Performance Marketing is pay-per-action (e.g. PPC). The data available to marketers now is incredible – enabling very fine-grained targeting to get the attention of the precise people you need to get in front of.
The other side of this coin is the creative / the message – you need to put the right content in front of those people. This is one part of Content Marketing.
Your creative can be tailored to multiple different groups.
Optimising performance marketing is about tweaking targeting and other settings, and making new content, to get the attention of the right people with the right message at the lowest cost.
Traditionally media buying and creative were two separate things. But with the data available to marketers now, you will get a better result with someone who can make the creative, and run the campaigns.
Or if you have multiple people on this, it's best if the creatives understand performance marketing, and the performance marketers are good with content.
I make the content / creative and run performance marketing campaigns.
I have experience across traditional media also – direct marketing, print, outdoor, tv, radio – and for some clients some of this is still relevant.
But for most purposes the old media are over-priced for what you get.
And the new media – social platforms and search – are a better deal – because of the targeting and optimisation that can be done. This is despite the fact that many more marketers are getting on board, which is hiking up the price.