Content marketing and copywriting are terms used throughout the marketing world, often interchangeably. Since they sound relatively similar, it's common for people to think that content marketing and copywriting are the same thing. However, as marketing tactics they need to be seen as separate entities, with different meanings behind them and different strategies for their use.
What is Content Marketing?
Content marketing expands your business and brand with the long-term goal of attracting new customers. This content can exist in a variety of different forms, including blog posts, articles, videos, infographics, podcasts, email newsletters, ebooks and white papers. All this content creation allows a brand to communicate directly with its customers, while convincing them the brand is to be trusted and worthy of their purchase.
What is a Content Strategy?
A content strategy aligns content development efforts with a specific business goal. A content strategy can seek to improve website traffic, increase leads, or improve engagement metrics across platforms. An editorial plan and promotion schedule will then be created to achieve and measure these goals.
What is Copywriting?
While copywriting still falls under the banner of content creation, it is simply the formation of written content. As a whole, copywriting consists of the words that fill your site and explain to your target audience who you are and what services and/or products you provide, all while motivating a customer to take action immediately.
For example, copywriting includes the headers on your pages, the writing in your blog, a description of your business and an introduction to your team. Whereas content marketing is a gradual attempt at gaining a customer, copywriting entices them to move immediately.
Content marketing and copywriting are terms used throughout the marketing world, often interchangeably. Since they sound relatively similar, it's common for people to think that content marketing and copywriting are the same thing. However, as marketing tactics they need to be seen as separate entities, with different meanings behind them and different strategies for their use.
Content Marketing vs. Copywriting: Breaking Down the Differences
There are many misconceptions regarding the difference between content marketing and copywriting and the value each brings to a marketing plan. It's important to learn how both concepts can fit into your marketing strategy on a holistic level, so let us explain.
Content Marketers and Copywriters have Different Roles
Both copywriting and content marketing rely on the storytelling components of marketing. However, copywriters focus primarily on advertising. They need to be able to create snappy copy that converts viewers. Their writing is often more concise and direct. Content marketers, on the other hand, seek to build relationships with prospects and clients through longer-form content. They will create white papers, brochures and ebooks. While short content pieces may be included in this strategy, their primary focus is on educating their audiences on specific topics or product offerings.
With this in mind, the roles your company needs to fill for content marketing and copywriting differ. Successful content marketers and copywriters both need to be good at putting words together. While not all content marketing has words attached, most formats are pretty word heavy. And with copywriting, words are your bread and butter!
For content marketing, you need a broader mindset, focused on the larger strategy at hand. This means you know how to write for different formats and audiences, with a more authoritative tone. Copywriting requires writing creatively, with the goal of expressing a brand voice and selling a product or service.
Copywriters and Content Marketers Need Different Tools
Since content marketing and copywriting have these fundamental differences, teams will need access to a variety of resources. Content marketers rely on editorial calendars and tools that make it easier to visualize a comprehensive strategy. In addition, they may outsource content development through contractors or a content licensing platform. Departments may also consider acquiring tools to curate content or relevant news articles, to help expand the content pipeline while saving money.
Since copywriters rely on short, creative texts, access to advertising magazines is paramount. Gaining an understanding of how other copywriters are approaching their brands and converting leads is essential to further build these skills.
Content Marketing and Copywriting Have Different Goals
As with any other marketing plan, you need to have a clear set of goals in place before executing your strategy. If you do not have a reason for doing what you are doing, you'll have no way to recognize completion or other benchmarks of success.
The easiest way to determine your objectives is to consider the consumer's journey, and at which point in the marketing funnel you want to target them. The stages of the marketing funnel are as follows:
Awareness
When consumers first become aware of your business and your brand. They may have heard of you through some content marketing channel, or by word of mouth.
Interest
Depending on their needs and the problems they aim to solve, the middle stage is where a business can truly pique the interest of potential consumers. Now that the consumer is a bit more invested in the brand, he or she is preparing to make a decision, and to see if you offer the best solution.
