Content Creator vs Content Marketer: The Key Differences

The world of content creation knows no bounds – nowadays it’s possible for anyone to create top-quality content that drives engagement and gets results! What’s more, you can explore a wide range of mediums, programming and tools that aid you in your creation journey.

However, it is important to keep in mind that there is a key difference between content creation and content marketing. These two role titles are often used interchangeably, but they actually refer to two different job functions within the wider world of creative marketing.

In this blog post, we’ll explain the key differences between content marketing and content creation so you are confident about each role’s responsibilities and main areas of expertise. If you’re considering a career as a content creator or marketer, read on to learn more about which one is right for you.

Defining content creation and content marketing

While both content marketers and creators are responsible for creating and distributing content, there are some critical differences between the two roles.

Content creation

Anyone working in content creation will primarily be focused on the production of content for a particular purpose. It could be informative, educational, promotional, entertaining or otherwise, but a content creator is responsible for taking an idea and converting it into a piece of content that will resonate with a specific target audience and get engagement.

As you will probably have guessed, a content creator’s skillset also tends to lie mainly with artistic and creative responsibilities. The content creator essentially creates anything that goes out onto the internet such as websites, social media platforms, blogs, press releases and so on – and can include things like written blog posts, diagrams and data charts, illustrations, images, videos, and product information and promotions.

Independent content creators – similar to influencers – use their platforms to share their own independent content on topics they’re interested in. They don’t create content on behalf of a brand or business, but they could get brand deals or get on brands’ PR lists and end up creating brand sponsored content.

Creating content is, therefore, no easy task. It involves taking rough ideas and transforming them into captivating, attention-grabbing content that people would want to engage with.

How Lickd can help:

At Lickd, we’re no strangers to the challenges that content creators can face on a daily basis. We work to make your life easier by providing you with access to better music and even mainstream music so you can create engaging content for your audience and grow your following. With Lickd, you get:

Unlimited usage of 100k royalty-free tracks
Ability to license mainstream tracks from big name artists like David Guetta, Justin Bieber and Lizzo!
Protection from copyright claims and YouTube demonetization
Music for all social platforms

If you’re interested in learning more about being an independent content creator, read our guide on how to become a content creator here.

Content marketing

A content marketer’s main objective is to generate results for a brand or business through content marketing efforts such as marketing campaigns and the careful planning of content calendars throughout the year. This means they must be strategic in their approach and always think about how their content can help reach a business’s overarching goals, both in terms of industry reputation and turnover.

Content marketers often work as part of a team who together are responsible for building an effective content marketing strategy. This includes things like written content, editorial calendars, conducting keyword research, analyzing engagement data against key metrics, optimizing content management systems, leveraging influencer marketing and more.

The top priority of content marketing is attracting potential customers by understanding their target audience. They must figure out the best way to solve their audience’s problems, all while staying relevant.

Content marketing professionals must have strong analytical skills to measure their success and optimize their campaigns accordingly through mediums like Google Analytics, LinkedIn, Semrush and whatever content management system they are using to distribute content amongst their audiences.

The cross-over

Content marketers often work in close collaboration with content creators (and vice versa) to ensure that overall, a content strategy is coherent, targeted, and optimized to generate audience engagement. Together, a content marketer could decide to work with a content creator as part of influencer marketing/or brand sponsorship campaign.

Throughout the content creation process, content marketers and content creators work coherently. It is the content creator’s role to produce content that is eye-catching, engaging and most importantly, will keep people coming back. Teamed up with a content marketer, their job is to get the content seen on a handful of platforms, and engaged with.

Each utilizes a specific set of skills, skills that are not so far apart but ones that sway different results. Successful content strategies will leverage the specific skills and capabilities of both roles in order to maximize effectiveness using a range of content formats, content assets and audience insights.

Skills needed for each

A significant difference in skills exists between these two jobs. Let’s take a look at the skills required for both.

Content creators

Content creators have to wear many different hats, as they are essentially a one-man band (until you get big enough to hire editors and videographers to do things for you at least!). Content creators generally start out on their own and so need to do absolutely everything in the process themselves, from ideation to creation, editing and ultimately marketing. Luckily, you’ll learn a lot of this as you go along, so don’t be put off if you can’t do most of these things yet. Most content creators started in the exact same position as you!

Below are a few of the skills you’ll need to get started as a content creator:

