Segmentation, Surveillance, and Automation: Practical and Ethical Considerations for Attracting, Sustaining, and Monetizing Audience Attention Online

Abstract

Through a case study of a popular food and recipe blog (Pinchofyum.com), this article details how two content creators practicing an advertising-based business model built a loyal audience and profitable business. A content analysis of the income reports published by the site's creators found that their advertising-based business model incentivized them to (a) segment their audience, (b) surveil their audience, and (c) automate interactions with their audience. This incentive structure led the content creators to employ an inconsistent and often problematic persona of their intended audience as they aimed to scale their ability to build trust with a rapidly growing audience. These findings provide guidance for aspiring online entrepreneurs and technical communicators desiring to understand the implications of distributing their content on platforms funded through advertising.

From Content to Commerce: Investigating the Role of Content Marketing in Driving Sales and Brand Engagement

“…The effectiveness of content marketing lies in its ability to inform and persuade audiences to purchase specific products or services through the dissemination of purposeful information in the digital space (al., 2022;Wold, 2022). It is essential for content to be relevant to the target audience to maximize its impact on search advertisement effectiveness and customer value creation (Pažėraitė & Repovienė, 2016).…”