Content Marketing
BUSA-40880
This course examines the strategic foundations of content marketing in modern digital environments. Students explore how brand identity, buyer psychology, competitive positioning, messaging, and distribution strategies influence marketing effectiveness. Emphasis is placed on aligning cross-platform content marketing initiatives with organizational objectives, audience behavior, and measurable performance indicators. Students also learn practical methods for using AI-assisted tools to support research, analysis, ideation, and content development within professional marketing workflows.
Through applied projects, students develop key marketing assets including brand strategy documents, buyer insight profiles, competitive analyses, messaging frameworks, and content plans. These elements culminate in the development of a comprehensive content marketing strategy that can be implemented in real-world organizational contexts.
What you'll learn
- Analyze brand positioning, buyer psychology, and competitive landscapes to identify opportunities for strategic differentiation.
- Develop clear messaging and content frameworks that align brand identity with stages of the customer journey.
- Design cross-platform content strategies that connect organizational objectives, audience behavior, and distribution channels.
- Evaluate marketing performance indicators to assess the effectiveness of content initiatives and guide optimization decisions.
Course Information
Course sessions
Section ID:
Class type:
This course is entirely web-based and to be completed asynchronously between the published course start and end dates. Synchronous attendance is NOT required.
You will have access to your online course on the published start date OR 1 business day after your enrollment is confirmed if you enroll on or after the published start date.
Textbooks:
All course materials are included unless otherwise stated.
Policies:
- No refunds after: 3/31/2026
Schedule:
Instructor:
Stephanie Kimberling, M.A., M.B.A.
Stephanie Kimberling is the head of digital marketing at SportRx, a San Diego-based ecommerce company and Top 10 Best Place to Work in America. Her areas of expertise include SEO, SEM, and web analytics. She earned an M.B.A. with an emphasis in sports business management from San Diego State University, as well as an M.A. in sociology from California State University, Northridge.
Section ID:
Class type:
All class meetings held in-person according to published location, dates and times. Students may be expected to engage with course content online during the published course dates.
Textbooks:
No textbook required.
Policies:
- No refunds after: 4/8/2026
Schedule:
| Date | Day | Start | End | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3/31/2026 | Tue | 6:00 p.m. | 9:00 p.m. | Room 435, UCSD Division of Extended Studies 8980, 8980 Villa La Jolla Drive, San Diego |
| 4/7/2026 | Tue | 6:00 p.m. | 9:00 p.m. | Room 435, UCSD Division of Extended Studies 8980, 8980 Villa La Jolla Drive, San Diego |
| 4/14/2026 | Tue | 6:00 p.m. | 9:00 p.m. | Room 435, UCSD Division of Extended Studies 8980, 8980 Villa La Jolla Drive, San Diego |
| 4/21/2026 | Tue | 6:00 p.m. | 9:00 p.m. | Room 435, UCSD Division of Extended Studies 8980, 8980 Villa La Jolla Drive, San Diego |
| 4/28/2026 | Tue | 6:00 p.m. | 9:00 p.m. | Room 435, UCSD Division of Extended Studies 8980, 8980 Villa La Jolla Drive, San Diego |
| 5/5/2026 | Tue | 6:00 p.m. | 9:00 p.m. | Room 435, UCSD Division of Extended Studies 8980, 8980 Villa La Jolla Drive, San Diego |
| 5/12/2026 | Tue | 6:00 p.m. | 9:00 p.m. | Room 435, UCSD Division of Extended Studies 8980, 8980 Villa La Jolla Drive, San Diego |
| 5/19/2026 | Tue | 6:00 p.m. | 9:00 p.m. | Room 435, UCSD Division of Extended Studies 8980, 8980 Villa La Jolla Drive, San Diego |
| 5/26/2026 | Tue | 6:00 p.m. | 9:00 p.m. | Room 435, UCSD Division of Extended Studies 8980, 8980 Villa La Jolla Drive, San Diego |
Instructor:
Ron Weber
Ron is a digital marketing expert with 20+ years of experience driving measurable results through content marketing, SEO, and paid search. He is currently the Senior Director of Web Communications + SEO at Actian, where he leads the company's global acquisition, content creation, and SEO efforts. Prior to Actian, he held leadership roles at Teradata and Intuit, and has been a major proponent of content marketing wherever he has gone. He has also been a major SEO content creator, having written hundreds of money management tips for Quicken.com and Mint.com.
Ron has spent the majority of his career in the technology space, has been a digital marketer since the Internet started, and has been teaching content marketing at UCSD Extended Studies for over 5 years.
Specialties: search engine marketing, search engine optimization, conversion rate optimization, mobile marketing, app store optimization, display marketing, content development, content marketing, social media marketing, paid social, public relations, marketing research, business strategy, marketing strategy, site usability, media buying, a/b testing, email marketing, reporting/analysis, trend spotting, reputation management, domaining, and blogging.
Ron is a certified in Google Search, Google Display, Google Mobile, Google Video, Google Analytics and BrightEdge.