Posted on May 30, 2017 by admin
The Intersection of Social Media and Content Marketing in 2017
How do Social Media and Content Marketing overlap to create a winning marketing strategy? And where do content marketing and social media marketing intersect? Read about the intersection of SEO and content marketing here.
Historically social media and content marketing are products from the same era and have exploded with opportunities right from the beginning. The public opening of Facebook in September 2006 and creation of Content Marketing Institute (CMI) in 2007 indicate the initially shared years of journey. These two digital tools were quickly adopted by enterprises.
According to CMI, 88% of the companies with headquarters in North America are employing Content Marketing and dedicate up to 30% of their budget to CM.
Before delving into the relationship between Content and Social Media Marketing and its relevance to SEO (Like triplets, you cannot separate one with other), I would like to quote Lee Odden’s delicious but effective metaphor which puts everything in the context.
“Social is jelly, SEO is peanut butter, and content marketing is the bread that holds it all together.”
So, if you are up for a tasty sandwich recipe which also gains audience traction, you are right on track by engaging both social media marketing and content marketing together in your digital marketing mix.
Let’s go through the list of FAQs of Social media marketing and content marketing to get you onboard.
Is Content Marketing better than Social Media Marketing or Vice Versa?
It depends. One strategy may lead the way while the other may not be as effective, but in most of the cases, it is about mutual success. Some business models favor social media marketing while others are more inclined towards content marketing.
For example, when I was working on a Fashion Designing Blog, I along with my team tried all our different content marketing spices. But, nothing was working, and we hardly had 500 visitors in a month. And when we were lucky, the number went up to 1,000 visitors. So, we decided to shift the focus to social media marketing, and within 15 days, it clicked. The website had 20,000 visitors in one month, and the numbers kept going up.
Internet marketing is not a horse race and these strategies are not the thoroughbreds.
My Website’s Social Media campaign is more effective, should I stop Content Marketing?
Another way to think about this is are you left-handed or right-handed? Let’s assume you are a right-handed person like most of the people are. You can do things better and quicker with your right hand.
So my question is, will you get your left hand chopped off? Of course, not!
If you are not ready for an amputation because one hand is better than other, why would your digital marketing strategy be cut short? It may sound brutal, but you amputate the digital marketing strategy by stopping one of these marketing techniques. Even when one strategy is driving fewer results in comparison to the other, it plays a supportive role. As the SEO company Los Angeles, here is what we prescribe for our customers.
Should I invest more on Content Marketing or should I spend on Social Media marketing?
There isn’t a mathematical formula. It’s about finding the balance and understanding your strategy and outcomes, and then you will know how much to spend on what.
In 2015, I wrote about the digital marketing trends emphasizing the integration. You can read it here, however the digital marketing possibilities have exploded since then.
What is the NUCLEUS of Content Marketing and Social Media Marketing?
People! Or more precisely, target audience!
This question sums up the essence of this discussion. Many people understand content marketing and social media marketing as having different nuclei.
But the truth is the converging point of social media marketing and content marketing is the target audience.
According to CMI, content marketing is consistent creation and sharing of content to stimulate the interests of the target audience. Therefore, content in content marketing is created for the focused target audience.
And as evident from its name, social media marketing is for the “people”. People are the users of social media platforms, and the campaigns target their audience through the utilization of these channels.
So when both are for the people, isn’t social media marketing just an offshoot of content marketing?
There are uncanny similarities between both social media and content marketing, but both have enough distinct features to call them a separate discipline.
If hamburger has beef and pizza also has beef, does it mean that hamburger is pizza? Just like this, even though social media is also about posts, pictures, and videos which are the part of content marketing, it has its independent features and operational sphere.
What is the relevance of Content Marketing and Social Media Marketing to SEO?
At the end of the day, it is all about optimization. The content which is liked, shared and more talked about has a greater impact on SEO, so both the content marketing and social media come together to create the right impact.
How do I best engage Content Marketing and Social Media Marketing Together?
As an online marketer, you are already doing it. The content marketing and social media marketing are not mutually exclusive. More often than not, content which is written for the website is shared across the social media through Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Often, the social media channels like Pinterest act as the strongest links to get the content across the right audience.
Should I know the difference between both?
The only answer to this question is yes! You should understand the difference between both marketing strategies.
In the simplest words, social media is push marketing which tells people to do a certain thing when they are not actually looking for it (I am guilty of clicking every jewelry item that comes across my newsfeed on Facebook).
But content is direct marketing in which people are actually searching for your services, products or tips and you supply to their demands.
Conclusion: What Should Be Done?
Be accepting of your diverse role and better synchronize your marketing efforts.
It is time to roll your integrated digital marketing strategy including both the content marketing and social media channels to have a killer campaign.
Happy Marketing!