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Elon Musk: A 21st Century Content Marketing Genius

Content Marketing

Elon Musk is arguably the world's most famous billionaire and entrepreneur.

In the last decade, Tesla and SpaceX have elevated him to celebrity status—making him wealthier than Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates.

Most recently, Musk initiated a multibillion-dollar acquisition of the social media giant Twitter. This change is expected to impact the platform's operation and digital marketing processes significantly.

So, how did Elon Musk get so wealthy? And how did content marketing contribute to his success?

Everything you need to know about Musk is right here, and our Miami digital marketing experts will help shed some light about his content marketing strategies.

Who Is Elon Musk?

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Elon Musk was born in 1971 into a wealthy household in Pretoria, South Africa. His mother, Maye, was a nutritionist and model from Canada. His father, Errol, was an engineer.

Musk demonstrated early computer talent at a young age, creating a video game when he was only 12.

He moved to Canada at the age of 17 to avoid military service during the Apartheid era. He attended Queens University before transferring to the University of Pennsylvania in 1992 to study physics and business.

After graduating, he temporarily sought a Ph.D. in physics at Stanford University in California before co-founding Zip2 with his younger brother Kimbal in 1995.

Elon Musk received $22 million from the arrangement when the pair sold the company in 1999 for $307 million.

What Made Elon Musk So Rich and Powerful?

After selling Zip2, he ventured into online banking and payments with controversial businessman Peter Thiel, co-founding what became PayPal.

When eBay bought the company in 2009, his stake in it was worth $180 million.

He founded SpaceX in 2002, intending to colonize Mars using low-cost rockets.

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Musk invested $6 million in Tesla the following year, although the company had yet to produce a real car.

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Both companies struggled at first, but SpaceX took off in 2008 after signing a $1.6 billion contract with NASA. Tesla's first vehicle, the Model S, entered mass production in 2012.

SpaceX is now a key partner in NASA missions, and Tesla cars can be found worldwide.

Elon Musk's fortune has grown to such astronomical proportions due to the share price of Tesla, which has tripled to more than $1 trillion in value in the last 18 months.

He has since sold $8.5 million of his Tesla stock to fund his purchase of the platform.

Meanwhile, Musk's 48 percent stake in SpaceX, a $100 billion company, accounts for the majority of the rest of his fortune.

Elon Musk has also launched two other businesses in the last five years:

  • The Boring Company: a business that aims to dig tunnels designed to alleviate traffic and enable easier transportation.
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  • Neuralink: a business thatseeks to develop telepathic links to machines. This innovation could transform the lives of people suffering from neurological disorders or severe spinal injuries.  
Neuralink AI concept photo

Why Did Elon Musk Buy Twitter?

The quick answer? Musk wants to alter the site's free expression policies and expand its content marketing capabilities.

Elon Musk's Twitter account

This year, Elon Musk purchased a 9.1 percent stake in Twitter on April 4 before announcing a takeover bid a few days later. Twitter’s board initially adopted a 'limited-duration shareholder rights plan,' which effectively halted the takeover.

Nevertheless, on April 25, the platform's board met with Musk and announced their intention to sell the company to him for $44 billion. Twitter executives reportedly came under shareholder pressure to accept the deal after details about Elon Musk's bid became public.

Musk's takeover of Twitter could take six months to complete.

However, on May 13, Elon Musk announced that he had put the deal on hold due to concerns that there were more spam or fake Twitter accounts than the company had officially stated.

Why Does Elon Musk Use Content Marketing?

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Elon Musk uses Twitter to promote his company and personal brand as effectively as possible.

Let's take Tesla as an example. Have you ever seen a Tesla commercial?  We're confident you haven’t, because Tesla doesn’t spend money on advertising. On the other hand, there’s a good chance that you’ve seen advertisements from Tesla's competitors, such as Porsche, Audi, and Mercedes.

How did Tesla become the world's most valuable automaker without spending a dime on advertising?

It's not that Tesla doesn't invest in marketing; they just don't spend money on advertising, which isn't the same thing. Instead of advertising, Tesla uses other methods, such as content marketing, to get people to talk about their products.

What Is Musk's Content Marketing Strategy?

Elon Musk has promoted his businesses through a variety of marketing strategies. One of the most noticeable is his use of social media word-of-mouth marketing, particularly Twitter.

Elon Musk ensures that his products provide the best customer experience possible.  This earns him loyal customers and leads to customers recommending his products to their friends and family.

Similarly, Musk employs this strategy for people who do not use his products or services, which he accomplishes through content marketing.

Why? Because it's about more than just sales and conversions. Brand awareness and virality of content are also marketing goals.

RELATED: Brand Awareness Tactics for Successful Business in 2022

Why Market Your Business Through Memes?

Memes are an essential part of the internet, and they are also a necessary part of Elon Musk's brand success.

Nowadays, all kinds of businesses have figured out how to capitalize on the popularity of memes on the internet. If you look at any major brand's Twitter page, you'll notice that they've posted all kinds of memes about their products⁠—and sometimes even themselves.

Elon Musk is a pioneer in this marketing style. He uses memes not only to promote his brands but also to promote himself.

Musk has successfully marketed himself as an approachable "cool guy" who posts memes online, responds to tweets, and drives the coolest cars he creates.

How Does Meme Marketing Work?

"To meme or not to meme?" That is the question.

Our digital marketing experts in Miami are firm believers that anything and everything can be turned into a meme. However, keep in mind that memes are not for everyone.

If you are serious about using memes in your content marketing strategy, there are many pre-existing images on the internet that you can use to create your very own meme—for free!

You don't need a crazy studio setup or advanced graphic design skills to create new meme content. All you have to do is repurpose existing photos or GIFs and add your spin to them. As a result, making a viral meme is almost always possible.

In other words, anyone can make a meme!

Here are a few websites where you can start making your memes:

Memes are sweeping the globe, and nearly every company wants to experiment with them. You must, however, do it correctly so that you do not appear to be trying too hard.

RELATED: 5 Things You Should Know First Before Using Memes For Your Business

Want To Use Elon Musk's Approach To Marketing Your Company?

It can be challenging to keep track of all the different ways you can market your company and products.

But one thing is sure: traditional advertising methods are simply no longer sufficient. So, if you want to market your company like Elon Musk, why not try collaborating with the best digital marketing company in Miami?

At Digital Resource, we use cutting-edge marketing strategies to help local businesses grow in the digital space.

Contact us today to learn how we can help your business grow!

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