TOPIC: CONTENT MARKETING
Summary
Abstract
A summary of the course content marketing includes: Lectures, Guest Lectures, Book Chapters,
Articles. With examples and graphs
Ashraf Daoud
Ashraf.da.daoud@gmail.com
,New topics headings are underlined
Subtopics and emphasized terms are italicized
Key terms and list items are in bold
Examples and additional notes are indicated by an arrow
Week 1
Lecture
Before: Media scarcity, access to media limited
Brands had a ‘’monopoly’’ on exposure, one simple message could have great
influence
Now: Media abundance, info overload, ‘’democratizing’’ media (with rise of social media)
Companies lost knowledge of their story among the public
Drivers of invention content marketing:
- Increasing avoidance and resistance to advertising
- Costs/effects of advertising (media saturation is high, ads are not as effective)
- Desire for reliable, trustworthy, relevant info
- Individuals manage their own media use (and what they wish to consume)
The idea subsequent to this was: ‘’We shouldn’t push/chase people, people
should chase us: We share our story in an amusing and engaging way’’. This is the
start of content marketing!
Native advertising
- Native advertising = Paid advertising that takes the form and appearance of content
from the publisher itself
- Transition zone between content marketing and advertising
- Always some disclosure of commercial objectives, consumers should know how to
deal with the persuasive information (if they recognize it is persuasive)
!!!! How to organize content marketing?
- Manage our sources
- Who is in charge (corporate communication, marketing…. Think about the
consequences; How will each department affect content marketing)
- How do we plan it? Should we use…
o Static planning: Calendar with themes/content events
o Dynamic: Flexible calendar based on trending topics/social issues
- What should we invest in to reach our CM goals?
1
,Chapter 2
Note: I’m not writing anything about Chapter 1, because it is a one-page prologue to the
book. I did not find any relevant information to include there.
The History of Content Marketing: Custom publishing
Custom publishing= The predecessor of content marketing, with the same idea. Brands try to
strengthen their positioning and marketing objectives by providing their (potential) relationships
with informative, interesting or activating editorial content that supports the position and
proposition of the brand.
E.g. 19th century French bookshop: Brought out their own booklet with exclusive pieces
from famous authors to draw (potential) customers’ attention to their store.
Steps in custom publishing
1. Define a target group not yet saturated by content from other companies (If there were
1000 other bookshop booklet sellers out there, the whole thing would not be very
successful)
2. Create content channel to engage consumers with the brand (that is the goal; the primary
goal of custom publishing is not to acquire direct subscription or ad fees – Although
advertisers and subscriber-models may provide additional income)
Difference classic and custom media publishing:
- Classic (what brands used to do more) PAID MEDIA
Brands pay to have their media featured in a desired external publishing domain (no means
to gain exposure otherwise)
- Custom OWNED MEDIA,
Brands own an internal publishing domain, hence do not pay to be featured in it (exposure is
enough through their own channel)
Content marketing
Content marketing = Marketing and business process of creating and distributing your own valuable,
relevant and consistent content to attract and acquire a clearly defined audience – With the aim of
attracting and binding a target group, driving profitable customer action
A brand becoming a media company for itself. Basically, an on-steroids version of custom publishing:
You do not have just one (periodic) owned channel for content, you have a full-on owned cross-
media content network to engage people with your brand
E.g. AH Allerhande! Started as just a magazine (custom publishing),
now has an App + Website + Facebook + Twitter + Forum + YouTube channel + Festival…. Etc.
(Content marketing)
Key points:
- Consumer focus.
It should seem like you are invested in the consumer, want to help/serve them.
Content marketing is like a mix between PR and Marketing.
- Owned media.
You own the media.
2
, - Goal-Oriented.
Clear objectives that guide organization-wide action perspective
- Consistent, successful formats.
Think Allerhande. You need to have consistent content to that works to hook people
and keep people hooked
- Tech-savviness.
Contemporary media landscape relies greatly on technology, so your strategy should
too.
Problems:
- Non-integrated communication departments Bad content marketing. In practice,
organizations structure their communication departments in non-integrated silos (sales,
marketing, and customer relations), resulting in incoherent content marketing.
Content marketing strategy should be company-wide, and the departments concerned with
communication should be integrated.
Why do marketing, sales, and service not integrate easily?:
Sales: Focuses on generating maximum revenue. Criticize the quality of
marketing leads for sales efforts.
Marketing: Focuses on creating a strategy that evokes positive attitudes and
popularity among public. Criticize salespeople’s poor follow-up skills of their
leads
Service: Focuses on cost reduction and satisfying consumers
These are in conflict! As a result, non-integration will result in the fact
that consumer interaction with the product is inconsistent throughout the
‘’customer’s journey’’, selection and whole consumption process.
- Non-focus on the receiver, content too clearly oriented towards selling. Content marketing
is not pushy in any way, should not make the consumer feel like they are consuming
advertisements. It should be useful/entertaining to them in some way, the company should
not communicate overly explicit sales objective if they want to make it work.
Brand management
Brand management = The marketing discipline that controls the brand identity, image and
proposition. This is highly important, as it determines the value of the brand as perceived by
(potential) relations.
What stayed the same over the years?
- Brand management focuses on communicating three basic principles: Brand archetype,
brand values, brand story.
What has changed over the years?
- Brands need to communicate to their consumers constantly, rapidly and with radical
transparency to keep their customers coming. Companies are no longer the only mass
channel to communicate about their brand and lost their self-evident acceptance in the
market. This is where content marketing can be essential.
- There is an increased need for brands to have a highly flexible, anti-silo approach to brand
management.
5 activities to pursue managing your brand in the modern corporate landscape:
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