Content Marketing As Ideology: A Critical Discourse Analysis Approach

Abstract

[Abstract] This master´s thesis provides an approach to content marketing and its application to the online context. To define principal beliefs of the content marketing strategy, it has been approached as an ideology, understood as a belief system. Its ideological framework has been analyzed from the perspective of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), in compliance with Teun van Dijk´s sociocognitive theory. This content analysis has been conducted so as to define group schemata of content marketers, their core beliefs, the common ground they share with modern capitalists and marketers in general, as well as main differences between their approach and “traditional” forms of marketing. Moreover, the thesis attempts to identify the presence of content marketing ideology on corporate webpages such as Ikea’s and Apple’s. It has been suggested that the content of the abovementioned websites reflects content marketing ideology. Due to the scope of this master´s thesis, the examined content has been narrowed down to a few subsections of the two sites dedicated to English speakers. First, the work examines marketing strategies used to promote Ikea as a great contributor to the development of modern Swedish society and as a perfect model of one´s home. Second, the Apple´s microsite devoted to teachers has been analyzed to demonstrate how the brand employs content marketing philosophy to promote its image as a perfect model of innovation, creativity and individualism.