If you’re trying to find the best marketing solution for your brand in 2022, you might have considered different avenues such as content marketing or paid advertising. However, it’s plain to see that content marketing is everywhere these days.
But this strategy requires a constant, consistent effort, so it is often beneficial to partner with the best marketing agencies in London. Paid advertising sounds easier in many ways and is the more traditional way to go about marketing.
So how do you decide which method is more effective for your brand?
What is Content Marketing?
Content marketing involves the distribution of branded content across various platforms. It’s a long-term strategy that provides value to customers hoping that they will think of your brand when the need for a similar product arises. In addition, content can make your brand appear an authority in your field and lend you credibility.
There are many types of content marketing, including:
- Email marketing
- Video marketing
- Social media marketing
- Blogs
- Visual content
What is Paid Advertising?
Paid Advertising campaigns help companies reach larger audiences with their ads. The brand pays to have its ad distributed via different channels. The principle is the same as renting a billboard in a busy street when print advertising was more commonplace. Businesses hope that their customers will see an ad and be tempted to click.
Again, there are different types of paid advertising, such as:
- Pay per Click (PCP)
- Social Media Advertising
- Google Adwords
The Pros and Cons of Content Marketing and Paid Advertising
Here are the advantages and disadvantages of both methods to offer a quick comparison.
Content Marketing Pros
- Content marketing is cheap. You can run a blog for free and post on social media.
- It’s often a better way to build a relationship with customers and get them interested in your brand for more than just your product.
- Content marketing builds customer loyalty and engagement.
- You can continuously build more traffic to your site and widen your audience.
- Content marketing has proven highly effective. 53% of marketers say their brand’s revenue increased after focusing on content marketing.
Content Marketing Cons
- Content marketing takes a while to become effective
- You need to pour inconsistent time and effort to produce more content
- It often takes skilled content marketers to achieve the best results through market research and SEO
- Only appeals to the right audiences on the right platforms
- Making content stand out is difficult and takes a novel and persistent approach
Paid Advertising Pros
- Paid advertising is simple. Setting up a campaign is quick and easy and doesn’t require you to produce more materials regularly.
- You can Pay Per Click and therefore be assured a certain number of visitors.
- You can easily reach a large audience quickly using widespread distribution channels.
- You can programmatically target niche audiences, locations and demographics.
Paid Advertising Cons
- Standing out with paid ads is hard because consumers get bombarded with ads every day.
- Paid ads rarely build an engaged audience on their own, as they don’t communicate much value
- They can get expensive
When to Use…
Content Marketing: Establish a content marketing strategy for your business to attract and engage loyal customers over the long term. Partnering with ad agencies in London can help kickstart your system as experts will be able to help you build unique and stand-out content. Content marketing is cheap or even free and perfect for small businesses and even freelancers.
Paid Advertising:
- Use paid advertising to raise general brand awareness when setting a marketing budget.
- Support sales and promotions with paid ads.
- Use these to target a specific audience.
Final Thoughts
Both paid ads and content marketing have significant places in a successful marketing strategy. However, you need marketing experts to find the right balance between these different methods. ZAK is a creative ad agency in London that helps unique brands win loyal customers. Visit our website to learn more, or get in touch for a chat.
