As we’re nearing the time to start thinking about your 2024 marketing strategy, I think it’s good to think about what digital and content marketing can give you, how they’re different, but how they’re also inextricably linked.

I started in digital marketing way back in 2014 and have built on my experience over the last almost-decade to the point where I’m a good all-rounder! But I’ve always had a passion for the content-related areas of digital marketing, and chose to specialise in 2023, after a few years in an agency handling most of the more content-heavy clients.

Understanding the ins and outs of both areas of marketing allows me to appreciate the power of content marketing for lead generation and contact nurture, and see the bigger picture of the full marketing puzzle; what digital marketing practices need to go into a good content campaign, and what additional digital marketing needs to support content after the campaign has completed. I think of my content like a spider, sitting in a web of broader digital marketing practices.

This article provides an overview of my approach to digital marketing, my experiences and strengths, and where they intersect and complement my content marketing skills. Ultimately, I’ll be exploring how they can overlap, enhance, and collaborate with each other.

Introducing the broad spectrum of digital marketing

Digital marketing means the wide array of online strategies and tactics you can use to promote a brand, product or services. It all revolves around internet-based channels and activities, unlike pure marketing which can include print advertising, TV and radio.

The main focus of digital marketing is to provide enough online touchpoints across the different digital channels to reach a broad audience multiple times and convert prospects into customers. I’m using digital marketing to generate leads, drive sales, and achieve specific business objectives.

The key ingredients of good digital marketing

As the internet evolves, so too do the breadth of digital marketing channels! Years ago we were dependent on pop up ads and email marketing, then boom! Social media hits. And keeps hitting… Email marketing software becomes more and more sophisticated at avoiding spam filters… and now I have a broad range of digital channels to harness, including:

• Search engine marketing (SEM): I use SEM via paid advertising on search engines, commonly referred to as pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns. These ads appear at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs) when users search for specific keywords.
• Social media marketing: I create multi-media social media calendars across different social channels to engage with and build your audience. Choosing the right social media platforms to reach your audience is key, you don’t need to be on TikTok to reach the C-suite for software sales, but you will need to be if you’re selling online courses to young adults aged 18-35, for example.
  • I also use social media advertising, including Facebook and Instagram ads, to extend your reach as it’s a significant part of a well-rounded digital marketing strategy.
• Email marketing: I personally love email marketing (sad, I know). I crate email campaigns that deliver targeted messages to subscribers’ inboxes. It’s a highly-effective way to nurture leads and build customer loyalty. Email marketing allows you to offer your services in such a way that it solves a current pain point (like recruitment, software sales, upskilling, etc.), you can reach them in the right buying context at the right time! You can also customise your messaging to create a sense of urgency, exclusivity, and bespoke services, think e-commerce style marketing with exclusive discounts delivered straight to your inbox.
• Affiliate marketing: I can identify the right individuals, influencers or other businesses to promote your products or services in exchange for a commission on sales, greater exposure, etc.
• Display advertising: I can create display ads that appear on websites and typically feature text, images, or videos. I use them to increase brand awareness and drive traffic to specific campaign pages that tell a story of your brand and offer an exclusive service or insight.

The why of content marketing: Providing value to the point so they keep coming back for more

Content marketing provides information, educates, and entertains rather than directly sells products or services. It’s a key part of funnel marketing methods and can be largely executed across all digital channels, making it a key part of digital marketing!

By delivering content that resonates with your audience, you can build trust and brand authority, making those buying decisions quicker and sales conversations easier, ultimately nurturing your audiences through the sales funnel.

My recipe for great content marketing

If you thought the amount of digital channels available to you was vast, well there’s also a wide range of content marketing options to choose from, including:

• Blogging: I create regular content calendars containing blogs that address common pain points, answer questions, and offer insights relevant to your audience.
• Thought leadership: I research the hot topics in your industry to set you apart as a thought leader in long-form articles.
• Video marketing: A picture says a thousand words, but a video says even more today! I create and share videos on platforms like YouTube, and social media to deliver engaging and informative content that enhances your brand.
• Infographics: People love infographics, and I love creating them! They present complex data in simplified, visually appealing ways.
• eBooks and whitepapers: Offering in-depth resources, guides, industry insights and how-tos. These lower-funnel content pieces are great to gate for data capture.
• Podcasts and webinars: I like creating audio content to engage an audience in a more casual and conversational manner. Using audio content tactics means you can reach your audiences at a lower commitment level, people find it easier to pop on a podcast to listen to while they attack their inbox than they do to block out all external stimuli to focus on a whitepaper.
• Whitepapers, eBooks, reports: These types of content are very appealing to people, they really make them feel like they’ve got a high-value asset from a company. I use them strategically with SEO-optimised landing pages and place them within email nurture sequences to capture people’s attention and make them take note of your brand.

