The role of trustworthy and entertaining content marketing in e-Commerce: Unveiling the key strategies for engaging consumer

Purpose: The main objective of the research is to study the impact of content marketing on e-commerce. The study focuses on the elements of entertainment, Trustworthy, value, and purpose of content marketing and their impact on e-commerce use. Design/methodology/approach: The research follows a quantitative methodology with an inductive approach, using a questionnaire. In the initial phase, metrics were adapted and validated for the Portuguese context. The results were analysed using the SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) software. Findings: After construct validation of the questionnaire results, it can be asserted that the elements of content marketing are Entertainment, Trustworthy, Valuable, and Purpose. This outcome simplifies the study by Sandelowski and Barroso (2007), which identifies intrinsic elements of content marketing as Valuable, Relatable, Trustworthy, Entertaining, New, Coherent, Shareable, and Purposeful. Regarding the second specific objective, aiming to comprehend which elements of content marketing influence e-commerce, we can infer from the validation of the study hypotheses that among the content marketing elements, trustworthy has the most significant impact on e-commerce usage. Thus, it can be affirmed that individuals are more inclined to engage in online purchases when exposed to content that instils and conveys trust. Research limitations/implications: Primarily stemming from the fact that it was only possible to evaluate content marketing in the production phase. The measurement of e-commerce was also a limitation as there was no study of a specific case. Additionally, the lack of found studies in the area under investigation proved to be a limiting factor. Practical implications: The gathered information has provided relevant insights for a better understanding of content marketing and e-commerce. This data can be utilized by companies and marketing agencies to enhance the effectiveness of their content marketing strategies. For example, creating marketing content that instils trust can be crucial in influencing online purchasing decisions. In conclusion, businesses and agencies aiming to develop marketing content with the goal of encouraging consumers to make online purchases should prioritize content that builds trust, as it is highly valued by consumers. Originality/value: This topic was chosen considering its growing importance in society and the lack of specific studies in this area in the Portuguese context. In future studies, it is recommended to use this type of research focusing on a specific company or agency. This would allow for the examination of consumers' opinions and reactions to the produced content and also verify the outcomes. This approach would lead to more well-founded conclusions and contribute further to the study of the topic. Keywords: Content Marketing, E-commerce; Marketing Elements; Trustworthy. https://doi.org/10.58869/EJABM9(4)/06