Decision
At this stage you are pressing the consumer to convert. Your goal is to inspire the consumer to choose you over a competitor.
Action
This is where a consumer makes a purchase. Or doesn't. In content marketing your objective is to educate the audience while building trust. Due to the sheer versatility of the different formats of content available, you must focus on moving customers down the sales funnel, wherever they are at present. Not all consumers will be at the awareness stage when they discover your brand, so make it your strategy to promote yourself to multiple consumer types.
Copywriting, on the other hand, is about developing brand awareness and bringing a product and service to life. You'll be creating a consistent brand voice, strong calls to action, properly optimized SEO keywords, and informational, helpful content that is easy to digest. The goal of copywriting is to convince the reader to take some sort of action right away. It doesn't matter where you are promoting your call to action, whether it be in a blog article or at the end of a video – as long as there is one.
Comparatively, Success Looks Different for Content Marketing and Copywriting
So how do you determine the success of your copywriting and content marketing strategies and techniques? Metrics and data will tell your story for you. The numbers won’t lie, and there is plenty of data that will help justify your efforts. The only problem is, you have to know what metrics to look at, monitor and measure!
Between copywriting and content marketing, the results can be similar in that both tactics are used to hold a reader's attention and teach them something. The metrics to pay attention to for content marketing include impressions, clicks and traffic. These data will tell you how well your content is performing and how many people are consuming it, ultimately allowing you to improve your content ROI.
Copywriting metrics can be different, depending on your brand's goals and how you define your conversions. These can be, for example, demos booked, sales made, phone calls made to your business or inquiry forms that were filled out.
The Sum of All Parts: How Copywriting and Content Marketing Work Together
As you can see, content marketing and copywriting work together to enhance a brand’s image and business as a whole. Any business will want to include both as the sum of all parts of their marketing strategy.
Without copywriting, content marketing is a waste of content. Why?
• Headlines don’t capture the attention of the consumers.
• There are either too many calls to action or not enough.
• The content will not have the style or finesse a professional writer brings to telling a brand’s story.
• There will not be enough SEO-optimized keywords, or there will be too many, and the content will look spammy.
• The content will not help the potential customer in any way, and simply leaves them wanting more.
• The customer’s attention span is lost at the very top of the marketing funnel.
Without content marketing, your copywriting efforts will be wasted. Why?
• You will not have a clear demonstration of the purpose of your content.
• You will not portray yourself accurately to your target audience.
• You may lose the interest of your consumers.
With these benefits in mind, brands can face serious challenges, and risks, if they don’t invest in content marketing and copywriting together within their larger marketing strategy.
Final Thoughts
To summarize, content marketing and copywriting have one goal; to engage prospects and customers. Both tactics are needed to boost your brand’s consumer awareness and visibility online.
If you know that you want to incorporate content marketing and copywriting into your marketing strategy, but don’t have the proper resources, The New York Times Licensing Group is here to offer solutions for you. By using our licensed content packages, you can harness the world-renowned journalism of The New York Times while benefiting from a customized content strategy for your business. We offer plenty of licensed content themes and options to meet your needs, and your brand will only thrive.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Copywriting a Part of Content Marketing?
Copywriting is an essential part of content marketing. It’s important to have an engaging copy when creating assets. Additionally, when promoting content, it’s important to consider headlines and the ads used. Copywriting can make content marketing more successful for your team.
Are Copywriting and Content Writing the Same?
Copywriting involves creating snappy copy that can be used in ads or promotional materials. Content writing on the other hand may involve providing more in-depth and educational pieces. Both are important components to any marketing program.
Is Email Marketing the Same as Copywriting?
Email marketing is not the same as copywriting, but it does leverage copywriting to increase open rates and click-through rates. In email marketing, it is important to have snappy copy and subject lines that entice users to open their emails.
