Content creation is an essential part of digital marketing. Everybody knows that users will not discover your business online unless you create content. Content is the driving force behind all successful digital marketing campaigns, including SEO, PPC, and social media marketing. Every new piece of content presents a unique opportunity for your business to connect with prospective customers.
Not all types of content creation are the same, though. There’s content writing, and then there’s copywriting. Both are used in digital marketing campaigns, but they have different purposes. If you use digital marketing to promote your business, you should learn what distinguishes content writing from copywriting.
In this post, CCG, a trusted creative agency in California, discusses this, so you’ll know which form of content creation is suitable for your needs:
What Is Content Writing?
Content writing is the creation of text content to educate, entertain, and engage readers. While it may ultimately drive sales as well, that’s not its main purpose. With content writing, you want to educate or entertain readers by creating high-quality and valuable content.
Content writing examples include:
- Ebooks
- Articles
- Blog posts
- White papers
- Social media content
Most content writers create content for websites and blog posts. However, content writing may also be used to create content for social media, like Twitter and Facebook.
What Is Copywriting?
Copywriting is the creation of text content to sell a product or service. Most copywriting is also used in digital marketing campaigns. Its primary purpose is to persuade and compel readers to take a specific action, such as buying a product or signing up for a service.
Copywriting examples include:
- Email subject lines
- Social Media Ads
- Headlines
- Sales pages
- Landing pages
Similarities Between Content Writing and Copywriting
Both content writing and copywriting aim to provoke reactions in readers. Both are used in digital marketing campaigns. The purpose of content writing and copywriting is to attract readers’ attention and connect with them.
Differences Between Content Writing and Copywriting
While content writing and copywriting are both used in digital marketing, they are different in many ways. Below are four differences between content writing and copywriting.
1. Purpose
Content writing is aimed at educating and entertaining the reader. It seeks to build trust, loyalty, and brand awareness to increase sales in the future. While sales may be its eventual goal, content writing is primarily focused on educating and entertaining the reader.
Copywriting is used as a way to compel and persuade readers to take action. It’s direct and to the point. It uses manipulative techniques to compel readers to sign up for a newsletter, subscribe, or buy products.
2. Length
Content writing is typically longer. Content writing includes lengthy blog posts, ebooks, and white papers, which are longer than one page.
Copywriting is significantly shorter. It is most often used in social media ads, email subject lines, and headlines.
3. Tone
Content writing is more light and friendly. It is often humorous and makes light of the subject while still educating readers.
Copywriting tends to be more serious. It is more direct and persuasive. It’s less likely to be humorous and typically focuses on the call to action and selling the product or service.
4. Audience
Content writing is usually aimed at a general audience. It can be an audience of any size, and they may or may not be potential customers.
Copywriting is aimed at a specific audience and is used to compel them to take a specific action. For example, a copywriting campaign may persuade customers to sign up for a newsletter or buy a newly-launched product.
Conclusion
Content writing and copywriting are both used in digital marketing campaigns. They are similar in some ways, but there are also many differences. The most significant difference is their purpose. Content writing is primarily educational and entertaining. It is used to educate and entertain readers while building brand awareness and trust. But when done right, content writing can lead to increased sales in the future.
Copywriting, on the other hand, is used to persuade readers to take a specific action like signing up or making a purchase. If you want to learn more about content writing and copywriting, contact a content creation agency like CCG.
CCG is a creative agency in California that can help you with both content writing and copywriting. Contact our team to know how we can boost your presence online!