Get in the Game! See Junta42's Content Marketing Playbook.

Ultimate Guide to Content Marketing

Everything you need to know and then some about custom publishing, content marketing and branded content. Enjoy the ride!

To get started now, find an expert content provider using The Junta42 Vendor Matching Service.

What is Content Marketing?

Content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience - with the objective of driving profitable customer action.

For more detail on this definition, see the Wikipedia entry for Content Marketing.

Alternate definitions:

Custom Publishing Council definition of custom publishing:

"Custom publishing marries the marketing ambitions of a company with the information needs of its target audience. This occurs through the delivery of editorial content via print, Internet, and other media - so intrinsically valuable that moves the recipient's behavior in a desired direction."

Wikipedia's definition of custom media:

"Custom media is a marketing term referring broadly to the development, production and delivery of media (print, digital, audio, video, events) designed to strengthen the relationship between the sponsor of the medium and the medium's audience. Also called branded media, customer media, member media, content marketing, and custom publishing, custom media is different from traditional media in very subtle, yet significant ways: Typically, custom media is sponsored by a single marketer (a company, association or institution) and is designed to reach a tightly focused audience of customers, members, alumni or other constituency. Custom media can be produced "in-house" by such organizations. Over the past two decades, a growing number of specialized publishing and media firms have emerged called "custom media" or "custom publishing" companies. Like advertising and other marketing services firms, the companies or divisions of traditional media companies, provide professional marketing and communications services to clients for a fee. Such out-sourced services can be limited to design and editorial responsibilities or include the complete production and distribution process."

What does Content Marketing Look Like?

Traditional content marketing, often called branded content, custom publishing or custom media, came in very defined packages...most often print magazines or newsletters. Today's onslaught of new technology has created a growing list of communication channels that businesses can use to directly communicate with their customers. These include:

For more information:

Cool Case Studies of Content Marketing in Action:

How Do I Get Started?

When you make a decision to begin a content marketing project, you have three choices: do the project yourself, outsource partial services, or completely outsource to a turnkey content marketing provider. If you are looking into the first two, the information below will help you get started. If you are looking for an outsource partner, Junta42 Vendor Matching Service, our free no obligation vendor finding service, will save you months on finding the best content providers for your project.

Getting Started

Get Content. Get Customers. THE official handbook for content marketing. Includes how to create a content strategy step-by-step and includes dozens of real-world examples.

16 Questions to Ask Before Launching a Content Marketing Project - Asking the right questions will set you free.

Stop Shouting Features: 5 Tips for Launching a Marketing Knowledge Program

The Ultimate Small Business Marketing Plan - includes research, a content website, white papers and even a print newsletter.

4 Steps to Evolve from Marketer to Publisher - A simple plan to get you moving in the right direction.

3 Steps to Initiating a Successful Online Content Marketing Program

The 5Rs of Marketing Communications Planning - a little help from Don Schultz.

29.4% of business-to-business marketing budgets were allocated to customized content in 2008.
42% of marketers have increased their content budgets in 2008, compared to 12% who decreased and 46% who remained the same.
eNewsletters are used by almost 70% of all business-to-business marketers, followed closely by whitepapers and case studies. See the full report for all media options and corresponding percentages.

Custom Publishing Council and Publications Management Study:

The average US-based business spends $912,532 on custom publishing/content marketing activities.
Organizations spend an average of 27% of their TOTAL marketing spend on custom content activities.
40% of companies plan to increase spending, while 48% will maintain and 12% will decrease content marketing spending.
48% of companies outsource their content marketing activities (35% to custom publishers, 30% to design firms, 28% to advertising agencies, and 8% to PR firms).
83% of spending is allocated to print...17% to online content marketing initiatives.
Of the total spend, 42% is spent on production, 38% is spent on personnel, and 20% is spent on distribution.

Association of Publishing Agencies (APA)/Millward Brown Research:

10% growth in spending on customer magazines in the UK per year.
79% of the population in Great Britain reads some type of customer magazine.
Companies that have a customer magazine as part of their marketing mix see an average of 8% sales uptick.
Consumers spend an average of 25 minutes engaging with a customer magazine.
Latest Mintel Research on the size of the industry.

Custom Publishing Council and Roper Public Affairs Study (2005/2006)

Custom publications provide useful information: 80 % of readers say they often find interesting information in custom magazines; 75% say that when they read one of these publications they feel better informed and that they like these magazines because they have articles and information targeted to their specific interests.
Custom publications are a preferred source of information: More than 80% say that if they were going to get information from a company, they'd prefer to get it in an interesting collection of articles, rather than in an ad.
Half of all Americans see value in the service provided by custom publications.
People who receive custom publications rate the companies that provide them more positively across key measures - and the pattern appears to hold across categories.
Awareness of custom publications is strong, with a majority of Americans (58%) saying they are aware of seeing or receiving these types of free magazines or newsletters (26% are "very aware" and 32% "somewhat aware"). Further, when respondents are presented with specific examples of custom publications, the level of awareness rises dramatically, with 93% of the public saying they are familiar with at least one type of the listed custom publications.
General readership of custom publications is high, with two-thirds of people (66%) saying that, at a minimum, they occasionally pick up and look through the custom publications they receive.
Business-to-business recipients show strong usage of custom publications. About two thirds have routed custom publication articles to colleagues; close to 6 in 10 have used articles as reference points at meetings; and more than 7 in 10 report telling a friend or colleague about something they read or saw in a custom publication.
Accurate, reliable and usable information top the list of characteristics that recipients judge to be most important in a custom publication, with each cited by more than 9 in 10 as being either very or somewhat important. More than 8 in 10 judge specific product and service related information, as well as product-related advice and practical tips, to be very or somewhat important.
Value and useful information are linked in that those who rate custom publications "very" valuable are even more likely than others to believe that useable information is a "very" important characteristic of custom publications (80% compared to 59%).
8 in 10 say that when it comes to custom publications, they don't mind the sponsors' selling, as long as the company is providing them with interesting information.

VSS Alternative Media Spending 2007-2011

Spending on alternative marketing - including branded entertainment, interactive marketing and e-custom publishing - increased 17.3 percent to $61.67 billion in 2006, and experienced a CAGR of 15.3 percent from 2001 to 2006. In contrast, spending on traditional marketing, such as direct mail and promotions, grew only 5.0 percent to $192.34 billion in 2006 and climbed at a CAGR of 4.5 percent from 2001 to 2006, according to the VSS Forecast.
VSS projects the fastest-growing media segments over the next five years will be pure-play Internet and mobile services, branded entertainment, out-of-home media, outsourced custom publishing and public relations, with each producing CAGRs of between 10% and 15% in the five-year period.

Additional Content Marketing / Custom Publishing Resources

The Junta42 Vendor Matching Service - Find Your Expert Provider in 5 Minutes
Custom Publishing Council
Association of Publishing Agencies - UK (APA)
Top 42 Content Marketing Blogs - The Complete List
Junta42 Blog: The Content Marketing Revolution
American Business Media Custom Media Committee
Branded Content Marketing Association
ContentMarketingToday - Newt Barrett

Would you like us to add something to the Ultimate Guide? Just drop us a line at add[at]junta42.com.