Not all copy or content is the same. In business, there are many types of copywriting and each has a different use in a marketing strategy.
Understanding which types of content will attract customers and which are used to grow your brand awareness will inform you of what kinds of copy you need to deploy and when.
The internet is full of content now, so making your brand stand out is a daunting prospect. However, by using written copy and content in the right ways and at the right time, you might find that it goes a long way towards growing your brand awareness.
So, in this post, I'll be covering seven main types of copywriting in digital marketing strategies. These are:
Scroll down to read more, or hit the links above to take you to the sections you want to go to.
Why Copywriting is Vital For Your Business
I've talked before in a previous post about this, so I won't go into too much detail here. Copywriting is an essential part of a digital marketing strategy. Creating high-quality copy encourages potential leads to engage with your business, and convert them into customers.
Great copy, therefore, needs to be implemented across all your marketing channels, whether they are social media posts, email campaigns, or landing pages. Even blog posts, although written as content, come under this umbrella.
For more information on why copywriting is important, check out the post below.
7 Types of Copywriting
1. Direct Response Copywriting
Direct response copywriting does pretty much what it says on the tin; it encourages readers to respond immediately to your message. This response is an action, so the copy surrounding this is also known as the call-to-action (CTA).
The CTA can be found anywhere that requires it. For example, on landing pages, pop-up ads, in the closing section of a blog post, and in social media posts. The CTA calls on the reader to act, such as:
Signing up for a newsletter
Sharing or liking something
Downloading a resource
Buying a product or service
The key to direct response copywriting and writing CTAs is to create a sense of urgency for the reader. They need to perform this action before time runs out, or else they won't receive the benefits of it.
2. SEO Copywriting
Search engine optimisation (SEO) copywriting is used on your website to drive traffic. Through effective use of keywords, appropriate page links, and credibility, your website will rank well on search engines like Google, thus increasing your traffic flow when people search for the key terms you use.
Essentially, SEO copy is written for search engines rather than people. For example, keywords are used in the headings (H1, H2, H3) and the main text body of the website page. This means search engines can index and rank the page effectively.
This form of copywriting is very common, primarily on website pages such as:
Landing pages
Home and service pages
Blog posts
3. Brand Copywriting
Whereas direct response copywriting aims to get an immediate response from the reader and SEO copywriting targets search engines, brand copywriting is somewhat different.
Brand copywriting focuses on the overarching brand of the business, product, or service. A brand aims to be consistent and unique, and the brand copy is a part of that.
Examples of brand copywriting include:
Logos
Slogans
Home and about pages
Instead of getting an immediate physical reaction from readers, such as subscribing to a newsletter, the brand copy should elicit an emotional response. Emotional responses stick with people, so the next time they see a brand that gave them a strong emotional connection, they will remember it.
Brand copy, therefore, needs to be short, with as few words as possible. But these words must be chosen carefully to get that emotional reaction. They need to be powerful and emotional and also match the brand of the business.
To learn more about brand copy and brand voice, check out my blog post below.
4. PR Copywriting
Public Relations (PR) copywriting aims to increase the visibility and publicity of your business through the mainstream media. It's all about getting positive interest and support for your business through PR campaigns, and the copy written for these campaigns is vital.
Examples of PR copywriting include:
Press releases
Business updates or public statements
New product/service launches
Often, businesses will pitch articles or snippets of information to journalists/media outlets, who may then pick up on these and arrange for further interviews. If successful, this increases publicity and awareness of the brand.
5. Technical Copywriting
Technical copywriting is used to break down a difficult and complex topic into writing that is easier for people to understand. If you've heard of the phrase "in layman's terms", then this is exactly it.
Technical copywriting is especially popular in the technological, financial, and medical industries, where a lot of technical words are used that many people outside of those industries may not understand.
Examples of technical copywriting include:
White papers
Blog posts
eBooks
Website and landing pages
By reducing jargon and technical language in these examples, makes the copy easier to read and therefore more likely that potential leads and customers will engage with it.
6. Email Copywriting
Email copywriting shares similar traits to direct response copywriting, but it is more flexible. The kind of marketing email a business wants to send out will dictate the style of the copy.
Some examples of email copywriting include:
Newsletters
Formal business updates (such as privacy policy updates)
Special offers and product/service announcements
Businesses use email marketing to target specific customers or lead through different strategies. For example, leads who sign up for a newsletter will receive a more conversational piece of email copy, along with blog post promotions and updates.
However, promotions and formal business updates will require clear and concise writing that grabs the attention of the reader and draws them towards your product or service.
7. Social Media Copywriting
Social media has had an increasingly important role to play in marketing strategies over the last decade. In fact, according to GlobalWebIndex (GWI), around 54% of social media users use social platforms to research and engage with brands and their products/services.
With this in mind, it's important to recognise that copywriting plays a vital part in a social media marketing strategy. So much so that it has arguably become a more independent type of copywriting.
Social media copy needs to be short and to the point while creating enough information to engage potential customers. More often than not, it will also complement an accompanying image, which alone should be enough to make social browsers stop scrolling.
Twitter is the best example of this. Its character limit of 280 reduces the capacity for long-form social copy, even more so when the previous limit was 140. This meant that brands have to make the most of those characters to get their message across.
Another factor to consider is the tone set on different social platforms. For example, Instagram is an image-based platform with little room for copy and is B2C focused, whereas LinkedIn requires more professional social posts and is B2B focused.
What's Next?
Now that you understand some types of copywriting, it's time to put them into practice for your business. Remember that each one is different and has a place in your digital marketing strategy.
Let's do a quick recap of the types discussed:
Direct Response Copywriting: writing that aims to get an immediate reaction from readers.
SEO Copywriting: writing that targets search engines and makes it easier for them to index.
Brand Copywriting: writing that aims to get an emotional response from readers so they recognise a brand.
PR Copywriting: writing to increase publicity by targeting journalists and news outlets.
Technical Copywriting: writing that simplifies complex topics to make them easier for others to understand.
Email Copywriting: writing in emails that is flexible and is used to target different groups of people.
Social Media Copywriting: writing on social media platforms, again targeting different groups of people.
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