As I get more and more into this thing we call “Digital Marketing”, I try to tell my clients and prospects that they need to start blogging. Then I get asked, what’s is the difference between “blogging and content marketing”.
Ok, so let’s get down to the nitty-gritty. The terms are used interchangeably when in reality they are not the same (at least not 100%).
Content Marketing vs. Blogging
Content Marketing can be described (and it all depends on who is answering the question), as “the creation and distribution of journalistic, helpful, audience-focused material that ultimately increases customer acquisition.”
All of the above is basically saying that one is providing customers with information — ideally backed by data or your unique expertise — that educates them and makes their decision making a little easier.
And to that end, one may be providing different tactics that can be used to support one’s content marketing goals. It can include white papers, video content, eBooks, email newsletters, social networks, and of course, blogging. Each one serves its own purpose in the bigger content marketing strategy, but they all contribute to the same end goal of building trust with your customers.
Blogging, on the other hand, involves posting regular content to a specific site and is updated regularly to keep that website fresh. Blog content is displayed chronologically, so you’ll always find the most recent content first. The goal here is to communicate with your audience, whether you’re promoting a product, providing valuable knowledge to your readers, or working to establish your organization as a thought leader. And it’s an important tactic within the greater content marketing strategy.
So, I guess what I am saying is that basically, content marketing is the umbrella term under which blogging rests. As a result, there’s often a lot of overlap between the two. For many brands, blogging is an essential way to bring value to readers, which is why it’s considered a great starting point for any content marketing strategy.
Why should you consider Blogging and Content Marketing? Well let me tell you from personal experience within my own business.
Blogging regularly helps SEO, gives customers a reason to come back to your website, and is the perfect channel for distributing your existing content. You can write a “whitepaper” and then break it down into blogging articles. This way you will get a lot of mileage out of the whitepaper. In other words, there are several tactics you can use to build your SEO which in itself, will help your ranking on Google.
Content marketing as a strategy is important given how much the customer’s buying journey has changed. There’s no shortage of stats showing that the customer is now in charge, and that the majority of the purchasing decision is already made before they talk to anyone in your company. This means that you need to reach them in other ways — multiple other ways — to influence that decision. Content marketing gives you that power, and if done the right way, it builds genuine trust with your customers. Content that is smart and helpful brands your company as a go-to, expert resource. Why wouldn’t they buy from you?
If at any time you have questions about content marketing, don’t hesitate to reach out and ask us. Or for more on blogging,
visit this article.