What is copywriting and why does your business need it?

First published on The Power of Words on 11th August 2022.

Every business needs good content or copywriting – because it entices clients and customers to read on and take action.

Well-written marketing blogs for businesses and thought leadership articles can build brand awareness and enhance reputations, while product and service copy should act as a catalyst in your sales process.

The difference between copywriting and content writing…

On that note, it’s important to explain the difference between creative content writing and copywriting; they’re complimentary but fulfil subtly distinct roles.

Let’s look at B2B professional copywriting services in comparison to B2B content creation as an example.

In a nutshell, copywriting?persuades, and content writing?informs.

Copywriting services

B2B copywriters are trying to sell a product or a service to another business. This kind of writing needs to incite action, using persuasive, powerful language to convince clients / customers to get in touch, request a demo, trial a product etc.

Examples of copywriting include:

• Landing pages
• Product pages
• Sales emails
• Social media ads
• Out of Home ads (OOH)

Content writing services

In B2B content creation, on the other hand, is an integral part of digital marketing. Brands and businesses need to create good content to be discovered online. Each piece of content should educate, entertain, or inform opinion – and in doing so, subtly promote your products or services (without selling out loud).

Examples of content writing include:

• Blog posts
• Thought leadership articles
• eBooks
• Whitepapers
• Case studies
• Newsletters

Here we unpick three short, but significant reasons why copywriting and content writing for businesses makes the difference between being heard by your audiences, or your digital marketing efforts falling on deaf ears.

1. Build brand awareness

Whether you’re distributing a thought leadership article in an editorial or a blog post on social media – like LinkedIn – you need compelling writing to stand out from your competitors. Not only that, but you also need to drip feed a metaphorical hello to your clients or customers so they can see you online and see that you know your stuff.

Put simply, content marketing helps build your brand – by creating meaningful, engaging ways to attract audiences, as well as positioning you as an industry leader.

2. Foster trust

According to the?2021 Edelman Trust Barometer , businesses are now trusted more than nongovernmental organisations, the government and media outlets.?

Clever, strategic, entertaining, educating content fosters trust – and therefore builds deeper relationships and emotional connections with your customers or clients.

It allows you to leverage the perfect BLT triumvirate: believability, likeability, and trustworthiness.

From B2B blog posts and infographics, to newsletters, research reports and whitepapers, different content forms can (nay must) provide value to customers and clients with meaningful information – that builds trust and boosts sales.

3. Generate leads, sales & revenue

On that note, measuring ROI is a tricky beast when it comes to content marketing; it’s not straight forward to measure. But?Conductor research ?(organic marketing platform) has managed to put some numbers to the claims:

• Consumers who read a brand’s educational content were 131% more likely to purchase from that brand.
• One week after reading content, customers were still 48% more likely to buy.
• Reading content greatly increased consumer trust and brand affinity, which deepened over time.

Above all, copywriting for businesses – whether B2B or B2C – helps create regular, relevant, and really impactful content. It nurtures online presence that in turn resonates with potential customers, meaning they’re more likely to see your brand, trust it – and invest in it.