Types of Content Marketing | 18 Types & Tips

There are many different types of content marketing, and as new channels emerge and develop, these types keep evolving. This guide outlines various types of content marketing and how they help businesses.

Wondering what type of content marketing is best for your brand or organization? See the table below, or tell QuillBot’s AI Chat a bit about your brand and its goals, and see what it recommends.

Types of content marketing

When evaluating the different types of content marketing, you should focus on those that work within your brand’s mission, goals, resources, and limitations. Find the types of content marketing and what they’re best for in the table below, and find additional information or examples of each below.

1. Blog posts

Blog posts are one of the most common and flexible types of content marketing, as they can be used to address a variety of topics in diverse formats. Blog posts are typically published to a company blog and are usually optimized for search engines, making them a core part of SEO-driven content strategies.

Some types of blog posts are:

• How-to guides that explain processes or tasks step by step
• Tutorials focused on teaching a specific skill or tool
• Listicles that organize information into scannable lists
• Case studies showcasing real-world results or examples
• Thought leadership articles that analyze trends or industry topics
• Opinion editorials (op-eds) presenting a clear point of view
• Evergreen content designed to stay relevant over time
• Pillar pages that comprehensively cover a broad topic
• Comparisons that evaluate tools, services, or approaches
• Definition or “what is” posts that explain key concepts

2. Videos

Video content uses visual and audio elements to communicate information, explain concepts, or demonstrate products. It can be published across multiple channels, including websites, social media platforms, and video-hosting services.

Types of video content include:

• Explainer videos introducing a concept or product
• Educational videos teaching skills or topics
• Product demos showing how a product works
• Customer testimonial videos
• Short-form videos (e.g., Shorts, Reels, TikTok)
• Live videos and live streams
• Recorded webinars or panel discussions
• Brand videos focused on storytelling or awareness

3. Website content

Website content includes all content published on a company’s owned web pages outside of the blog. This type of content marketing generally relies on copywriting and supports conversions, onboarding, and product education.

Common types of website content include:

• Landing pages created for campaigns or lead generation
• Product pages explaining features and benefits
• Use-case pages describing how a product solves specific problems
• Feature documentation detailing how tools or functions work
• FAQs answering common user questions
• Glossaries defining industry or technical terms
• Help center or knowledge base articles
• Resource hubs that organize multiple content assets in one place

4. Social media

Social media content is designed for distribution on platforms like Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, and Reddit. This type of content marketing prioritizes visibility, engagement, and sharing.

• Organic posts containing text, images, or videos
• Short-form videos (e.g., Reels, Shorts, TikTok videos)
• Long-form videos (e.g., YouTube)
• Carousels presenting multiple slides of information
• Stories with temporary visibility
• Threads or multi-post sequences
• Polls and questions to encourage interaction
• Community posts within groups or platform communities
• Live streams that take place in real time

5. Emails

Email content marketing focuses on delivering content directly to subscribers’ inboxes. This channel is often used for nurturing leads, educating users, and maintaining long-term engagement.

Email marketing can take many forms, like:

• Newsletters sharing updates or curated content
• Drip campaign emails sent as part of an automated sequence
• Onboarding emails for new users or customers
• Educational email series delivered over time
• Promotional emails tied to launches or offers
• Transactional emails that include helpful content blocks

6. Infographics

Infographics present information visually, combining text, data, and design elements to make complex topics easier to understand. This type of content marketing is often used to summarize data, explain processes, or highlight key takeaways.

Infographics are usually:

• Statistical, displaying data or survey results
• Process-focused, explaining workflows or steps
• Comparisons, contrasting options or features
• Timelines, showing events over time
• List-based, summarizing key points or steps
• Educational, breaking down concepts

Infographics are frequently shared on blogs, social media, and email newsletters. They’re useful for getting backlinks (links from other sites to yours), as they are easy to share and attribute back to.

7. Podcasts

Podcasts are a form of audio content marketing distributed through podcast platforms or embedded on websites. They allow brands to explore topics in depth and build ongoing relationships with listeners. Podcasts can be narrative—focused on storytelling—or educational—focused on teaching you something.

As content marketing, podcasts may take the form of:

• Interviews with experts or guests
• Solo episodes led by a host
• Panel discussions
• Branded podcast series
• Repurposed audio content from webinars or events

8. Gated content

Gated content refers to content that users must unlock by submitting information, usually a name and/or email address. This type of content marketing is commonly used for lead generation, as it allows marketing teams to gather leads’ contact information (e.g., email addresses) and see what topics they’re interested in.

Because gated content requires effort from the user, it is typically more in-depth than ungated content. Some types of gated content are:

• eBooks, which offer broad, accessible overviews on a topic
• White papers, in-depth reports or guides that are often more technical
• Research reports, based on data from the brand or third parties
• Benchmarks, which outline the current state of a specific industries
• Playbooks outlining strategies or workflows
• Case studies that go more in-depth than those you’d find on a blog
• Templates that help users complete a specific task
• Worksheets and checklists to help a user retain information or prepare for a task

9. Interactive content

Interactive content requires active participation from the user rather than passive consumption. This type of content marketing can increase engagement and time on page. Some examples of this type of content are quizzes, surveys, polls, self-assessments, and interactive tools and infographics.

