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Content Marketing vs. Digital Marketing: What’s the Difference?

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It’s important to know how to use different strategies, or you could waste time and miss out on growth opportunities. A scattered approach won’t help.  

Learn the ins and outs of Content and Digital Marketing, including how to best use them and get the most out of them.  

Let’s get started…. 

Content Marketer vs. Digital Marketer

Content marketing and digital marketing are two distinct disciplines that need to be mastered by a brand to succeed. 

Content marketing focuses on creating informative content, while digital marketing goes beyond simply producing content and involves leveraging various online channels to promote it. 

Content marketers …  

  • they focus on the quality of the content they produce 
  • they create stories or articles to engage their target audience and drive conversions. 
  • they use various tactics such as SEO, social media, and email campaigns to promote it. 

Remember that content marketing can be used to:  

    • explain complex topics,  
    • create unique brand stories,  
    • or showcase a company’s thought leadership. 

Digital marketers …

  • they are tasked with utilizing online channels to identify and target the best audiences for a brand’s content. 
  • they are responsible for creating strategies that can reach potential customers, such as utilizing pay-per-click campaigns or targeted ads on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. 

The key difference between Content Marketing and Digital Marketing is that Content Marketing focuses on creating high-quality content that will attract and engage an audience.  

While Digital Marketing leverages various online channels to reach the right people with Content Marketing. 

What is Digital Marketing? 

Digital marketing is a form of marketing that uses the internet and digital technologies like search engines, social media, email, and other websites to promote products and services. 

  1. It is a way for businesses to reach their customers through various online channels. 
  2. It can be used to increase brand awareness, drive website traffic, generate leads, and ultimately grow sales.  

What is Content Marketing? 

Content marketing is a type of digital marketing that focuses on creating and distributing relevant content to attract customers and engage with them. 

It is an essential strategy for gaining and maintaining customers. 

By creating, publishing, and distributing valuable content to the right audiences, you can create meaningful relationships with potential or existing clients. 

Furthermore, your content will be more likely to generate leads that result in conversions if crafted strategically and carefully. 

Types of Content Marketing

Content marketing can take many forms, such as: 

  • Blogging 
  • eBooks 
  • White Papers 
  • Infographics
  • Videos and Podcasts
  • Social Media Content 

What is Performance Marketing?

Performance marketing is an advertising technique used to track and measure the effectiveness of digital campaigns. 

Performance marketers focus on creating measurable results, such as:  

  • sales, 
  • leads, 
  • clicks,  
  • and  conversions. 

Performance marketing requires a high level of analysis and optimization to achieve the desired outcomes.

Types of Performance Marketing

Performance Marketing can take many forms, such as: 

  • Paid search advertising 
  • Content marketing 
  • Email marketing 
  • Display advertising
  • Affiliate marketing
  • Referral programs 

Performance Marketing vs. Content marketing

Performance marketing is a type of digital advertising that focuses on achieving measurable results.  

Performance marketing allows the advertiser to track, monitor and measure the success of their … 

  • campaigns in terms of cost per acquisition (CPA),  
  • return on ad spend (ROAS)  
  • and cost per click (CPC). 

Performance marketers typically use:  

  • pay-per-click advertising,  
  • search engine optimization,  
  • and affiliate marketing to drive traffic and generate leads or sales.  

In comparison, content marketing is an online promotional method that prioritizes creating and circulating relevant materials for a specific target audience.

What are the five rules of content marketing?

Here are five key rules that should be followed when engaging in content marketing: 

 #1. Know Your Audience – Content must first start with understanding your target audience and the types of content that will be most useful for them.  

Content should be tailored to meet their needs and interests to engage them effectively. 

#2. Plan Content Ahead – Content must have a purpose and plan before it is developed. Content should have goals associated with it, such as increased brand awareness or customer engagement.  

Content should also be planned and created with the user experience in mind to ensure that it delivers the intended value. 

#3. Content Quality Matters – Content must be of high quality and provide value for the reader if it is going to be effective. 

Content should be well-written and free from errors. Content should also be optimized for search engines to ensure potential customers find it. 

#4. Content Distribution Is Key – Content must be distributed across multiple channels if it is going to reach its intended audience. 

Content should be shared on social media and other channels such as email and website content syndication. 

Content should also be promoted through influencers, blogs, and other outlets that have a large audience. 

#5. Performance Matters – Content must be measured to understand what works and what can be improved. 

To optimize performance, content should be tracked for engagement, reach, conversions, and more. 

Content marketing also needs to be compared against performance marketing campaigns to determine which provides the best return on investment.

Conclusion

Content marketing and digital marketing are both powerful tools for businesses looking to maximize their online presence.  

Content marketing focuses on creating quality content, while digital marketing is all about using online platforms to reach a bigger audience.  

Ultimately, the success of either strategy depends on the amount of effort put into developing a comprehensive, targeted approach. 

Still have questions? See our FAQ’s below … 

FAQ’s 

Is performance marketing a PPC? 

Performance marketing is not a type of PPC (pay-per-click). Performance marketing is an umbrella term that is used to describe a variety of marketing strategies that measure the performance of an advertisement, such as cost-per-click (CPC), cost-per-view (CPV), cost-per-action (CPA), cost-per-order (CPO), and more. 

What is an example of performance marketing?

An example of performance marketing is a pay-per-click (PPC) advertising campaign. PPC campaigns allow businesses to pay for ads only when a user clicks on the ad. 
 
This form of marketing ties the payment to the performance of the ad, as the advertiser only pays when a user takes the desired action. 
 
Another example of performance marketing is a company offering a referral reward program, where customers can refer their friends to the company and receive a discount or other reward when the friend makes a purchase. 

What is a performance marketing tool? 

A performance marketing tool is a software platform that enables marketers to: 
– track,  
– measure,  
– and analyze the performance of their online marketing campaigns.  
 
It provides data-driven insights and actionable recommendations to help improve the effectiveness of marketing efforts. 

What are the four main categories of content marketing? 

The four main categories of content marketing are: 
 1. Social media 
 2. Blogs and articles 
 3. Visuals (graphics, videos, and infographics) 
 4. Email newsletters

How do I start as a content marketer? 

To start as a content marketer, you should first develop a content marketing strategy.  
 
This should include a plan to: 
– create,  
– publish,  
– and promote content that is tailored to your target audience.  
 
You should also create a content calendar and budget to ensure you stay on track.  
 
Additionally, it is important to build relationships with: 
– stakeholders,  
– influencers,  
– and other industry professionals to help boost your content’s reach and effectiveness. 
 
Finally, be sure to track the performance of your content so that you can make informed decisions and improve your strategy over time. 
 

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