Content Marketing and Strategy: Brand and Business Growth
Online Short Course
Is the content you are producing aligned with your business goals? Create a unique, innovative and measurable content strategy that drives business success.
6 weeks, excluding 1 week orientation.
7–9 hours of self-paced learning per week, entirely online.
Email: northwestern@getsmarter.com
Call: +1 847 440 3906
About This Course
We are in the midst of a content revolution. Increased global connectivity and cutting-edge technology is influencing how we interact with brands, businesses and products. As consumer behavior evolves, it is more important than ever for marketers to understand the value of content in building powerful brands that drive business growth.
The Content Marketing and Strategy online short course from Medill at Northwestern University provides insights, techniques and skills to strategically use content to grow your organization. Over six weeks, you will explore the key elements of content strategy, such as content writing, social media, analytics, visual narratives, storytelling, content management and digital innovation. Guided by faculty and industry thought leaders, you will develop practical and critical thinking skills to drive an innovative content plan, define your marketing goals and set priorities to meet them. You will also explore how emerging technologies and digital innovations can collectively create a holistic content marketing strategy that drives better brand management.
What This Course Covers
In this course, you will learn how content can be used to achieve business goals and improve customer satisfaction. Through the exploration of case studies, you will develop critical thinking skills to practically and creatively meet business objectives. Led by Candy Lee, professor of marketing and journalism at Northwestern Medill, you will learn how analytics can inform effective content writing through avenues such as newsletters, emails, blogs and social media. You will learn to use visual elements to tell stories, convey emotion and maximize impact, while recognizing the dynamics and solutions associated with creativity and communication. Finally, you will learn to integrate a content strategy across your brand or organization, and contemplate the challenges and opportunities that emerging technologies and innovation can present.
A Powerful Collaboration
Medill at Northwestern University is collaborating with GetSmarter to create a best-in-class online education experience: from the design of courses that deliver verifiable competencies, to the personalized, people-mediated support learners receive.
About Northwestern University
Northwestern is a comprehensive research university that is deeply interdisciplinary across multiple schools and units. A rigorous yet empathetic academic environment provides a robust mixture of theory and practice, with an emphasis on top-tier research, new knowledge, creative expression and practical application. If you study with Northwestern, you are part of an innovative, collaborative and multidimensional community delivering an impact.
About Northwestern Medill
The Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University prepares the best journalism and marketing students from around the world to lead the media into the future. The school was established 100 years ago, and more than 18,000 Medill graduates now engage in all types of industries. Many of them are among the most successful journalists and marketers.
About GetSmarter
GetSmarter, a 2U, Inc. brand, partners with the world's leading universities and institutions to select, design, and deliver premium online short courses with a data-driven focus on learning gain.
Technology meets academic rigor in GetSmarter’s people-mediated model, which enables lifelong learners across the globe to obtain industry-relevant skills that are certified by the world’s most reputable academic institutions.
As a student, you will also gain unlimited access to 2U’s Career Engagement Network at no extra cost. This platform will provide you with valuable career resources and events to support your professional journey. You can look forward to benefits including rich content, career templates, webinars, workshops, career fairs, networking events, panel discussions, and exclusive recruitment opportunities to connect you with potential employers.*
*Some of these events may be virtual due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.
What You Will Learn
You will be welcomed to the course and begin connecting with fellow students, while exploring the navigation and tools of your Online Campus. Be alerted to key milestones in the learning path, and review how your results will be calculated and distributed.
You will be required to complete your student profile, confirm your email address for the delivery of your digital certificate, and submit a digital copy of your passport/identity document.
Please note that module titles and their contents are subject to change during course development.
Discover how content can be used strategically to achieve business goals.
- Describe the value of aligning content strategy with business strategy to achieve business growth
- Compare content strategies in real-world examples
- Analyze an audience for a business case using customer segmentation and customer personas
- Recommend customer personas to inform a content strategy for a business case
Explore how content analytics informs effective content writing for newsletters, emails, blogs and social media.
- Review best practices for writing different types of content for marketing purposes
- Determine how to leverage social media in a content strategy
- Apply testing, analysis and keyword methodologies to measure content success
- Investigate how content analytics and Google Analytics work to grow a business
- Write content pieces to support a content strategy for a business case
Learn how to use visual elements to tell stories, convey emotion and maximize impact.
- Describe how visual elements can enhance content narratives
- Apply visual storytelling best practices
- Analyze the role of visual components in a content strategy
- Evaluate examples of visual components
- Create a storyboard and short-form video to support a content strategy
Develop your creativity and enhance your communication skills.
- Identify techniques that aid creativity
- Discuss challenges associated with different forms of communication and how they can be overcome
- Articulate a personal brand story
- Investigate best practices for effective presentations
- Present a personal brand story using key presentation and storytelling skills
Explore techniques, positions and roles that are key to achieving business growth through a content strategy.
