What is Copywriting and Why Should it Matter to Every Marketer?

When you’re in marketing – be it as a business owner, an employee for a digital marketing company or even as a social media influencer – you’ll hear the word “copywriting” quite a bit. But what is copywriting exactly? The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines a copywriter as “a writer of advertising or publicity copy.”

The reality is that copywriting goes much further than advertising and publicity. It’s as critical to the quality of your brand message as oxygen is for breathing.  With that said, making sure that any copy tied to your brand is impeccably written could mean the difference between life and death for your business.

Here are some of the areas that should receive extra care when it comes to your business’ copy.

Branding Definition

Giving your brand an identity that garners your target audience’s trust and loyalty requires strategic copywriting. From the very beginning of your company’s existence, you’ll need to establish a branding definition that sets the right tone.

Any well-designed brand has a voice. A marketer must create some kind of narrative in order to construct a personality that customers can relate to. If your customers can relate to your brand, their affinity is less likely to ever diminish.

Exceptional storytelling is at the core of that personification and cannot prevail without consistent copywriting.

Social Media Strategy

Most social media platforms allow for a more informal approach. So if you’re allowed to be more casual, what is copywriting’s significance in your social media strategy?

As previously mentioned, consistent storytelling is key when it comes to pushing your brand message. Your copywriting tactics should focus on all aspects of your social media strategy, not just the posts. Maintaining the same copywriting approach in your direct messages and replies to comments will help authenticate the brand definition you’ve devised.

Online Marketing

Ever since the Internet became available to the average household, online marketing has been an essential part of promoting a business. A quick Google search can tell a prospect everything they need to know about your company. For every bad impression you make, you’ll lose a potential customer.

So what is copywriting’s role in online marketing? Everything.

• SEO Copywriting

To begin with, when prospects search for a service or product that you offer, you’ll want to be one of the first companies that appear in their Google search. To accomplish this, you’ll need proper SEO copywriting. Search engine optimization goes beyond selecting the right keywords. You’ll need to implement them into your copy in a way that effectively delivers the information you want to send.

Think about the motions you go through when searching on Google. Do you take your time to read through every result? Probably not. This is why having well-thought out SEO copywriting is crucial. You have a brief moment to capture each prospect’s attention or risk losing them forever.

• Email Marketing

You’ll be presented with a similar scenario when it comes to email marketing. Concise and captivating copywriting is the foundation of email marketing best practices.

Beginning with the email subject line, you’ll need to write something so irresistible that it will make the recipient stop and opening your email. Once they’ve opened the email, you’ll need to keep the body content short and sweet. Write just enough to convince them to take the next step, as directed by you, but not too much. Otherwise, they’ll lose interest and you’ll lose your chance at a sale.

E-commerce Marketing

With physical storefronts vanishing at rapid rates, E-commerce has increasingly become a major player in the retail market. If you are an Amazon seller or have an online store, you’ll want to ensure that your E-commerce marketing produces traffic and high conversion rates.

When making buying decisions, customers are influenced by more than just the image and price of the products you are selling. How you describe the items you’re selling can make or break their interest. Using the right methodology when grouping your words and sentences together is a fundamental part of e-commerce marketing.

Additionally, SEO copywriting will, yet again, come into play when composing your e-commerce marketing. The two work together, hand in hand, to help increase the visibility of your online store and its products. If you execute your copywriting well, you’ll raise your chances of outshining your competitors.

By having a better understanding and appreciation for what copywriting is, you’ll recognize that it is imperative to the health of your business. Once you’ve accepted this reality, be sure to revolve your marketing strategy around good copy to maximize your earning potential.