Your content is more important than you think.
What you post for your audience to see plays a major role in bringing them closer to your brand. But it doesn’t guarantee that they’ll become attention grabbers.
You need to post the right content for the right audience to take notice.
This brings us to the age-old Content Marketing vs Content Strategy debate. And the dilemma of which way guarantees the best results?
The short answer is BOTH!
As for the long answer, we pull the curtains on everything you need to know in this blog.
We’ll explore the nuances of each path and uncover why both are essential components of a successful digital marketing framework.
Content marketing is like the life of the party in the digital world.
It draws people in, engages them, and keeps the conversation going.
At its core, content marketing involves creating and sharing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract a specific audience.
A great example of content marketing in action is social media video marketing.
A video usage statistic from Wyzowl found that by 2024, 91% of companies will go all in on videos.
Credits: Wyzowl (Source)
With 62.3% of the world’s population using social media according to the latest data by Statista, one thing can be concluded for certain.
Credits: Statista (Source)
Videos are becoming the most popular medium for businesses to attract customers. Social media becoming the avenue for businesses to find the right prospects.
The ultimate goal? To drive profitable customer action.
So why is content marketing important?
We live in an age where consumers are constantly bombarded with things they don’t need. Content marketing cuts the fluff and gives them exactly what they’re looking for. Which helps businesses connect with their customers on a deeper level.
Content strategy is the mastermind behind the scenes.
It could involve research on video marketing trends to see what your audience is looking for. Or, testing out iterations of high-engaging visuals to see what catches the eye.
The goal is to make content serve a purpose that aligns with broader business objectives.
This explains why 43% of B2B marketers have a well-documented content strategy in place as found by TrueList.
Credits: TrueList (Source)
Simply put: It provides a framework for planning, developing, and managing your content.
It also acts as a tool for marketing forecasting to catch trends early on and capitalize on it in your future content.
The cornerstone of content strategy lies in answering the following fundamental questions:
Who is the content for?
What problems does it solve?
How will it be delivered and maintained over time?
At its core, it is a blueprint for meaningful content creation that adds value to your audience’s lives and helps your brand gain their trust and loyalty.
Though sounding the same on the surface, content marketing and content strategy have their differences.
While considerable differences, both play pivotal roles in getting your brand a lot of eyeballs. And when both go hand-in-hand, your content unlocks its true potential.
And the following reasons drive the point home:
A content strategy sets the stage for systematic and strategic content planning.
Ensuring that every piece of content is aligned with your business goals and user needs. It then passes the reins onto content marketing that puts the framework into action.
Creating content that engages the audience and improves customer retention. Together, they ensure that your content not only reaches a wide audience but the right audience.
Consistency is the middle name for content. It’s how a prospective customer knows that it’s from your brand a mile away.
Having a content strategy takes care of the consistent tone, style, and messaging across all your content platforms.
Content marketing applies these guidelines in practical terms. So when a customer comes across content from your brand, be it blog posts, newsletters, or social media videos, they receive a consistent experience.
This unified approach builds a cohesive brand perception in the consumers’ minds which goes a long way in building trust with them.
Having finite resources is not the problem. Not knowing how to use less to your advantage is.
A content strategy makes sure you're not just creating content for the sake of it.
Content marketing makes the best use of all resources at hand to maximize the impact of every piece of content you upload.
Aligning strategy with marketing efforts avoids wastage of resources and enhances ROI through targeted content initiatives.
Every plan needs two things to succeed: a blueprint and a framework for execution.
Content strategy acts as the blueprint for measuring and optimizing content performance based on clearly defined KPIs and objectives.
Content marketing, on the other hand, uses these insights to improve engagement metrics.
Both ensure content is continuously refined to meet evolving market conditions and audience preferences.
No brand wants to just survive in a competitive market. They also need to thrive in order to take the business forward. And to do this requires an eye on the horizon instead of what’s immediately in front of you.
In that regard, content strategy and content marketing help brands think long-term.
A content strategy gives the means to curate well-researched, high-quality content that answers real customer questions and concerns. And when it comes to sending that content your audience’s way, content marketing gets the job done.
By combining the two, businesses can foster a reputation for expertise and reliability, which is invaluable for long-term success.
On the surface, content marketing and content strategy may seem like distinct disciplines. But their interdependence is crucial for achieving sustainable online success.
Content strategy provides the roadmap, detailing where to go and how to get there.
While content marketing is the vehicle that propels your brand forward.
The synergy between the two is the key to unlocking true content excellence.
And it only comes from understanding their key differences and using them to your advantage. Not just to make the right content but also make it impactful.
