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Home ยป What’s the Difference Between Content Writing and Copywriting?

What’s the Difference Between Content Writing and Copywriting?

You may find yourself struggling to understand the differences between content writing and copywriting, the roles these two roles play, or even if they are separate jobs at all.

It’s not uncommon for writers to get confused by the terms, especially since they are often used interchangeably. But, alas, they are not synonymous. While both content writing and copywriting involve crafting words to attract a specific audience and engage them, each role requires a different approach.

Let’s explore the differences.

Key Differences Between Content Writing And Copywriting

First, let’s discuss the similarities. Like content writing, copywriting also involves creating written content for the sake of marketing. But there are some key differences. Copywriting is more specific to marketing communications and advertising. This role entails crafting persuasive and engaging texts for marketing campaigns, usually in a corporate setting. The texts may relate to products or services, and they may promote a brand, a product, or an event.

Content writers, on the other hand, may write about almost anything. While they may have to adhere to a brand voice and style, they are not limited to marketing-related content. They may write about sports, politics, finance, pop culture, and more.

Marketing theorists classify written marketing communications into three types:

  • Advertising: Advertising is economic marketing, which implies that the purpose of the text is to sell a product or service. Advertising relies heavily on words or phrases that evoke a positive association in the minds of the reader.
  • Public Relations (also called PR): This is non-economic marketing, which aims to establish a mutually beneficial relationship between an organization and its audience. In general, public relations consist of any type of messaging that an organization sends out to the general public.
  • MarCom (marketing communications): This is a combination of advertising and public relations, which integrates marketing communications planning with the execution of those plans. Market communications planning involves the systematic analysis of the target audience, while the execution includes various types of media, such as television ads, radio spots, and trade magazine articles.

You’re probably familiar with the terms “content marketing” and “blogging,” which are types of market communications. A blog is an online publication that typically covers a variety of content, such as news articles, product reviews, and more. A content marketing blog focuses on providing valuable and interesting information to attract and retain customers.

The Evolution Of Marketing Communications

Writing has always been a part of marketing communications. But over the years, the field has evolved, and new terminology has emerged. Today, marketers are more commonly found using:

  • Social media: These days, even traditional print and radio ads are integrated into digital marketing strategies. Marketers may use social media to target consumers, analyze their behavior, and create word-of-mouth marketing campaigns.
  • Content marketing: This is content produced for the purpose of marketing a brand or product. The content may be created by a brand, produced by an agency, or purchased from a third party. But it’s usually geared at attracting customers through the use of digital marketing.
  • E-commerce (or electronic commerce): E-commerce relates to the buying and selling of products and services over the Internet. In practice, e-commerce can involve online marketplaces, such as Ebay or Amazon, as well as retail websites that mainly sell one or more individual products.
  • Virtual shopping malls (or shopping malls): These are online destinations that provide a variety of products from a single provider, all in one place. Essentially, this is a collection of online marketplaces geared towards digital marketing.
  • Search engine optimization (SEO) (also called search engine marketing or SEM): SEO involves shaping written content into meta tags and SEO-friendly keywords, so that it will appear in the results of a search engine’s organic search.
  • Mobile marketing (also called m-marketing): Marketing via mobile devices has become popular, as consumers have an endless stream of information at their fingertips. For example, smartphones and tablets make it easy to access digital marketing content on the go.
  • Video marketing (or videomarketing): Video is taking the marketing world by storm. Not only do consumers prefer to view content in video format, but also many platforms, such as YouTube and Facebook, offer video as a form of content.

You can use content marketing to establish a steady stream of valuable, entertaining content that brings in potential customers and keeps them coming back for more. So, while both roles involve creating content for the purpose of marketing, take the time to understand the differences and how you can break out of the mold.