Content Marketing vs. Digital Marketing: What's The Difference?
Digital marketing and content marketing are overlapping forms of online marketing that are often used together to reach and engage with potential customers. We often hear both used when it comes to businesses marketing themselves, sometimes seemingly interchangeably.
At their core, both digital marketing and content marketing involve the creation and distribution of content in order to reach and engage with a target audience. Content marketing is simply a facet of a larger digital marketing strategy.
Content can take many forms, including blog posts, social media posts, email newsletters, and more. Both rely on the use of digital channels and technologies, such as search engines (e.g. Google, Bing), social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.), and email, to reach and engage with potential customers.
There are many different digital marketing channels and tactics that businesses can use to reach and engage with their target audience. Some of the most common channels include:
- Search engines: Paid search ads, such as Google Ads, can be a powerful way to reach potential customers through search engines.
- Social media: Social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, can be used to connect with potential customers and build relationships.
- Email: Email marketing can be used to send targeted messages to potential customers and build relationships.
- Paid advertising: Businesses can use a variety of paid advertising channels, including display ads, native ads, and video ads, to reach potential customers.
- Influencer marketing: Partnering with influencers or industry experts can be a powerful way to reach and engage with potential customers.
Understanding the role of content marketing, compared to a larger digital marketing plan may help you better create a focused marketing strategy for your business.
The Goal
One of the main differences is the goal of each strategy. I like to think of content marketing as the content people see first when they find your business, whereas digital marketing are the tactics used to get your business in front of new people, as quickly as possible. Digital marketing is typically focused on promoting products and services, while content marketing is focused on building brand awareness and providing valuable information to potential customers.
For example, a digital marketing campaign might include paid search ads, social media ads, or email marketing campaigns that are designed to drive traffic to a website and generate leads or sales. These campaigns are typically focused on promoting specific products or services, and may use more sales-oriented language and tactics to achieve this goal.
Content marketing, on the other hand, is more focused on building a relationship with the target audience and providing value through the creation and distribution of informative, educational, or entertaining content. The goal of content marketing is not necessarily to generate immediate sales, but rather to build brand awareness and trust, and to establish the business as a thought leader in its industry.
You may be asking, “don’t all businesses want to build brand awareness and trust with their customers?” Absolutely! However, the type of product and service you are selling and, how established your company already is will allow for more success with some digital marketing tactics.
Consider a well-known brand, like Nike, selling sporting goods that are typically priced under $200 per item, versus, a brand new Life Coach selling a high-end coaching package for $2000+. People generally don’t buy a $2000 coaching package from someone they don’t know, but they may spend a couple hundred dollars on a brand they are familiar with. That’s where small business owners can use content marketing to nurture “know, like, and trust”, and foster a relationship with their potential clients helping them see the value of the investment.
Search Engines & Search Results
Another key difference between the two strategies is the role of search engines. Digital marketing often involves using paid search engine marketing tactics, such as Google Ads, to appear in search results and reach potential customers. Content marketing, on the other hand, relies more on organic traffic and search engine optimization to improve the visibility of web pages and content in search results.
This is not to say that content marketing has no impact on search engine rankings. In fact, high-quality content, in the form of blogs and educational resources, that are regularly updated and optimized for relevant keywords can be a powerful tool for improving a website’s visibility in search results. However, it is important to understand that even with consistent content creation, it can take months to see the impact on search result rankings. It is a slow process, so it takes patience. As such, the primary goal of content marketing is not solely to drive traffic through search engines, but rather to build relationships with potential customers and establish the business as a trusted source of valuable information.
Style of Content
Another important difference between digital marketing and content marketing is the type of content used in each strategy. Digital marketing campaigns may use more sales-oriented language and tactics, while content marketing often uses more informative or educational content to build trust and credibility with the target audience. This can include things like storytelling, case studies, educational posts, and email newsletters that provide valuable information on a specific topic or issue.
Content marketing can also take many other forms, including visual content (such as infographics or videos), podcasts, and live events. The goal of content marketing is to provide valuable information and insights to the target audience, rather than simply promoting products or services.
Despite these differences, the most important thing for any marketing strategy is to create high-quality content that is relevant and useful to the target audience. Both digital marketing and content marketing rely on creating great content to achieve the best results.
Post With Purpose
In addition to creating high-quality content, it is also important for businesses to have a clear and well-defined content marketing strategy in place. This strategy should outline the goals and objectives of the content marketing efforts, as well as the target audience, the types of content that will be created, and the channels that will be used to distribute the content. Whatever type of content you create and share with your audience, be sure to know your “why”. Always ask yourself how the content aligns with your product or service or is something that your ideal customer really wants to know.
A content marketing strategy should also consider the customer journey and the various stages of getting to know your brand. Different types of content may be used to achieve different results. You may find more educational content or storytelling content better suits an audience that doesn’t know your business well yet, whereas content that mentions your offer directly is better received by an audience that likes and trusts you already.
It’s also important for businesses to regularly track and measure the results of their digital marketing and content marketing efforts. This can help businesses understand what is working well and what may need to be adjusted in order to achieve better results. There are a variety of tools and platforms available that can help businesses track and measure the success of their marketing campaigns, including Google Analytics, social media analytics, and email marketing platforms.
Digital Marketing or Content Marketing: which is best for your business?
Whether you hone in on content marketing or choose a broader digital marketing strategy, there will inevitably be an investment of time and/or money. Where you focus your attention will vary business to business, and even for an individual business overtime. In my opinion, it all comes down to a few core questions:
- What is your offering and how important is building trust in someone buying from you? As mentioned before, people may find it easier to buy a lower price product from someone they don’t know, than a high-end service.
- What is your marketing budget? Some digital marketing strategies require a larger budget for ads, website SEO management, etc. Whereas, content marketing can be more flexible. Many small businesses choose to create their own content, making it more affordable (but possibly time-consuming).
- How quickly do you need to see results? Content marketing can take longer to see results, but in some cases, it is the gentle relationship-building over time that creates more momentum for your brand long term.
Digital marketing and content marketing are overlapping forms of online marketing that are used to reach and engage with potential customers. The most important thing for any marketing strategy is to create high-quality content that is relevant and useful to the target audience. By understanding the key differences between digital marketing and content marketing, businesses can choose the right marketing tactics and channels to achieve the best results.
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