What’s the Difference Between Copywriting and Content Marketing?

Content marketing is currently one of the hottest terms in the digital landscape and one of the most powerful ways for a business to connect with its target audience. Still, many business owners don’t understand exactly what content marketing is or how to do it well, which means they could be falling behind their competitors. On top of that, there’s a lot of confusion between content marketing and copywriting — two terms that are related but not interchangeable. People assume they’re the same thing since they both involve writing content, but there are some key differences.

Let’s start with the basics….

Content Marketing | the creation and distribution of shareable content that’s designed with a marketing purpose, such as helping a business establish a stronger brand voice, building new connections with potential customers, or maintaining relationships with current customers. Examples include videos, blogs, podcasts, e-books, social media posts, and white papers.

Copywriting | written content that encourages readers to take a specific action, such as purchasing a product, subscribing to a service, or scheduling a consultation. Examples can be found within ads, PPC landing pages, and email newsletters.

So all copywriting is content, but not all content is necessarily copywriting. And while the written content involved in content marketing is informative, creative, and meant to be shared, copywriting is much more direct and focused on conversions.

How Copywriting and Content Marketing Work Together

If you’re trying to decide between copywriting or content marketing, you don’t have to. It’s actually better to have the best of both worlds: informative, creative content that includes a direct, clear call-to-action.

As the pros at Copyblogger say: “Copywriting without content is a waste of good copy,” and “content without copywriting is a waste of good content.”

Writing content just for the sake of educating potential customers is nice, but if your content doesn’t include a call-to-action, it’s not optimized to achieve your sales objectives. On the other side of the coin, writing copy just for the sake of selling will not appeal to your customers; no one likes to be pitched to constantly. In today’s world, consumers want to understand and believe in what you’re selling. When paired together, copywriting and content marketing can help your audience understand your brand and generate interest while also directing visitors to take the exact action you want them to perform.

Tips for an Effective Content Marketing Strategy

If you’ve made it this far, you already know your content marketing should incorporate copywriting via strong calls-to-action. Here are a few more tips you can use to build an effective content marketing strategy:

• Identify your target audience. When you’re trying to reach more customers online, it’s tempting to go after as many people as possible. However, you’ll get much better results by narrowing your audience to the people who are most interested in your products or services. Identifying your target audience helps you reach the people who truly want to listen.
• Share content that solves a problem. Sharing content that solves a problem for readers can help establish your business as an expert in your industry, and while it may seem counterintuitive to give away some of your expertise, being willing to share valuable information is worth it in the long run. It helps people see your business as knowledgeable, helpful, and trustworthy.
• Offer something valuable in exchange for customer data. In this digital age, customer data is a form of currency. A growing number of people are not willing to hand over their information unless they’re going to get something in return. Providing an incentive, such as a free quote or special discount, can help encourage people to provide the personal details you need to convert them into customers.
• Enhance your content with custom images and video. Incorporating the right images and video can enhance your content and boost its performance. Click here for some tips.

Things to avoid in your content:

• Boring headlines
• No calls-to-action
• Keyword stuffing
• Content that is too “sales-y”
• Lack of consistent tone/brand voice

Need help creating an effective content marketing strategy? Not sure you have what it takes to craft well-performing web copy? We’re here to help! At Triton Commerce, we provide ongoing content marketing to help you stay connected with your audience and secure higher placement in your customer’s search results. To help you make the most of your content marketing, our team will develop a strategy that is based on your business, goals, and audience. Contact us today to get started!