- Determine whether your content strategy still aligns with your business strategy
- Apply key content management techniques in a business case
- Analyze the many roles in content strategy
- Assess the role of crisis and corporate communications in content strategy
- Develop a content calendar to support a content strategy for a business case
Contemplate the challenges and opportunities that emerging technologies and innovation present to content strategy.
- Recognize the power of communities in a business case
- Discuss key digital technologies and innovations in content strategy
- Articulate how emerging digital technologies or innovations can be used in a business case
- Use learnings from a case analysis to improve your own organization
- Reflect on the impact of new technologies and innovation on your organization’s content strategy
Who Should Take This Course
This course is applicable to professionals in, or aspiring to, a strategic role who may be responsible for the management, promotion and positioning of a brand. For marketers eager to champion content strategy and succeed in a fast-changing marketplace, this course offers a practical foundation in integrated marketing communications and visual storytelling. Business leaders intent on leveraging innovative content strategies to fuel business goals and drive organizational growth will learn to leverage new digital technologies and innovation. It is equally relevant to professionals in start-up companies who would like to build their own personal brand through content marketing and visual storytelling.
This Course Is for You if You Want To:
Manage Content Strategy
Use content strategically to align with business goals, drive customer satisfaction and boost organizational growth.
Support Business Growth
Explore techniques, positions and roles that are key to achieving business growth through a content strategy.
Create Memorable Content
Develop practical and critical thinking skills to create alluring visual and written content that conveys emotion and maximizes impact.
Enhance Your Engagement
Create a unique, innovative and measurable content strategy for your business or brand engagement.
About the Certificate
Get recognized for your knowledge when you earn an official certificate of completion from Medill at Northwestern University — and use it to set yourself apart as an innovative content strategist.
Assessment is continuous and based on a series of practical assignments completed online. In order to be issued with your digital certificate, you will need to meet the requirements outlined in the course handbook. The handbook will be made available to you as soon as you begin the course.
Your digital certificate will be issued in your legal name and sent to you upon successful completion of the course, as per the stipulated requirements.
Who You Will Learn From
This subject matter expert from Northwestern Medill guides the course design and appears in a number of course videos, along with a variety of industry professionals.
Your Academic Director
Candy Lee
Professor, Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University
Candy Lee teaches journalism and integrated marketing communications at Northwestern Medill. Previously vice president of marketing at the Washington Post, she oversaw multiple business functions, from marketing to research.
Prior to joining the Washington Post, Lee was president of ULS Loyalty Services, the sister company of United Airlines. She led a range of businesses that included united.com, the MileagePlus credit card group, Mileage Plus program and its partners, media on planes and other business arenas. Prior to United Airlines, Lee was managing director at iFormation Group, formed by Goldman Sachs, Boston Consulting Group and General Atlantic Partners.
During her lengthy career in publishing, she was president of Troll Communications, a leader in K-12 education, and publisher of Harlequin Enterprises, an international publisher in 100 countries.
Guest Lecturer
Anni Lundy
Guest Expert, Content Strategy and Storytelling
How You Will Learn
Every course is broken down into manageable, weekly modules, designed to accelerate your learning process through diverse learning activities:
- Work through your downloadable and online instructional material
- Interact with your peers and learning facilitators through weekly class-wide forums and reviewed small group discussions
- Enjoy a wide range of interactive content, including video lectures, infographics, live polls and more
- Investigate rich, real-world case studies
- Apply what you learn each week to quizzes and ongoing project submissions, culminating in an innovative content strategy
Your Success Team
GetSmarter, with whom Northwestern Medill is collaborating to deliver this online course, provides a personalized approach to online education that ensures you are supported throughout your learning journey.
Head Facilitator
A subject expert who will guide you through content-related challenges.
Success Adviser
Your one-on-one support available during University hours (8a.m.–5p.m. CT) to resolve technical and administrative challenges.
Global Success Team
Available 24/7 to solve your tech-related and administrative queries and concerns.
Technical Requirements
Basic Requirements
In order to complete this course, you will need a current email account and access to a computer and the internet, as well as a PDF Reader. You may need to view Microsoft PowerPoint presentations, and read and create documents in Microsoft Word or Excel.
Browser Requirements
We recommend that you use Google Chrome as your internet browser when accessing the Online Campus. Although this is not a requirement, we have found that this browser performs best for ease of access to course material. This browser can be downloaded here.
Additional Requirements
Certain courses may require additional software and resources. These additional software and resource requirements will be communicated to you upon registration and/or at the beginning of the course. Please note that Google, Vimeo and YouTube may be used in our course delivery, and if these services are blocked in your jurisdiction, you may have difficulty in accessing course content. Please check with an Enrollment Adviser before registering for this course if you have any concerns about this affecting your experience with the Online Campus.
