You’ve seen the term social content marketing buzzing around. But what does it mean?
Most digital marketers can put it together – it’s the intersection between social media and content marketing.
But what’s behind this intersection? And why is social content marketing important to achieving business goals?
Let’s get into the dynamics of social content marketing.
What is Social Content Marketing?
Social media and content marketing both fall under your company’s marketing strategy.
When we combine the two techniques, we get social content marketing.
This means using both marketing techniques to the others advantage. Crafting content we know is going to gain traction with our social communities. And on the other hand – using well-thought out content to reach existing and unique communities via social.
Think of it like this:
Social media and content marketing are like two teammates in a relay race.
When the relay racers are working together, they’re more successful. Both runners are sprinting with all their might, stretching like elastic to pass the baton, and coming up with new ways to beat the competition.
But when the runners don’t work together, the team’s overall performance dips. They’re not supporting each other. And while one runner can bring home the win if they’re lucky, it’s not a sustainable method for success.
Why Social Content Marketing is Important
The relay runners example should give you an idea behind the importance of combining social media and content marketing.
It’s when we break down marketing silo’s and reach common goals.
Social relies on videos, images, and short text. The most popular social posts are the ones anyone can access.
Content marketing, on the other hand, relies on storytelling. Popular content is meatier and detailed in nature. This means content marketing material can bump up against the needs of social media. This is the case in organizations where social media and content marketing teams are separate.
But breaking down the barriers between social media and content marketing teams leads to distribution and promotion of great content. And the content team can learn to write for the social media team to provide catchy, shareable social content.
This means bringing in visitors to your content, and reaching larger audiences on social channels.
How Social Media and Content Marketing can work Together
A social content marketing starting point is collaboration. The two teams have to work together and understand the others needs for the relationship to work.
Then the teams can begin laying the foundation for successful social content marketing.
For the Content Marketing Team
Be on the lookout for popular topics in the industry. Not only will this make your social media counterpart happy when it comes time to promotion, but it will give you content to work with.
Certain topics in your industry are popular over others. And your community is discussing these topics and are receptive to sharing related content as a result.
For the Social Media Team
The goal for social media teams is to feed ideas for popular material to the content marketing team. While monitoring what other blogs in your industry are talking about, keep an eye on what’s gaining traction.
Look for top posts getting the most love in your industry. And when you find a topic, share with your content marketing team. You know this content will get love based on industry trends you’ve already seen.
Reach Goals with a Social Content Marketing Mindset
You now have insight into what social content marketing means. In short, with a social content marketing mindset, Marketing experts work together to hit home on business goals.
What are your thoughts on social content marketing? Do you notice a tension between social media and content marketing teams? Let us know in the comments below!
