Content Marketing Strategy: Definition, Objectives and Tactics
Content Marketing Strategy: Definition, Objectives and Tactics
Content Marketing Strategy: Definition, Objectives and Tactics
Article
Content marketing strategy : definition, objectives and
tactics
Reference: Vinerean, Simona (2017). Content marketing strategy : definition, objectives and tactics.
In: Expert journal of marketing 5 (2), S. 92 - 98.
Kontakt/Contact
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E-Mail: rights[at]zbw.eu
https://www.zbw.eu/econis-archiv/
Simona VINEREAN*
Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania
The interactivity dimension of the internet has allowed the customer to be a part of
the marketing of any brand, product, services, or other entity. To this extent, digital
inbound marketing encourages a customer-centric perspective in which
organizations have to focus on helping consumers and involving them in the value-
delivering process. An important component of digital inbound marketing that
creates value and engagement for consumers is content marketing. The aim of this
paper was to provide an examination of ‘content marketing’ and to gain
understanding of the key dimensions of this digital marketing strategy, with its
underlying tactics that can be implemented by companies in online environments. The
insights presented in this study contribute to the content marketing strategy, as a
viable strategy to other interruptive marketing techniques.
1. Introduction
Sharing online content is a key part of consumers’ modern life. All over the world, people send news
and interesting articles, share YouTube videos, and read and forward reviews of hotels or restaurants to their
family and friends. This social transmission of content and information has an effect on consumers and brands.
Consumer-to-consumer interactions in online and offline environments have an effect on attitudes, preferences
and eventually buying behavior of people (Berger and Milkman, 2012).
With the advancements of technology, marketing has incorporated the interactivity provided by
technology to create two-way communication channels with current and potential customers. Using internet-
based technology, marketing encourages the active participation of consumers. Jutkowitz (2014) points out
that we are on the verge of transformation for brands and organizations because of content, because nine out
of ten companies are using content marketing to engage, interact, convert, and remind consumers of its
products and brands.
Content marketing goes beyond selling and traditional marketing campaign and it focuses on providing
consumers with value in the form of relevant information and ideas, using publication or syndication of text,
*
Corresponding Author:
Simona Vinerean, Sprint Investify Research Unit; Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania
Article History:
Received 14 September 2017 | Accepted 28 November 2017 | Available online 31 December 2017
Cite Reference:
Vinerean, S., 2017. Content Marketing Strategy. Definition, Objectives and Tactics. Expert Journal of Marketing, 5(2), pp. 92-98.
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Vinerean, S., 2017. Content Marketing Strategy. Definition, Objectives and Tactics. Expert Journal of Marketing, 5(2), pp. 92-98.
images, videos and other content forms. Therefore, content marketing is changing the way companies sell and
communicate with its target audience.
In online environments, an organization cannot focus on a push marketing strategy, and should direct
its effort on a pull marketing strategy because it would invite more interactions and participations with
consumers (Eldeman, 2010). To this end, content marketing can provide a valuable avenue for any company
that also has an online presence.
However, as a starting point content includes the text that forms webpages, as well as the rich media
content, such as videos, podcasts, user-generated content and interactive product selectors (Smith and Chaffey,
2013). Digital content marketing was defined by Pulizzi and Barrett’s (2008, p. 8) as “the creation and
distribution of educational and/or compelling content in multiple formats to attract and/or retain customers”.
Jefferson and Tanton (2013) agree that a paradigm change in marketing philosophy is required, and suggest
that this change will imply switching from a selling perspective to a helping perspective, which can be achieved
using content marketing.
Content marketing has been identified as part of digital inbound marketing (Opreana and Vinerean,
2015), in the quest to “attract potential customers, retain existing once, and transform aspirational consumers
in advocates by developing various forms of content that prospects consider valuable and will use the created
content in order to access a website to learn more or come into contact with a marketing offer.”
Moreover, as indicated by Holliman and Rowley (2014), a considerable proportion of organizations
do not allocate resources for content marketing. As the authors describe, there is confusion in comprehending
this concept and its importance for this digital marketing strategy. Moreover, Holliman and Rowley (2014)
emphasize the challenges of operationalizing content marketing because of its complexity.
B2B and B2C marketers are giving content marketing high priority, especially because Google’s
search engine algorithm updates (Moz, 2017; Google, 2017) that focuses on the content of each webpages,
considering multiple dimensions of the content, such as relevancy, date of publication, propagation on social
media, internal and external links, to name a few.
Therefore, content marketing is of high importance for the development and evolution of marketing,
from an academic perspective, and for its application in online settings to achieve business goals, from a
practical perspective.
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Vinerean, S., 2017. Content Marketing Strategy. Definition, Objectives and Tactics. Expert Journal of Marketing, 5(2), pp. 92-98.
fact, Pulizzi (2013) highlighted the difference between content created and shared online and content
marketing: content marketing reflects the organization’s business or monetary goals.
In his book, Järvinen and Taiminen (2015) propose that content marketing “refers to processes of
creating and delivering content (i.e., text messages, pictures, videos, animations) to target customers in ways
that add value and engages them in relationships with the company.”
Similarly, Du Plessis (2015) re-iterates the importance of consumer engagement in valuable
relationships, and also introduces a new concept associated with content marketing, namely brand storytelling,
proposing the following definition: “Content marketing is a strategic brand storytelling technique aimed at
changing consumers' inactive behavior through unobtrusive, engaging brand conversations in earned media.”
