Lesson 2: Content Marketing for Digital Marketing

Starting in May, we launched a collaborative project with the online video learning service schoo WEB-campus titled " Dentsu Inc. Style Digital Marketing."
The second session, titled " Content Marketing for Digital Marketing," discussed aspects of the currently trending topic of content marketing that are particularly applicable to digital marketing. This time, we'll briefly review that content.

The goal of Session 2 was to convey the concept of content-driven information dissemination and digital marketing to those exploring digital information sharing and shifting towards digital marketing.

First, in PART 1, we clarified what content marketing is.
Content marketing is defined as "providing valuable and persuasive information to your audience, encouraging existing and potential customers to take actions that benefit your business."
However, while people may know the definition, their understanding of what specific tasks to implement varies greatly.

What is content marketing?

While perspectives may vary depending on the objective, how should we reframe content marketing when considering the challenge of digital marketing? As introduced below, there are four major points:

1) Publish content that captures attention as valuable information
2) Prompt action from those who view the content
3) Online, when people take action, data accumulates
4) Leverage the accumulated data to inform content strategy and marketing strategy

To accumulate consumer data, it is necessary to create content that is perceived as "valuable information."

In PART 2, we explained how to apply this approach within the world of digital marketing—specifically, how to leverage it in data-driven marketing.

1) Prospect Acquisition: Use content to attract individuals with potential.
2) Enhancing Loyalty, Cultivating Fans, CRM: Build relationships with promising prospects and current customers to boost loyalty. Use content as a means to achieve this.
3) Conversion: Leverage content to push toward purchase.
4) Customer Journey: Understanding the sequence of information exposure that leads to purchase. Use content to map the customer's content journey and conversion scenarios.
5) Campaigns: Plan and distribute multiple pieces of content as part of mass or digital campaigns.

How to leverage content marketing in data-driven marketing

At this stage, it is anticipated that content marketing can be utilized for five major purposes.
However, as integrated digital marketing evolves in Japan and data-driven marketing activities become commonplace, this framework will likely change. For example, the content journey people take (as explored in point 4) will eventually reveal patterns specific to each industry. Similarly, the complementary role of campaigns (as seen in point 5) will shift as campaign methodologies advance. These are simply observations based on what is visible at this stage.

What I wanted to convey in the final PART 3 is the perspective needed to make content marketing work.
Content marketing bears a strong resemblance to advertising and mass marketing.
Precisely because of this similarity, if you don't consciously keep key initial points in mind, you risk unconsciously starting and proceeding in the same way as with advertising. Before you know it, you might fall into the trap of thinking, "We spent money on it, but the results aren't clear," or "I don't see the point in continuing."

The points listed here are merely those I've observed in the field. However, when implementing content marketing within today's real-world marketing environment, I believe we need to proceed with three major perspectives in mind.

Three Perspectives for Implementing Content Marketing

① From the "Creative × Data Perspective," while creators and analysts team up to advance projects, each role requires the following points and insights:

Essential Elements for Content Marketing Planning

What's Needed for Content Analysis

② Regarding the "perspective of difference," it is crucial to understand how it differs from mass marketing and how it differs from direct marketing.

While implementing content marketing, it's crucial to step back and question whether you're adopting the same mindset as mass marketing at any given moment. Are you using the same methods as direct marketing? Taking that step back to re-examine is vital.

The Difference Between Mass Marketing and Content Marketing

The Difference Between Direct Marketing and Content Marketing

The third point is the "project management perspective."
When it comes to content marketing, the focus tends to be solely on planning and producing content. However, equally important are "implementing the content distribution strategy," "establishing an analysis plan and driving the PDCA cycle," and furthermore, "creating a system to efficiently allocate limited budgets and manage the planning, production, distribution, and analysis of content." We've explained that there are four key aspects to implementing content marketing.

The Four Essential Perspectives for Content Marketing