When to Use Copy and When Content Marketing – and What’s the Difference Anyway?
Spread the lovePeople tend to confuse content marketing with copy, not knowing the distinction between them. In reality, content marketing, is content created for a brand or business’s long-term content strategy. Content Marketing can be a post that doesn’t sell anything, aimed at building trust between the business or brand and its audience. Within it, […]
People tend to confuse content marketing with copy, not knowing the distinction between them. In reality, content marketing, is content created for a brand or business’s long-term content strategy.
Content Marketing can be a post that doesn’t sell anything, aimed at building trust between the business or brand and its audience. Within it, in a small amount (relative to the content volume), there may also be sales content.
So what’s the difference between copywriting and content marketing?
I’ve compiled 5 points to explain:
Copy is for sales, content marketing is for relationship-building.
The aim of copywriting is to use the available platform to spark conversation about the brand and ultimately drive sales. Whether it’s a slogan, website content, or a sponsored ad, copy is concise, clear, and focused on sales.
In contrast, content marketing seeks to engage the audience and encourage participation. Our goal with content is to build trust with our audience and foster conversations with them, rather than just about the brand. Through our content—such as posts, videos, and articles—the customer feels a sense of familiarity with us, leading to feelings of closeness, trust, and support.
One of the key challenges, in my opinion, is that as individual representatives of our brands, we often try to promote our businesses and ventures using clichéd copy, even when our customers aren’t quite ready for it. We attempt to sell to them before they fully understand us and the value we offer.
Content marketing is a strategic tool for the long term. We shouldn’t be swayed by immediate gains; copy is just a small part of content marketing .
Be patient, and your brand and reputation will benefit in the long run.
Copy creates urgency. Now!
Copy pieces are crafted to prompt immediate action. We aim for our audience to subscribe to our newsletter, purchase a product, or download a free guide—we seek instant responses.
The urgency factor shapes our copywriting. We not only present the reasons “why they should download/purchase/subscribe” but also emphasize “why it’s beneficial for them to act now and not later.”
Urgency triggers FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) and prompts immediate responses from the audience. Utilizing time-sensitive offers or providing compelling reasons to act now serves as a powerful motivator for action.
Copywriters aim to inspire immediate action, whether it’s downloading something, subscribing to a newsletter, or purchasing a product.
I like to use the following formula:
- – Stage 1: Capture Attention – to evoke an emotional response or promise immediate value to the customer
- – Stage 2: Draw Them In – to arouse curiosity and create an incentive to continue reading
- – Stage 3: Target the Right Audience – to address the audience, their fears, desires, and needs. Almost a personal approach.
So, for example, if I wanted to sell swimsuits, it would come out something like this:
“Goodbye, quarantine loungewear, hello swimsuits.
You won’t believe the colors, cuts, surprises, and discounts we’ve specially prepared for you.
Purchase now and stay trendy and updated.”
Consistent content writing makes the sales process easier.
Let’s not beat around the bush.
Every brand wants to profit. Every freelancer needs to sustain themselves.
Free content, yes, even the article you’re reading now, is designed for you to get to know the brand writing the content more deeply, to develop trust towards them, and in the future, if you need something from the range of services they offer, at least consider taking advantage of their services.
Although there’s no direct push to sales here, as customers, we’ll find it easier to buy from a brand we already know and trust.
Consistent content writing, tailored to a specific audience, will, in turn, make the transition to a concrete purchase offer more organic.
Just last week, I received 2 inquiries following my episode on Lior Frankel’s “Popcorn” podcast. I started assisting someone “who’s been reading my content for a year” and had a conversation with a CEO who receives newsletters from me, and we decided to work together.
Consistent content works.
But you need to be patient.
What types of content are considered copy and what is considered content marketing?
Paid advertising, slogans, homepage content on a website, sales newsletters (ads), video scripts, etc., all these are types of copy. Besides being sales-oriented, what characterizes them is the short length of the content.
In copy, every word is deliberate.
Every word has its place and purpose.
In copy, we have a very limited space to get the customer to do one thing – to perform the action we’re directing them to, now and not later.
Articles, blog posts, sponsored posts, value-added posts, IGTV, and even podcasts – all fall under the category of content marketing. These are long-form contents, published throughout the brand’s life, and their goal is to raise awareness for our brand, to connect the audience to our style, to provide real value to our audience, and to create a long-term relationship with them.
Where does content marketing meet copywriting?
Let me begin by saying that sometimes within our content marketing, we include copy. This is to guide the audience towards a specific action or purchase right away. For instance, we might write a detailed post and end it with a catchy call to action or purchase opportunity—a softer approach.
However, it’s crucial to understand that a content strategy should encompass both content marketing and copy.
We use content marketing to gradually engage the audience, so that when we eventually present them with a purchase opportunity using clear copy, they are already interested.
Our content marketing reaches audiences through various channels simultaneously. A single customer might encounter us on Facebook, Instagram, via email, and even on YouTube.
Consistent exposure to our brand and its value helps build trust. So, when the same customer encounters a paid ad or copy prompting a purchase, their trust in the brand is already established, increasing the likelihood of a purchase.
For instance, when I launched my storytelling course for the first time, it came after months of discussing storytelling and its applications in business.
Within 9 days, I had 63 sign-ups.
The course itself opened with 72 sign-ups.
The audience was simply ready to purchase from me.
In fact, the difference between key parameters of copy and long-term content marketing can be detailed as follows:
Key Parameters Between Copy and Long-term Content Marketing:
#1 The writing goal varies.
Long-term content marketing is written to generate engagement and build brand loyalty, while copy is written to start a conversation or lead to a sale.
#2 Interaction direction varies.
Long-term content marketing is multi-directional. It’s conversational, back-and-forth, detailed, and layered. Copy, on the other hand, is one-directional. It’s strategic, directed, concise, and ends with a call to action.
#3 Measurement of success
Long-term content marketing has significant value. Success is measured through likes, comments, and shares – anything that builds brand loyalty. Copy offers a clear proposition, and its effectiveness and ROI can be measured directly. If I create a sales ad, I can measure clicks, conversions, and bounces.
#4 Call to Action
Long-term content marketing seemingly lacks a real call to action. The call is to create higher engagement and warm up the audience for future sales. In copy, there’s an invitation to immediate action: purchase, download, sign up…
So, how do you start and know when to use content marketing and when to integrate copy?
You always need to use both.
Meaning, your business slogan and website will be in copy.
But they’re types of “static content” because they don’t change frequently.
I suggest creating a long-term content strategy. One that focuses on raising awareness of your brand, encourages dialogue, and high engagement with followers. One that provides a lot of real value so that people eventually want to be paying customers.
After building an awareness campaign and incorporating content that establishes you as an authority, I would start integrating copy – a call to immediate purchase of products or services, that’s “dynamic content” that changes along with what you want to sell.
