There are A LOT of different words and terms thrown about whenever you see articles or content created about digital content and marketing. Some use the terms as they are an essential part of their vocabulary. Others use this enhanced language to sound more professional or even confuse and intimidate non-professional people. We have always found it a better practice to say what things are in a way that is easy to understand and makes the most sense. Hopefully, that is what this description of digital content and marketing does for you.

What Is Digital Content and How Is It Different

To answer the primary question, what is digital content? It is simply anything created for display on a computer or device. Such a definition encaptures a lot of different things. Anything viewed on a desktop, tablet, or mobile device is digital content for this context.

  • News Articles
  • PDF Files
  • Ebooks
  • Pictures
  • Videos
  • Social Media Posts/Ads
  • Email
  • General/Focused Information

With this shortlist of different types of content, it is easy to see that virtually anything created can be digital content. Even content created for print, such as brochures, newspaper articles, books, business cards, and more, has the potential to be digital content.

That same flexibility holds for content created or produced for digital display. Given an appropriate printer, a picture, virtual card, brochure, or any other type of content morphs from digital to print content. Digital Content means how it is displayed and not necessarily a unique creation.

Is Digital Content the Same or Different as Print Content

It would not be fair if the broad definition of digital content remained. There are a lot of different varieties of content. Digital and Print content has additional format requirements depending on how the content is delivered.

There are differences when writing for newspapers or magazines. The way it is displayed affects subtleties such as choice and size of the font, pictures, and graphics have different sizes and color choices available when created for various printing methods.

These same variables are also valid for digital content. Content intended for a blog, an online magazine, or a book has the same restrictions for font size, choice, and writing length. When content is created for social media platforms, those requirements become stricter. Pictures that fit well for Facebook are not compatible with Instagram, for example.

It is true that creating content for print and digital are precisely the same but different. All content is created or altered to fit the way best and through what media type it is intended to be viewed but is not necessarily restricted to that style.

The Digital Content Marketing World

Content is defined as digital or print by the display. Content creators often are simply creating content and only follow standards. Creating content for a particular type of display does not restrict it to that type. It merely ensures that it is properly formatted to fit the criteria and restrictions for that display.

Content marketing is another term that fits into a wide variety of descriptions.

  • Pay Per Click
  • Pay To Display
  • Email List Distribution
  • Inline Linking
  • Social Media

Above are only a few of the different content marketing avenues.  The same content is often displayed in various formats to fit the venue it is promoted in.

Marketing content is the act of promoting the content in different ways. Local Listing Services, for example, is a type of content marketing. These local listing sites promote access to digital content.