When you’re responsible for promoting a small business, you need to make sure you choose the right marketing channels.
For example, you may be chomping at the bit to set up a TikTok account, but if your target audience is retirees, you might want to rethink your strategy!
Two of the most frequently talked-about marketing channels are content marketing and paid advertising. What are these marketing channels all about, how much do they cost and most importantly… which is the right choice for promoting your business?
So if you’re wondering which marketing channel has the edge in the content marketing vs paid advertising battle royale, keep reading!
What is content marketing?
Content marketing is about creating and publishing content online, so you get more leads and sales for your business.
Examples of content marketing include:
- Blogs
- Landing pages
- Infographics
- Videos
- Webinars
- Emails
- eBooks
- White papers
- Podcasts
- Social media posts
If you’re creating content to reach your target audience, increase brand awareness, and get more sales, you’re doing content marketing right!
According to HubSpot, 40% of marketers say content marketing is a vital part of their overall marketing strategy. We’ll look at some of the benefits content marketing can bring to your business later on in this article.
What is paid advertising?
Paid advertising is all about taking advantage of online advertising networks in order to raise brand awareness and get people to buy your products and services.
Google Ads is probably the best example when it comes to paid advertising. If you search for a keyword or phrase on Google, you’ll notice the promoted results at the top of the page. Businesses pay money every time someone clicks on one of their ads.
You can also utilise paid advertising on social media networks too. Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn all offer advertising opportunities to businesses.
Find out whether Google Ads or paid social ads are right for your business.
So content marketing vs paid advertising is essentially SEO and PPC marketing?
Yep! SEO is all about optimising your content to rank as high in the search engines as possible, while PPC (pay-per-click) marketing concerns advertising on platforms like Google Ads.
You might also hear content marketing vs paid advertising referred to as ‘free content vs paid content’. While content marketing isn’t technically free, it’s a lot cheaper than PPC marketing.
Content marketing vs paid advertising: the pros and cons
All marketing channels have their distinct advantages and disadvantages. Content marketing and paid advertising are fantastic in some ways, but others? Eh, not so much.
If you’re looking for an SEO vs PPC comparison, you’re in the right place!
The advantages and disadvantages of content marketing
It’s cost-effective
The main advantage of content marketing is that it’s low cost and no cost. Even the smallest companies with the tiniest marketing budgets can create high-quality content that people want to access.
Even if money is involved, for example, you hire a copywriter to create an eBook, or pay for studio time to record a podcast; these are one-off costs. Conversely, with paid advertising, you must make regular payments to ensure your ads show to the right people.
There are lots of different options
As we looked at earlier in this article, there are many different ways you can do content marketing.
No matter your industry or target audience, you can find the perfect medium to suit your needs.
Thinking of starting a blog? Here’s how you can plan months of titles in eight easy steps!
You need to make sure your content stands out
Content marketing is great as it’s cheap and easy to create. However, this means that a lot of content is being pushed out on a regular basis.
Here’s a staggering statistic for you. Over six million blog posts are published per day. Yep, this one included! So it’s essential to make sure any content you create stands out for the right reasons.
The key to successful content marketing is understanding what you want to achieve and implementing the right approach. It’s better to create and publish one exceptional piece of content that your target audience loves, rather than fifty so-so pieces of content that no one wants to read.
It takes time to work
While it would be fantastic if you could create a blog post, hit the ‘publish’ button, kick back, and wait for those leads to roll in; unfortunately content marketing takes time to work.
If you want your content to rank in the search engines, you can typically expect to wait between six to twelve months to see the right results. You may have to wait even longer if you operate in a competitive industry like property or legal.
Are the benefits long-lasting and worth the wait? Of course – we’ve got the results to prove it.
However, if your manager wants leads and wants them now, then you might need to take a different approach.
The advantages and disadvantages of paid marketing
There are a range of ad types
Content marketing provides you with lots of flexibility and the fantastic thing is… so does paid advertising!
You can choose from a wide range of different platforms, as well as types of ads. For example, if you opt for Google Ads you can use:
- Search ads
- Display/retargeting ads
- Video ads
- In-app ads
- Shopping ads
Many paid ad platforms offer A/B testing, so you can try two different ad types and see which works best for your needs.
You can find new customers
The fantastic thing about paid advertising is that you can use it to target customers that might not have heard of you before. This amplifies your brand and puts you in front of a completely new target audience.
Social media advertising, like Facebook, is perfect for this. You not only choose the age, gender, and location of the people you want to show your ad to, but you can also target them by hobbies and interests!
You have to ‘pay to play’
Setting up paid advertising is amazing. You create an ad campaign, and all of a sudden, you’re at the top of Google! Life is good.
However, what happens when you run out of money? Back down the search engine rankings you go.
Paid advertising can become very expensive, especially if you’re not sure what you’re doing or in a competitive industry. One misstep, and you could end up paying through the nose for a click.
The good news is that you can minimise the amount you spend by keeping an eye on your analytics and setting a budget, so you don’t get a nasty surprise at the end of the month.
Plus, remember that a specialist paid advertising agency (like us!) can ensure you get a good return on ad spend.
People can tune out ads
It’s estimated that the average person can see up to 10,000 ads a day, with the vast majority of these being online. As a result, prospective customers may start to ignore any paid advertising you show them.
As a rule of thumb, people are more likely to trust organic content as they choose to look at it rather than having it forced upon them.
There is also the risk that the ads you serve are clicked on by people you don’t want to target. Get the wording or imagery wrong, and you could end up with a lot of wasted clicks.
Should I use content marketing or paid advertising for my business?
When it comes to content marketing vs paid advertising, many people assume it has to be one or the other.
You have to stake your flag firmly in one camp and stand by your decision… or do you?
There’s nothing to stop you from using both. For example, let’s say you’ve created a terrific white paper to help get more leads for your business. You could promote it using paid advertising to put it in front of people who otherwise might not have been aware of it.
Of course, there are times when it’s best to use content marketing and best to use paid advertising. If you have a small budget and aren’t worried about timeframes, then content marketing is the best option. On the other hand, if you need leads in a rush and don’t mind paying for them, then you’re an ideal candidate for paid advertising.
Bubblegum Search: your paid advertising and content marketing experts
Now you should know the definition of content marketing, have a clear definition of what PPC is, and understand the difference between SEO and PPC marketing.
You’re hopefully one step closer to creating a small business marketing plan that really generates results!
Whether you want to take advantage of content marketing, paid advertising, or implement both into your marketing strategy, we’re here to help.
Our digital marketing experts will review your website, check out your competitors, and create a sizzling-hot marketing strategy that amplifies your reach, all while keeping costs low.Interested? Get your free marketing plan today and take the first step towards seeing your sales skyrocket!