100 Content Marketing Channels You Should Know About
Successful Content Marketing is About Reaching The Right People Wherever They Are
By Spider Graham
Years ago, when I was teaching digital marketing at the graduate level, I asked my class to share with me a single marketing channel that would allow a marketer to reach 100% of their target audience.
After offering up some half-hearted guesses like television or outdoor, one student raised her hand and asked “Is that even possible?”
I told her I didn’t think it was.
So as a follow-up I asked if anyone could identify 100 channels, each which could reach 1% of a target audience, and we were off and running.
It has long been my experience that effective content marketing is based on ‘fishing where the fish are’. While we can cast thousands of lines and even catch some fish, are they the fish we wanted to catch? At the end of the day, effective marketing isn’t about reaching people. It’s about reaching the right people.
By understanding who your target audiences are, what their needs are, how they will look for solutions to the challenges and where they might look for solutions is the key to creating a meaningful connection between a brand and an audience.
For years, many marketers were deeply of the opinion that reaching as many people as possible as often as possible was the key to branding success. The reality is that this approach does indeed reach a great number of people but the vast majority of them are the wrong people.
Instead, by recognizing that the ‘right’ people for any brand are going to be the people who find the marketing content relevant and useful to them and their needs, opens the doors to share that content with them.
100 Magic Doorways
While the content marketing channels you might use to reach your brand’s target audiences will vary, here’s a list of 100 possible content marketing channels and approaches that just might allow you to open up 100 magic doorways (many free to use) to allow you to reach your people where they will best find you.
Websites, Microsites and Landing Pages
Blogs
Vlogs
Ebooks
Newsletters
Email Campaigns
Podcasts
Webinars
Online Courses
Mobile Apps
Facebook
Instagram
LinkedIn
Snapchat
Pinterest
TikTok
Threads
BlueSky
YouTube Channels
Forums (e.g., Reddit, Quora)
Infographics
Online Brochures and Lookbooks
Online Communities
Case Studies
Whitepapers
Guides
Reports
Press Releases
Interviews
Testimonials
Product Reviews
How-to Guides
FAQs
Checklists
Templates
Surveys
Polls and Quizzes
Photo sharing
Slide sharing
Animations
GIFs
Slideshows
Audiobooks
Music Playlists
Stories (Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat)
Live Streaming
Social Media Ads
Polls and Surveys
Influencer Collaborations
User-Generated Content
Hashtag Campaigns
Giveaways and Contests
Google Ads
Bing Ads
Customer Surveys
Chatbots and AI Assistants
Press Release Distribution
Influencer Marketing
Guest Blogging
Event Sponsorships
Networking Events
Brand Partnerships
Community Engagement
Display Ads
Social Media Ads
Retargeting Campaigns
Native Advertising
Sponsored Content
Affiliate Marketing
Product Descriptions
Sales Emails
Promotional Offers
E-commerce Platforms (e.g., Shopify)
Online Marketplaces (e.g., Amazon, eBay)
Customer Reviews and Ratings
Print Magazines
Newspapers
Brochures
Flyers
Posters
Billboards
Direct Mail
Radio Ads
TV Commercials
Networking Events
Virtual Trade Shows
Online Seminars and Workshops
Certification Programs
Printed books
Industry Blogs and Journals
Conferences and Summits
Industry-Specific Forums
Niche Social Media Groups
Local Business Directories
Niche Marketplaces
Specialized News Outlets
Quizzes
Augmented Reality (AR) Experiences
Virtual Reality (VR) Content
Interactive Ebooks
Gamified Content
While this is a good start, I’m under no illusions that this is an exhaustive list. Can you think of any great digital channels that I’ve missed? Please feel free to reach out to me at spider@gravityclamp.com and perhaps I can explore your ideas in a future column.
About Spider Graham
Spider Graham is the Founder and CEO of Gravity Clamp and has been a fixture in digital content marketing for nearly 30 years. As a technology writer and strategies trainer, Spider spends a lot of time thinking about ways to make content marketing even more powerful and offers AI Marketing focused training and consulting services. Check out Gravity Clamp’s free course on AI Marketing Fundamentals while it's still available to learn more.