Digital marketing vs. content marketing: The key differences

Now that we’ve outlined how content marketing fits within digital marketing and how they both share similar goals in nurturing audiences through their buying journey, it’s time to look at where the differences lie:

1. Goal and focus: Digital marketing focuses on driving sales, conversions, and achieving specific business objectives. Content marketing, on the other hand, aims to build brand awareness, educate, and engage the audience without directly selling.
2. Approach: Digital marketing often relies on paid advertising and is more aggressive in its sales approach. Content marketing takes a softer approach by delivering valuable, informative content to the audience.
3. Timing: Digital marketing campaigns often have a specific timeframe tied to promotions and product launches. Content marketing is an ongoing, long-term strategy that builds brand loyalty over time.
4. Metrics: Digital marketing’s success is measured by metrics such as return on ad spend (ROAS) and conversion rates. Content marketing success is gauged by metrics like engagement, brand mentions, and lead generation.

But how can the two come together?

While digital marketing and content marketing have distinct goals and approaches, I overlap them and incorporate my content into a digital marketing strategy in the following ways:

• Content creation for digital ads: You can’t have digital ads without having a place to send people to once they click on them. That means well-thought-out landing pages, blogs, or contact forms. This synergy enhances the user experience and can lead to higher conversion rates.
• Content for SEO: Content marketing is a great way to boost your search rankings via SEO. I use content to strategically improve a website’s visibility on search engines.
• Email marketing content: I structure my email sequences around content that follows the sales funnel, nurturing recipients through the buyer’s journey to point of sale.
• Social media content: Social media works best when you have something valuable to say to your audience, and something valuable to show them. You’re trying to garner click through rates from social posts that send people back to your website. Content is the perfect hook to achieve this, drawing in a wider audience and boosting the impact of digital marketing efforts.
• Content-driven authority: I focus on high-quality content that builds brand authority. When a brand is seen as an expert in its field, it enhances the effectiveness of digital marketing campaigns by establishing trust and credibility – people are more likely to click on your emails, ads, social posts if they value what you have to say!

How do I bring the two together?

For the best impact that really sees results (I’m talking click through rates, data submissions and conversions), I incorporate content marketing into a broader digital strategy. Below is an espresso version of my process – quick and impactful:

• Integrated planning: I think about the big picture and develop a comprehensive strategy that combines both approaches. I plot out were content can support digital marketing objectives and vice versa.
• Keyword alignment: A very important part of the process! I ensure that the keywords targeted in digital marketing campaigns align with the content I’m creating so that there is no overlap, and no piece cannibalises another.
• Content promotion: I use the range of digital channels at my disposal in a strategic way to promote my content so that it provokes readers to take the right action after they’ve read it. I think about the journey that brought them there and align my calls to action so that they’re a logical progression throughout the buyer’s journey.
• Data-driven insights: I use data and analytics to monitor the performance of both my digital marketing and content marketing efforts and adjust my strategy based on what’s working and what isn’t.
• Consistency and branding: When I have the opportunity to put together both the digital marketing and content marketing strategy, I ensure a consistent brand tone of voice and identity to enhance brand recognition and trust.

It’s not a choice between the two, it’s about integrating them together…

While digital marketing is sales-driven, content marketing focuses on building trust and brand authority. When you combine the two you create an effective online presence that builds a relationship between you and your potential customer across many touchpoints.

By aligning content creation, keywords, and promotions, I can improve your digital impact, reach and engage your target audience with the right message at the right time. For me, it’s not a choice between digital marketing and content marketing but about finding a way to see the big picture, spot the points where the two need to intersect and support each other.

If you’re interested in working together, shoot me an email: gracewrites892@gmail.com