
If you record these webinars, you could also circulate short clips to help grow your audience and encourage sign-ups for future webinars.
Law enforcement and security
For this section, we’re going to focus on the security element. An industry built on trust and the client’s confidence in being kept safe.
It’s also seen as quite a serious industry. So, can you break down that perception, allowing you to make a personal connection with your audience, whilst also building confidence?
IDEA: Take a mixture of household and professional security items and test them against each other.
To help break down the serious image of the industry, you could have fun with this. You could test the quality of a safe by dropping it from a height or see which video doorbell has the best quality camera by filming a music video on them. Just have fun with it!
Leisure, sport and tourism
Generally, this is a sector we all like to engage with. However, there are still hard-to-reach audiences who need persuading that what you offer is aimed at them.
One way to overcome this is to help the audience picture themselves interacting with your offering.
IDEA: Select people from your customer base who represent a wide range of demographics, especially hard-to-reach audiences. Then create mini profiles about these people, showcasing why they love interacting with your business.
If your audience can see people who reflect who they are, saying great things about your business, they are more likely to get involved themselves.
Marketing, advertising and PR
Similar to the Business, Consulting and Management sector, a great way to generate buy-in within this sector is to showcase what you do and break down how you did it. Not only does this help highlight your expertise, it also helps your audience improve their marketing nous.
IDEA: Create a free newsletter that showcases your best-performing campaigns, explaining how they came to fruition and why they worked.
It would be remiss of us not to mention The Resonator here. Although, ours is more like the Business, Consulting and Management idea in the sense that we feature other people’s campaigns rather than our own.
Media and internet
Nostalgia is such a powerful tool! And media companies are perfectly set to make the most of this.
IDEA: Repurpose old content, bringing it to the attention of a new generation.
All you have to do is take a look at the recent revival of the turn-of-the-century show, Airline, to see how great this approach can be.
The Help! I Sexted My Boss podcast is a great example of how a media brand tapped into the show's revival.
Property and construction
We always recommend that our clients look outside their business for inspiration. But sometimes, it’s even more beneficial to look outside your own industry.
In the world of property and construction, many complementary sectors can be tapped into in a valuable way when it comes to content creation.
IDEA: Bring in experts and influential voices from these other sectors and ask them for top tips to help your audience. These could be distributed as a podcast, blogs, social media clips or whatever suits your brand best.
Public services and administration
The work people do in public services and administration is often overlooked. And, it’s not uncommon for them to be the brunt of a lot of negativity aimed at the organisations they work for.
IDEA: Create a day in the life video series to showcase the work these employees do and raise awareness of the way people treat them.
As the success of reality TV shows, we humans are fascinated by what goes on in other people’s lives. So, feed into that interest and make the most of it.
Recruitment and HR
We’ve all been there when a potential new client contacts you but they’re not quite sure what they need. This can be quite simple to rectify when you only have a couple of service offerings.
However, if you’re operating a full-service HR agency, offering everything from recruitment to disciplinary hearings, it can be time-consuming to identify the needs of your leads.
IDEA: Create a digital quiz which helps identify gaps in your audience's knowledge and areas they might need support with. You could also include links to more information for the questions they get wrong.
This could be used as a pre-qualification tool or to bring in new leads.
Retail
Now, more than ever, brands seem to make ludicrous claims about their products. Whether that’s to do with price competitiveness, sustainability or something else, it can be hard for consumers to understand who’s telling the truth.
So, could you help showcase your USP at the same time as helping your customers wade through a sea of confusion?
IDEA: Create a comparison calculator, focused on your USP.
Fristads, a workwear company, have done just this to showcase their sustainability credentials.
Sales
Sales is a skill. And there’s no way you can persuade us otherwise!
It’s an area most organisations would love to improve in. But, it’s also an area that, if you can showcase your expertise and quality in, then people are more likely to make the most of your services.
IDEA: Create a series of sales tips, motivation and best practices. Share these, mainly, through a newsletter or text system but post the odd one on social media to get people to sign up.
For example, if you can manage daily tips for your distribution list, share the best one each week on social media.
Science and pharmaceuticals
For technical industries such as science and pharmaceuticals, the likelihood is that your buyers are clued up on the technical side of things. And you’ve probably already got a load of brochures and sales sheets explaining all that stuff anyway.
IDEA: Create a free magazine which features more light-hearted material as well as relevant articles from complementary industries.
Often regarded as one of the earliest examples of content marketing, The Furrow by John Deere is a great example.
Social care
For people who need to employ the services of social care providers, it’s similar to the charity and voluntary sector in the fact it plays strongly on emotions.
However, social care also needs to showcase expertise and quality.
IDEA: Create a series of sofa-style, video interviews with service users that talk about what their day-to-day life is like, touching upon how your service has helped them.
Teacher training and education
The world of education seems to be one that only people working in it will truly understand.
As a teacher training provider, you need to showcase your empathy for the teachers.
IDEA: Start a podcast interviewing teachers about their funny but relatable experiences.
The Two Mr Ps in a Podcast is something similar. As a result of their success, they’ve even had a run of live shows.
Transport and logistics
Sometimes it’s something that seems boring that really captures the public’s imagination.
IDEA: Create a point-of-view video tracking an item from the sender to its intended destination. This could even be live-streamed so the public can see where it is at any one moment.
Tapping into our philosophy of “show don’t tell”, this will help highlight the quality of your service in an unusual way.
And if you need convincing that boring content can work, there's a video of someone playing truck simulator for over 3 hours which has racked up over 3.6 million views in the last year.
Wrapping up
Hopefully, somewhere within these 24 ideas, there’s something you can utilise to improve your content marketing game.
However, if you’re still struggling to come up with effective ideas specific to your company, we can help with this. After all, we believe the best ideas come when we get to know a business in more detail.
Our content strategy service will see us work in partnership with your team, to develop a content strategy that helps you educate, entertain and persuade your target audience.
Until next time, thanks for reading!