• Quizzes
• Surveys
• Polls
• Calculators
• Interactive tools
• Interactive infographics
• Self-assessments

10. Influencer marketing campaigns

Influencer marketing is a type of content marketing for social media in which an influencer (also called a “creator”) creates content to promote your brand. Influencer marketing campaigns take advantage of an influencer’s dedicated followers, who are more likely to trust in a brand or product if it’s being recommended by someone they feel they trust.

Therefore, when doing influencer marketing, it’s crucial to select the right influencer for your brand or organization. You should find someone whose mission and values align with yours, and you should ask for details about their following so you can analyze it and make sure it matches with your target audience.

Influencer marketing campaigns often include content like:

• Videos or images showing what problem your product or service solves
• Giveaways that require participants to follow the influencer and your account
• Affiliate content with tracked links and discount codes for followers
• Brand takeovers where an influencer posts on a brand’s account
• Event coverage such as launches, trips, or live experiences

11. User-generated content

User-generated content (UGC) refers to content created by unpaid users of a brand. UGC can be organic (i.e., the user creates it simply because they want to) or solicited (i.e., the brand prompts users to create content, often with free gifts). Some common types of UGC are:

• Reviews and testimonials
• Unboxing, tutorial, and before-and-after videos
• Roundups and product/service guides
• Forum posts or discussions
• Submissions for contests and giveaways

12. Branded content

Branded content subtly promotes a brand in engaging, story-driven media. The core purpose of branded content is to entertain or educate, and brand promotion is done subtly. A few examples of branded content are:

• Videos (e.g., Patagonia’s environmental and activism films)
• Feature films (e.g., The Lego Movie)
• Shareable images (e.g., Spotify’s end-of-year Wrapped statistics)
• Podcasts (e.g., Dior’s Dior Talks)

13. Curated content

Curated content is content created by others that you, your brand, or your organization share with your audience. The same way that art exhibitions are curated—with curators carefully selecting which pieces to include—curated content is mindfully chosen based on its target audience. A few examples of curated content are:

• Social media posts connecting content from different sources
• Email newsletters compiling interesting articles from the week
• YouTube playlists gathering the best videos on a topic

Curated content saves you time, as you don’t have to create the content yourself. However, curated content should be used sparingly; it should supplement the content you create.

14. Memes

You may not have expected to see memes on this list, but many companies are now using them as a type of content marketing—mostly on social media. These images use comedy, cultural references, and internet trends to communicate messages in an informal way.

Some typical types of meme and humor content include:

• Macros, or images with text overlays
• GIFs used for reactions or commentary
• Trend-based memes tied to current events or formats
• Relatable humor reflecting shared experiences
• Parodies that imitate familiar formats
• Jokes or puns with a lighthearted tone

Because memes and humor rely heavily on context and timing, they are often used to increase engagement rather than to communicate detailed information. Think of memes as brands’ and organizations’ slang.

15. Presentations and slide decks

Presentations and slide decks communicate information in a structured, concise way. They can be repurposed across multiple channels, including websites, email, and presentation-sharing platforms. This type of content marketing is particularly good for sharing pitch decks or training presentations.

18. Webinars and courses

Webinars and courses are long-form educational formats designed to teach the audience about specific topics or skills. Webinars are good for topics that can be covered in about an hour, while courses are better for topics that take longer to master.

Webinars are generally hosted live and recorded. Recordings of the webinar are then sent to participants and usually repurposed as video content on social media or as gated content on a brand’s website.

Frequently asked questions about types of content marketing

What are the three types of promotion used in content marketing?

The three types of promotion used in content media are:

1. Paid media (content you pay to promote on other platforms)
2. Owned media (content on your own channels)
3. Earned media (unpaid mentions or tags by third parties)

Within each of these promotion types, there are many different types of content marketing. Paid media, for example, could be text, photos, or videos.

Learn more about content marketing with QuillBot’s AI Chat.

What is B2B (business-to-business) content marketing?

B2B content marketing involves creating helpful content aimed at other businesses because the products or services are designed for business use. The goal is to build trust and demonstrate expertise, helping businesses make informed decisions. B2B content marketing relies on different types of content marketing, like blog posts and emails. For example, a software provider might share guides on improving office productivity or case studies showing how their tools helped other companies succeed.

Try QuillBot’s blog post generator to create detailed B2B content that educates and persuades business customers effectively.

What is B2C marketing?

B2C marketing means “business-to-customer” marketing. It’s when a business markets its products or services to an individual customer, not another business.

B2C marketing relies heavily on certain types of content marketing, particularly website content, social media, video, influencer collaborations, and UGC.

Through this content, B2C marketers strive to build awareness, engagement, emotional connection, and trust with customers.

QuillBot’s AI Chat can help you learn more about B2C marketing.