Content marketing an attractive alternative for businesses

College of Human Sciences

The year 2016 saw the College of Human Sciences continue to increase its National Research Foundation (NRF) rated researchers, with 10 being added to the total number of 51 rated scholars.

One of these professors is Charmaine du Plessis from the Department of Communication Science who speaks on the rewards of being an academic, encouraging young people to consider it as a career choice.

How do you feel about your NRF rating?

I am overjoyed by this honour to have my research recognised by my peers which is the definite highlight of my 18 years in academia.

Why did you become an academic? Why is it important for more young people to look at academia as a career path?

I enjoy the variety and variability of being an academic as there is no typical week. I also find satisfaction in working with my students and seeing them develop and succeed while doing research to extend the frontiers of knowledge. Research helps to create and disseminate new knowledge and I feel privileged to be part of that experience. After joining academia coming from a practical point of view, I can now attest that theories do enhance real-world practices. I am still very much interested in the practical side of applying knowledge and am in a position to assist my students from both perspectives.

Academia as a career path is very rewarding and highly individualised. Science actually is an inherently social activity. It is a meaningful career path in that young people will be making knowledge accessible to students and have an impact on their lives.

Please tell us about your research interests and your area of research?

My area of specialisation is marketing communication using online platforms. More recently I have started focusing my attention on how to use social and online media when it comes to brand communication in the form of content marketing.

Why is your research important for the country/continent?

The heart of any business’s success lies in its marketing to ensure some progress. Without brand awareness, a business will struggle to grow. Marketing, however, is very costly especially to small business owners. Fortunately modern marketing has become less expensive than before. Reaching out to interested consumers is more affordable because of social media platforms and email campaigns. Content marketing is an attractive alternative for businesses to create and maintain that necessary brand awareness in different platforms. My research could assist businesses to connect with potential customers in more innovative, engaging and economical ways.

Why is it important that Unisa—as the African university shaping futures in the service of humanity—be a producer of such knowledge?

Content marketing is still considered a relatively new specialty within the industry and research in this area is innovative.

Are there any new projects you are working on, project/s that are in the planning stages that you are excited about and can share with us?

I am currently working on several research questions related to content marketing to add more perspectives to the lack of academic clarity on the matter. I am especially looking forward to extend content marketing to the field of transmedia branding.

What have been the most exciting/ interesting parts of your academic journey at Unisa?

The most exciting part of my academic journey is to lead my master and doctoral students to completion and to see them graduate and succeed. Also interesting is to be part of a team of book authors who will make a ground breaking contribution to a particular field.

Any last words you would like to share?

“It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect its successful outcome.” William James

Professor Charmaine du Plessis in her own words

I started my career at Unisa as a Public Relations and Marketing Officer at Unisa’s College of Economic and Management Sciences in 1997. The experience I gained there still assists me greatly in both my teaching and research.

My academic career started in February 1999 as a lecturer at Unisa’s Department of Communication Science. After joining academia I completed both my masters (Communication Science) in 2000 (cum laude) and my DLitt et Phil (Communication) in 2005.

For my doctoral studies I studied corporate online communication from a marketing public relations perspective. I have always been interested in online communication and in particular from a marketing communication lens. Because of my interest in the marketing communication field, I also completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing Management in 2010. For my doctoral study, I used Q methodology as a research methodology and by doing so joined the ranks of few academics in South Africa at the time that have successfully used this methodology in their research.

After completing my master’s degree, the next logical step was to start publishing in academic journals and to gain exposure at academic conferences, both locally and internationally. After completion of my doctoral studies, I extended my interest in online communication from a marketing perspective to postdoctoral research.

*Compiled by Rivonia Naidu-Hoffmeester

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Publish date: 2017/02/07