Copywriting is a style of writing that is used to promote a business or product. Copywriters use their skill set and experience to create compelling and persuasive content that can drive the desired conversions. In this article, we’ll define corporate copywriting, give insights into the process, and offer three reasons why copywriting is important for businesses.
If you already know about corporate copywriting and its many different forms, click here to skip to the heart of the article: 3 reasons why copywriting is important.
What is Corporate Copywriting?
Corporate copywriting is the art and science of crafting persuasive, compelling, and interesting marketing materials. At its core, copywriting is all about understanding human psychology – using empathy to create influential content.
Good copywriting can be the difference between a successful marketing campaign and an unsuccessful one. It can make the difference between a customer choosing your product or service over your competitor’s. In short, copywriting is one of the most important skills you can have in business.
There are many types of copywriting, from website copy to email marketing to sales letters and social media. But all good copy has one thing in common: it’s written with the reader in mind. It’s grabs attention, keeps people engaged, and ultimately persuades them to take action.
Types of Corporate Copywriting
As we touched on, copywriting is the process of creating marketing materials, such as advertisements, brochures, and website content.
There are many forms of specialized copy, but the basic principle of each is the same: understand the audience and their goals (heavily influenced by the medium they’re reading through) as well as the company and its goals. If you can mesh these goals and optimize for SEO (or the platform in question), you have what it takes to be a copywriter.
The most common types of copywriting include:
Advertising copy
This genre of copy generates interest in a product or service to persuade potential customers to click through and buy it. The goal is to communicate to the reader (in as few words as possible) why they need to click on the ad to learn more.
TL;DR: It should be eye-catching, punchy, and memorable.
Website copy
Website copy is the static text on a website or landing page. It’s concise, clear, and engaging.
The goal of website copy is multi-fold. At a minimum, it communicates who the company is and why the reader should care to encourage the desired action (like keep reading, join our email list, make a purchase, or give us a call, for example), and to comply with SEO best practices.
TL;DR: It should be engaging, entertaining, and addressed to the audience.
Blog copy
Blog copy is the genre of copy that focuses on articles and blog posts. To optimize a website’s blog copy, you’ll need to have a blog/content plan, keyword research, and relevant expertise on the topic.
The goal of blog copy is to expand SEO keywords, engage the reader, create a positive brand experience, and build credibility for the website that hosts it.
TL;DR: It should be SEO-optimized, keyword enriched, and valuable to the end reader.
Social copy
Social copy is corporate copy written for the different social media platforms. This style of writing varies drastically by platform.
Regardless of the platform, you’ll need to match the audience’s energy/purpose for using it. Here are some examples:
- LinkedIn is a professional platform. The audience on this platform is most active during business hours (and just before or after). They’re in a business mindset. This means that they’re looking for things like relevant connections, tips to make the workday more productive, insights that help them move up in their career, feel-good stories to brighten their day, motivation, thought leadership, etc.
Your copy should be punchy, use lots of space to draw the eye downward (encouraging continued reading), and entice engagement. - Instagram is a personal platform. The audience on Instagram scrolls for little bursts of serotonin. They generally want to see inspiring, beautiful, aspirational, and attainable content (recipes that look delicious, homes that look beautiful, travel destinations they want to visit, quotes and captions that inspire them to be their best).
Your copy should hook readers in with the first two lines (above the “read more”) and entice them to keep reading or take action (like share, save, click, or follow).
The socials are all unique, so my advice is to spend time on them as a consumer first. See what goes viral and why, see what copy draws you in, make note of how it makes you feel, and see for yourself how you can best show up on that platform.
Email copy
Email copy cultivates relationships with potential and current customers by providing them with valuable information or special offers. The most important lines of the email are the email title (you need them to open the email for it to be worth anything!) and opening sentences. Most people have busy inboxes and only have time to skim their email for the best tidbits.
The goals of email copy vary depending on the audience’s familiarity with the company. If they’re recent subscribers, the goal is to keep them subscribed, get them more familiar with the company, and build positive brand experiences. If they’re familiar with the company already, the goal becomes loyalty and conversion.
TL;DR: It should focus on the customer’s position in the marketing funnel, be interesting, and skimmable.
Ghostwriting
This type of copy is writing done on behalf of another person or company. It typically carries their name or brand as the named author. Ghostwritten materials can include articles, blog posts, speeches, and books. The writer embodies the named author and creates content in their style.
The goal of ghostwriting is usually to build the credibility of the named author/company, free up some of their time, optimize for SEO, and/or to expand their subject expertise.
TL;DR: Customize your copy for the named author, embody their personality/perspective/tone, and be goal-oriented.
3 Reasons Why Copywriting is Important
Now that you understand the basics about some of the different types of copy, let’s discuss why corporate copywriting is important for businesses. Whether you’re a business owner trying to understand why you should invest in copywriting, or a future copywriter trying to understand your place, this section will detail the importance of corporate and professional copywriting.
SEO
63% of customer journeys begin online.
Think about that.
That means the majority of your customers are probably already searching for you. You don’t have to go door to door to find them.
But you do need to be there when they’re searching.
A professional copywriter knows how to impress the Google bots and your customers at the same time. Copywriters keep SEO (search engine optimization) top of mind as they wordsmith their way through your content.
Whether it’s a blog post, static copy, or a LinkedIn piece, every piece has a way to optimize for searchability. Why is copywriting important? Because a copywriter gets the right eyes on your content and encourages valuable action.
Copy is Neutral and Customer-Focused
Imagine, as a business owner, that you’ve been working on your company for years. You’ve poured your blood, sweat, and tears into it.
Your passion creates a bias. One that comes across in your writing.
With corporate copywriting, it’s important to have a neutral party who can see things from the customer’s perspective. A professional copywriter’s job is to help you find that value and communicate it in a way that resonates with your target audience. They can also help you avoid over-sharing or focusing on the things you’re most excited about because you’re thinking about them every day.
Good copy gets your audience the information most compelling to them. Period.
Copywriting is Important Because it’s Your Brand
A brand is more than just a name or logo. It’s an emotional and psychological connection between a company and its customers. A strong brand can build customer loyalty, create an edge over the competition, and drive growth. It’s one of the most important assets a company can have.
A brand represents the promise of a company to its customers.
It’s the sum of all the interactions a customer has with a company, from their first encounter with the company’s marketing to using the product or service to interacting with customer service. A strong brand builds trust, credibility, and loyalty. And when customers are loyal to a brand, they’re more likely to recommend it to others, which drives growth.
A professional writer can help create consistency across all of your company’s communications, from website content to email newsletters to social media posts. By clearly articulating your brand’s mission and values, a professional writer can ensure that every touchpoint reflects the same message.
This consistent messaging will help build trust with potential customers and create a more recognizable brand. In addition, a professional writer can help you establish guidelines for future content creation, ensuring that your brand always remains on message. With the help of a professional copywriter, you can establish and take your brand to the next level.
Closing Thoughts
Why is copywriting important? Because it pays off.
By skillfully combining a marketing mindset, empathy for the customer journey, business and platform context, an understanding of SEO, and persuasive writing skills, copywriting is one of the most valuable skills out there.
Click to get my free guide and template: how to write an SEO-optimized article.