Writing – content creators must have strong writing abilities in order to compose compelling copy that’s appropriate for a wide range of different platforms and purposes. Blog posts, for example, will likely have a completely different tone and structure to a post on Instagram. A content writer will need to have a good understanding of how their target audiences consume content and structure their writing accordingly.
Drawing and graphic designing – content creators can sometimes be the visual leads for full marketing campaigns if not entire content marketing strategies. They must be confident and capable when it comes to drawing digital content assets like video thumbnails, illustrations, diagrams, graphs, logos and typography.
Taking and editing photos – effective social content utilizes imagery when possible, so content creators need to be able to take and edit high-quality photos to support their objectives. Photo editing software can be a massive help in this respect and there is a wide range of tools available that creators can utilize to improve their work.
Video shooting and editing – video content is one of the most effective types of digital media, generating higher engagement rates than any other type of content. For this reason, content creators should be able to shoot and edit videos for a range of different purposes – informational, entertainment, promotional and so on. They must also understand the importance of adding relevant, high-quality music to their videos to optimize overall professionalism.
SEO – having a basic understanding of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is essential for content creators as it allows them to make sure that any content they create is going to perform as well as possible in SERPs. SEO knowledge can also help with the ideation processes, as keyword research can assist in generating ideas for new content topics based on what a target audience is searching for.
Content ideation – This may seem obvious, but content ideation is a crucial skill for content creators as it means they can produce unique and valuable content that stands out in a crowded digital space. It helps them tap into their audience’s needs and expectations and create entertaining content that’s a hit. Solid content ideation skills link back to what we said about SEO. A talented content creator will be able to come up with ideas that satisfy both their platform’s algorithm, and their audience’s needs.
Data analysis – Data analysis is vital for content creators as it provides valuable insights into how well their content is performing. By analyzing data, creators can understand what resonates with their audience, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions to optimize their content strategy. It helps in measuring key metrics such as engagement, conversion rates, and audience demographics, enabling creators to refine their content that audiences are going to love. Check out our guide on reading your YouTube analytics, which of course explains how YouTube’s analytics tools work, but also why analytics are important and how to use them to your advantage.

Content marketers

Strong written and verbal communication skills are crucial to promoting content effectively. You need to be able to sell your ideas and get buy-in from others using social media posts, blog posts or articles. You may also need to repurpose blog content on occasion, so having the ability to rephrase written content is key.
You must be comfortable using various tools and technologies to reach your chosen audience through social media channels. These include content management systems with integrated reporting functionalities.
Experience with data analysis is beneficial to help you determine what’s working and what isn’t so that you can constantly optimize your efforts. Tracking your organic traffic and rankings in search engines will be crucial to ensuring you’re able to consistently improve the content creation process.
You must be proficient in developing a good marketing strategy using the fundamentals of marketing, campaign management, and business development. You should also be able to reflect on the performance of past campaigns and work to improve efforts in the future.
As a content marketer, you’ll need to manage the interests of many different stakeholders, so excellent communication skills are key. You may need to hold client calls, build relationships with media outlets and journalists as well as help internal teams to work together effectively.

Different tools used

As a content creator, you have many tools at your disposal to help you create high-quality content. These tools range from simple editing software to more complex content management systems.

A great tool that enhances content creation is having easy access to music (including licenses for mainstream music!). Lickd gives content creators the ability to finally be able to use mainstream tracks in video content, without paying thousands of dollars or losing all ad revenue to copyright claims.

Here’s a list of the things you should consider when choosing what kind of music should you use for your videos.

The genre of music should match the tone of your video. If your video is light and fun, then choose a light and fun genre of music. If your video is more serious, choose a more somber genre of music.
The tempo of the music should match the pace of your video. If your video is fast-paced, then select a faster-tempo song. If your video is slower-paced, then choose a slower-tempo song.
You need to know what budget you have and then pick a song that fits into that budget.
You need to figure out if the song you want will be for background music or storytelling.

Lickd offers all of the above and you can even check it out for yourself today with a free trial! If you’d like some inspiration on music, check out this roundup of the best songs for Youtube videos.

Or, if you’re a content marketer in need of music for your latest branded content, please get in touch with us here.

As a content marketer, you also have various tools available to help you promote and distribute your content. These tools include social media platforms, email marketing campaigns, paid advertising and pay-per-click advertising.

Both marketers and creators need to be aware of the different tools available to them and how to use them to achieve their goals efficiently and effectively.

What is a YouTube content creator?

With YouTube being the world’s second-biggest search engine (Google taking the top spot), content creators use YouTube to reach huge audiences and increase engagement massively.

YouTube content creators are all striving to be experts in producing quality video content that is optimized to generate high levels of interest among a target audience. The types of content they create include vlogs, how-to guides, podcasts, travel videos, product reviews, educational videos, entertainment and much, much more. As a YouTube content creator, your ultimate goal is to grow your channel and engage with your audience as effectively as possible.

But, building a successful YouTube channel requires high-quality content…which is far easier said than done. Creating videos and animations that people actually enjoy watching is tricky, but there are things that you can use to help optimize how your content performs.

The best tools for YouTube content creators depend on the type of channel you have and your target audiences, as some content niches will need specific editing or post-production software in order to achieve a polished, professional finish.

FAQs

Is content creation part of marketing?

Content creation can be its standalone activity, but it also often falls under the umbrella of marketing. Ideally, the two teams or individuals should work collaboratively alongside one another to develop strong marketing campaigns that utilize the best possible content to grow audiences. Wider content marketing teams might include a content creator, content writer, content strategist, marketing executive, social media manager and brand manager.

What platforms and apps can Lickd be used on?

YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Twitch
TikTok
Snapchat
Vimeo
LinkedIn

Please note: Almost the entire mainstream music catalog can be used on YouTube, but not all tracks can be used on every social platform. Just make sure to check the license agreement to see what platforms each track can be used on! Our stock music catalog can be used on every single social media platform, no problem.

What does a content marketer do?

They create and manage a company’s overall voice and content strategy. They develop and oversee all content initiatives, from blog posts and social media updates to e-books and white papers.

Are digital marketing and content creation the same?

Digital marketing and content creation are two very different things. Content creation is the process of creating original content, while digital marketing is the process of marketing that content online.