Content Marketing and Sponsored Content: How to Find the Balance

Experts weigh in on how content marketing and sponsored content work together for similar yet distinct marketing goals, and how to balance the two. Content marketing is an imperative these days, and companies are getting creative with its forms and functions, but many marketers are still confused by the myriad of terms floating around. While terms like sponsored content and native advertising can be used interchangeably, marketers need to draw a clear distinction—both in their minds and in their marketing plans—between sponsored content and  content marketing.  The Definitions “Native advertising [aka sponsored content] is when a brand is partnering with a publisher and producing content on a publisher’s platform,” says Joe Pulizzi, founder of the Cleveland-based Content Marketing Institute. “Content marketing inherently is organic, not pay to play. You promote your own content on your own content platform, your own website or blog post.”