Whether you are a leading expert in digital marketing or just discovering the sphere, you’ve probably come across a content writing vs. copywriting battle. Some would ask, what’s the point of giving two different names to a single notion? I’m here to tell you these two terms denote unique notions which cannot be interchangeable.
What Does the Term “Content” Mean?
In a nutshell, content is the information expressed through such mediums as speech, writing, art, literature, etc. In the 21st century, content refers to any verbal or nonverbal information accessible via the Internet.
How would people discover anything on the Internet if there was no content? The answer is simple — they wouldn’t. Try answering the following question: “How would people read a book without words?” Sounds stupid, right? The same is with digital content.
Content is the driving force of everything existing on the web.
It’s everywhere, from social campaigns email marketing strategies to blog posting and Instagram storytelling. The sphere of digital marketing is constantly evolving. As a result, texts have become an inseparably fundamental part of the industry. Thousands of copywriters and content experts are ready to create original and top-ranking lines for businesses to flourish. For now, let’s dive deeper to differentiate the main content types that flood the web.
Most Popular Content Types Are…
Blogs 💻
As long as the Internet exists, blogging has been around the corner, waiting for its time to shine. Today, blogs are beneficial for companies seeking to build authority and a trustworthy atmosphere with their target audience. You can write about literally anything and ensure that your reader is waiting for you. One thing to consider is to prioritize quality over quantity, i.e., share your knowledge and expertise with those in need.
There are innumerate types of blogs, starting from Instagram blogging to developing a self-hosted blog platform. Moreover, writers can choose a hosting website, like Medium, Blogger, or WordPress, to develop their platform.
Video 🎥
Videography has grown immensely over the past few years. Video blogging is a winning method for selling products or services, and the numbers do speak for themselves! Approximately 96% of consumers look for specific product videos before purchasing.
Videos are a powerful means of driving extra traffic to your main website or a company’s social media. Make sure to develop high-quality videos. This applies not only to the shooting quality but also to the content you deliver to your viewers.
How-to Guidelines
Do you remember how everyone was crazy about DIY trends? The modern how-to guides are improved versions of those do-it-yourself videos. The concept of such content is to film video tutorials about particular actions and share them with the right audience. To make the content look more professional, you can include the required materials in the description box.
No doubt, there are other types of content available on the web.
What Is Copywriting?
In digital marketing, any texts to persuade consumers to perform a particular type of action are called copies. For instance, you can write a copy to convince people to purchase your product, subscribe to your blog, or leave a review concerning your company.
Any text unit that involves a call-to-action phrase is referred to as copy on the web.
The definition above implies that copywriting is the process of writing persuasive, selling, and promoting texts.
SEO standing for Search Engine Optimization, is a powerful tool for content writing and copywriting. As implied by the term, SEO is the process of optimizing texts and websites to improve their appearance on Search Engine Results Pages.
We know how important content is for building a solid business and promoting it online. Thus, let’s dive deeper to understand better the distinction between copywriting and content writing.
Content Writing VS Copywriting
Let’s discuss 4 critical differences between content writing and copywriting according to the following key features: Information, SEO Orientation, Length, and Purposes.
✓ Information
Although copies and blog posts may contain the same information, the purpose of each dramatically differs. Copywriters aim to sell items or services and promote your brand awareness across various social media platforms. Content writers, on the contrary, aim to inform, educate and entertain the readers, increase website traffic, and bring potential customers.
✓ SEO Orientation
Having deep SEO knowledge is not an obligation for copywriters. Knowing the basics of SEO and understanding the purposes of this tool is sufficient for writing and selling copies. On the other hand, content writers need to have advanced SEO knowledge. This ensures that the written articles appear on the top positions of SERPs, making it easier for the target audience to find the materials they are looking for. Many talented writers create wonderful pieces. However, the Search Engines’ algorithms will not find their material without expert SEO skills. Content writers can become the leading experts in their niche by learning about keywords, external and internal links, meta titles, meta descriptions, and many other functions.
✓ Length
There are no strict measurements for content length. If a product or service selling copy needs to be long and informative, it should be extended. Let it be short if an informative article has a laconic and straight-to-point message. Nevertheless, markets dictate their own rules and tendencies, and some repeating patterns are being noticed. For instance, copywriters tend to write more often for social media publications, catalogs, sales, and email campaigns, postcard wishes, video scripts, digital and non-digital commercial promotions, etc. On the other hand, content writers write extended forms of content that include blog posts and articles, press releases, reviews, podcast scripts, newspaper columns, etc.
✓ Purposes
To put it short and crystal clear:
Content writers create content that will drive organic and long-term traffic, while copywriters need to turn the traffics into leads.
Closing points
Summing up today’s review of the content writing vs. copywriting battle, let’s debunk the myths and misunderstandings concerning these two terms once and forever. It’s not about which one is better and more profitable. What matters is understanding the functions and goals of each notion.
Also Read: 4 Tips for Overspending on Google Ads