Intro

A rainbow comes with seven colors and content comes with endless roles that keep expanding day by day. If this indicates anything, it would be the vital role content is playing in all fields of business and life. Be it for entertainment purposes, educational purposes, marketing purposes, informative purposes, or any other. Content is the protagonist of any movie you watch today no matter where you watch it or the genre it falls under. Anything that you hear, watch, and talk about is based on content that you have interacted with either intentionally or unintentionally through ads and casual conversations with friends. In a way, this indicates that content, not only is important but also that the majority now is aware of this fact. Thus, they’re putting giant efforts into content plans, content writers, and content materials to engage with the world. And truth said this is very uplifting because learning how crucial something is and actually investing time and resources to make it happen are two different matters. Okay, so today we realize that not only content experts understand the need for having well-crafted content, but also non-experts in this field. However, with all fields getting involved with one another, some vague lines started to be drawn about concepts related to content. One of which is the term content creation. Content creation is not the same as content writing, copywriting, or any other field of writing that you may have heard of. While it does in fact cross the road with some writing fields as part of how it works and functions, it’s not a writer’s duty to be a content creator as a matter of fact. Hence, today’s article will draw the line between both terms clearly and explain where common misunderstandings usually stem from. So that, the next time someone confuses them, you can tell them right to their face that no misconceptions about content-related topics are spreading on your watch!

What is Content Writing?

Content writing is a primary field of writing where the writer’s job is to write material that aims to inform, educate, and get the user to engage with your brand. Some people use the term to refer to writers who only do the aforementioned goals, while others expand it to include other fields of writing like copywriting, creative writing, and ghostwriting. As they believe that content writing is the main tree while these are the branches. To cut short to the chase, the person in charge of this job has one job and that is to write content, regardless of the goals or the fields they cover. Their job is to play with words and tweak them to get results.

What is Content Creation?

Content creation is a broad term that was generated when the social media wave started. As platforms similar to Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube started spreading at a fast pace. People started showing a huge interest in these platforms and soon businesses realized the need to have an online presence there as well. Thus, this generated a new form of marketing known as digital marketing. Which aims to market a brand through digital platforms to increase reach and engagement. This could be done via digital content that users can watch and interact with from phones, tablets, laptops, or any other electronic device that allows them to do so. What does this have to do with content creation? It does. Content creation is all about creating content that relies on visual elements. Therefore, it can’t be without videos, ads, podcasts, reels, infographics, memes, blogs, interviews, and much more. The main point is that content creation does not rely on having text-based content only. If anything, the written content is part of it and helps build the core ideas for the ideation stage. However, when it comes to the creation and publishing stages, it will require you to use visually interactive content. Let’s explain more by comparing what a content writer and a content creator do.

What is The Difference Between Content Writers and Content Creators?

Content writers aim to write and inform as previously explained, but content creators don’t necessarily have to do that. It’s true that you may find someone who does both, therefore, being a content creator and a content writer. But that’s not always the case. Content creators usually find ways to market already written content. For example, if they were to advertise a perfume for a brand, in most cases the ad’s content material will be written by a copywriter, and then the content creator will find their touch to bring that written material to life. Content creators are known to the public such as social media influencers since their job requires them to be in the spotlight. On the other hand, content writers don’t. They can write a brilliant hit idea for a video or a reel but never be known to the public. This is because their job is to document the idea while it’s the creators’ job to showcase it. So, behind the scenes, you’ll find writers, but in front of the cameras, you’ll find content creators ready to tell and sell. What they both have in common is the possibility of hiring them on a freelance basis, or by contracting with an agency. You see, content creators just like writers may also be managed by an entertainment agency, and therefore to work with them you’ll have to go through the process of negotiating with their manager in charge. You may find content creators who are ready to come up with their own strategies that go hand in hand with your goals, or you may share your strategy with them and they’ll come up with amazing ideas to sell it. Content creators just like content writers may cover various fields or one only. Hence, you may find a content creator who only creates content on YouTube but not on Instagram and Facebook for instance. Or you may find someone who is willing to create a special content plan for you on various platforms. While content creation originally means any produced content that is originally created, the term’s use has changed now with the social media wave. That’s why when someone says “content creator” they most probably refer to someone with a digital platform presence. In a nutshell, content writing is a tool to help present content creators, and content creation is a marketing strategy that brings light to brands’ objectives with the help of a content writer.

Which One is Better?

Not all businesses need content creators especially if we consider the modern definition of it which refers to social media influencers. All businesses, however, need content writers whether they choose to hire content creators in the future or not. Content creators work on bringing more publicity to the brand’s image and this will make it easier for users and potential customers to remember it. That’s why it’s highly connected to digital marketing in most cases. Content writing, on the contrary, could serve multiple purposes besides advertising and publicity as it aims to connect the brand with its customers in a more informative and authentic way. So, it’s really up to your company’s niche and the target you have in mind. Just bear in mind that content creators tend to set very high prices, sometimes even unreasonable because not everyone is ready to stand in front of screens as they do. Thus, if you’re not willing to gamble your money on content creators who may or may not bring you the views, likes, follows, or purchases that you want, it’s probably a better idea to invest your money in a content marketing plan that doesn't require having a content creator for it to run.

Conclusion

Content writing and content creation have distinctive features that set them apart. While the first is concerned with written material and text-based content, the latter is more concerned with using various forms of multimedia content that may include written content as part of its strategy, but, not all of it. Content writers focus on optimization to bring the best results to an ad campaign or a blog post on a website, but content creators focus on following up with the latest trends on social media platforms and being fast to hop on it before it ends. So, it’s more like tick tock on the clock for them to come up with something that fits the trends without making it appear out of place.