Let’s Unravel the Conundrum of Content Marketing vs Social Media Marketing
Ever found yourself up at 2 AM, struggling to differentiate between content marketing and social media marketing? No? That’s because knowing the difference in the grand scheme of things isn’t that exciting. But it’s something we marketing gurus use and something that people actually Google, so both we and you must think it’s important.
To have a complete strategy, your content marketing plan needs to empower your social media. Or is it the other way around? Because honestly, though some people may tell you the order is important, it isn’t. Work in an order that’s best for you.
Painting the Picture
Think of content marketing as that delicious homemade salsa at your favourite Taco Bell, or for those in my neck of the wood, that amazing taco stand in the centre of Meadow Hall’s food court – bursting with flavour, unique, and created to please the palate. It’s the bit that tastes good and makes people go, ‘WOW, That’s delicious!’. Social media marketing, on the other hand, is like the taco shell – crisp, attention-grabbing, and the delivery system for that irresistible salsa. The device gets the salsa to its destination, your mouth. Now, let’s put down the metaphorical tacos and dig deeper into this.
The Star of the Show: Content Marketing
So, what is content marketing? Content marketing is your secret weapon, your tactical game plan for the content you will deliver. It’s the “What?” and the “How?” in your mission to sell your brand.
It’s what’s going into your blogs, videos, infographics, podcasts – every piece of value-driven content you create to engage your audience, and no, a Tweet saying “buy our stuff” every other day doesn’t count as content. So when you think, on Monday, I need to create a blog, Wednesday a video, Friday a call to action. Then it’s what that post / those pieces of content will be about. It may seem simple, but there is a lot of thought and research that goes into this. Content marketing has been around ever since the first person marketed a product or service, it’s hard to think of content without thinking of social media, which is why sometimes the two get confused.
Next Up: Social Media Marketing
Now, let’s talk about the sassy younger sister, social media marketing. It’s the vessel that carries your art (content) into the world, ensuring your masterpiece gets the eyeballs it deserves.
Social media marketing is all about the “Where?” It’s choosing the proper gallery to showcase your art, be it on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook. It’s understanding where your audience hangs out and taking your content to them, not sitting around waiting for them to come to you. If content marketing is the DJ, social media marketing is the club where the DJ drops the beat. It’s also about how you’re going to connect with people, get post likes and have the time to respond to engagement.
Where the Magic Happens
The real beauty happens when content marketing and social media marketing lock eyes across the room and see their potential together. Your content strategy feeds into your social media strategy and vice versa. This again takes time and research, but instead of looking at conversion rates and viewing times, you’re looking at the times of day your content gets the most hit and the demographic of those people.
Time for Some Real Talk
Look, content marketing and social media marketing might sound like two sides of the same coin, but they’re more like a dynamic duo – Batman and Robin, Thelma and Louise, Peanut Butter and Jelly (dam Amercian AI writing tool, what’s the UK equivalent). You can’t create engaging content without a platform to share it on, and what’s the use of a platform if you’ve got no content to share?
The Grand Takeaway
But here is the flip side. Content marketing and social media marketing are not the same thing. They’re two distinct yet intertwined strategies, kind of like siblings – you can tell them apart, but you wouldn’t exist without the other. It’s time to stop treating them as interchangeable and start recognising their individual strengths, all while understanding their collective power. It’s time to stop playing the guessing game with one and spending too much time on the other. It’s like telling one sibling you love them more then the other. As my wife often says, ‘Not Cool’. I mean about anything, I don’t tell my kids that one is loved more than the other. That’s just mean.
Our Way
And that, folks, is the down-low on content marketing vs social media marketing. It’s not rocket science, it’s pretty dull, but even rocket science can be made simple if explained right (we assume).
As content creators, we start with the social media strategy and plan out the content based on social media analytics. What got seen the most, where and when. Then we can create a schedule that fits. From there, we can look at the content, what got watched or viewed the most, and what actions were taken. We can cross reference that with our overall marketing strategy of what products and services we want to push and create the content strategy around those results. It takes a day each month to work everything out and build the strategy. We always leave room for impromptu social media posts and try to adapt it based on the engagement we’re getting. Such as, if one topic isn’t gaining any traction, we’ll change it.
So there you have it. Next time someone confuses content marketing with social media marketing, you have our full permission to roll your eyes, explain the difference, and crown yourself the marketing maestro.
FAQ Section Introduction:
Welcome to our Frequently Asked Questions section! Here we’ve curated some of the most commonly asked questions related to content marketing and social media marketing. Please browse through them to gain a deeper understanding of these two intertwined yet unique domains of marketing.
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What is content marketing?
Content marketing is the strategic approach to creating and distributing valuable and relevant content to attract and engage a defined audience. The goal is to drive profitable customer action.
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What is social media marketing?
Social media marketing involves using social media platforms to connect with your audience, build your brand, increase sales, and drive website traffic. It involves publishing great content on your social media profiles, listening to and engaging with your followers, analyzing your results, and running social media advertisements.
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How do content marketing and social media marketing relate?
While both are different strategies, they can and should be used together for a comprehensive marketing approach. Content marketing provides the valuable information that engages the audience, and social media marketing provides the platforms to distribute and promote that content.
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Can one work without the other?
Although it is technically possible to have one without the other, it’s not recommended. Content without a platform to share won’t reach your audience, and a platform without content will not engage or retain your audience. Therefore, a symbiotic relationship is essential for successful marketing.
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How do we plan our content and social media strategies?
We start with the social media strategy, analyzing what content gets the most engagement, where, and when. We use this data to create a content schedule. Then, we examine which content gets the most attention and the actions taken from it, cross-referencing this with our overall marketing strategy to determine which products and services to promote.