This definition focuses on influencing consumer behavior in favor of a particular brand by interacting with it,
and developing a relation using B2C interactions on earned media (most notably, social media platforms).
Wuebben (2012, p. 5) also focuses on the brand’s story and considers it a key component of content
marketing, by defining this concept as “the story of your product or service and propels your brand into the
hearts and minds of your prospect, customers and others”.
On the other hand, Rowley (2008) proposes a new concept ‘digital content marketing’ that highlights
important the connection is that exists between ‘digital content marketing and e-marketing, Internet marketing,
web marketing, and related disciplines. She proposes: “Digital content marketing is the management process
responsible for identifying, anticipating, and satisfying customer requirements profitably in the context of
digital content, or bit-based objects distributed through electronic channels” Rowley (2008). Therefore,
Rowley (2008) classifies content marketing as a management process that should be focused on identifying
the factors that satisfy the needs of customers, in order for the company to gain profit using electronic channels.
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Vinerean, S., 2017. Content Marketing Strategy. Definition, Objectives and Tactics. Expert Journal of Marketing, 5(2), pp. 92-98.
publishing business”. Similarly, Scott (2011) highlights the fact that as publishers, marketers need to carefully
identify and define their target audiences and then consider the type of content that would fulfill these needs.
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Vinerean, S., 2017. Content Marketing Strategy. Definition, Objectives and Tactics. Expert Journal of Marketing, 5(2), pp. 92-98.
objectives of the organization. The most common content marketing formats and tactics are presented below
(Sobal, 2017; Kolowich, 2016; McGill, 2017):
1. Blog posts. As the most common form of content marketing, blog posts are published on a website
and are then shared on social media, once they are optimized using the premises of search engine optimization.
Blog posts should be published on a regular basis in order to attract new and recurring visitors, and they should
be focused on providing valuable content for the targeted audience so that it will make readers inclined to
forward and share them on social platforms and other websites.
2. Ebooks. This type of content reflects a comprehensive and in-depth resource of information on a
certain subject for potential consumers, and can provide a new source of credibility for the company
responsible for the creation of this content. In online marketing practice, ebooks are considered a lead
generation tool because in order for potential customers to access the free resource, they usually have to provide
their contact information. As a result, consumers get the opportunity to learn valuable information, and the
organization that produced the ebook develops a new lead for their business.
3. Templates. Templates and worksheets are used by organizations in online settings to help
potential customers with certain issues, by saving them time and effort. By downloading a template or a useful
worksheet, companies aid in simplifying a challenge for potential customers, who, in turn, will be more likely
to engage with a particular company in the future.
4. Infographics. This type of content can organize data in a visual manner, thus providing a more
compelling and engaging opportunity to transmit information. Infographics are relevant to large sets of
information and data that can be exposed more clearly and easy to understand.
5. Videos. This content format has the highest level of engagement and contagion on social media
and other websites. Videos can be used as a content marketing tactic to explain certain issues, demonstrate a
product or service, or present a topic of interest to targeted audiences.
6. Podcasts. Podcasts represent pre-recorded interviews and edited radio shows that are used to
debate different topics of interest to a company’s target audience. Podcasts are also used for lead generation,
by asking listeners to subscribe for updates, thus this content tactic can build an audience and establish a
particular brand as a source of expertise.
7. Guides. Introductory guides or guides help potential consumers with step-by-step instructions on
achieving different goals and task.
8. Kits. This content format represents a collection of content with a common subject. Online
companies use this tactic to repurpose content that was already published, and aggregating it under one offer.
9. Tip sheets and Checklists. This content format provides guidance and concise tips or best
practices for potential consumers looking to complete a particular task. Again, this content offer creates the
basis for a long-lasting relationships with consumers, who will engage on a continuous basis with a company.
10. Webinars. Another content form used by companies to gain more credibility among targeted
consumers are the webinars. Usually compiled as a series, webinars provide information on a certain subject
and they involve gathering expert and leaders in certain fields to share their ideas on the main topic.
11. Whitepapers. Whitepapers are similar to academic papers in their objective, authoritative,
detailed and informative presentation of research findings and reports. Ebooks tend to present in-depth content
in a creative, visual and often inform manner, whereas whitepapers provide unbiased details on trends or
evolution in a particular industry or area of business.
12. Case Studies. This content tactic can provide potential consumers with an incentive to convert.
Online companies use case studies to share customer success stories that explain how their products or services
helped a particular customer.
13. Surveys/Research Reports. As another content marketing tactic, companies use surveys and
their results to reflect on the perception of respondents on the state of an industry or to persuade potential
customers about the features of a particular product or service.
14. User-generated content. This content type can take any form of text, images, video or audio that
was created by consumers of a brand or company. This content created by loyal customers can then be re-
purposed and re-distributed with the audience of the organization, to increase its visibility and generate more
credibility among customers. More recently, based on the uniqueness of social media, research has focused on
the impact of user-generated content in influencing brand reputations and brand development, and brand co-
creation (Iglesias et al., 2013; Quinton, 2013).
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Vinerean, S., 2017. Content Marketing Strategy. Definition, Objectives and Tactics. Expert Journal of Marketing, 5(2), pp. 92-98.
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