However, you’re missing opportunities to significantly increase your impact if you approach these as separate tactics and do not integrate them. You may be writing blog content and posting it on your website, and you may be creating social media content that engages your audience effectively. But the real power comes when you leverage both for maximum effectiveness.<\/p>\n
Contrary to what some may think, social media platforms are not just a place for conversation but a potential on-ramp to your website. If you\u2019ve been hitting the snooze button on social media marketing (or managing it completely separate from your content), it\u2019s time to seize the day! This post will show you how to mingle your marketing mix so you can make sure you\u2019re getting the most from your digital marketing strategy.<\/p>\n
For starters, let\u2019s back up and clarify what we mean by social media<\/a> and content marketing. Social media platforms are virtual communities for information sharing on websites and apps such as Facebook, Instagram, and\u00a0 LinkedIn (to name a few). They promote engagement through comments, questions, conversations, and resharing content.<\/p>\n Content marketing is an all-encompassing strategy<\/a> that includes all the various ways marketers create and distribute relevant and valuable information to customers. In this case, the audience is consuming the content rather than participating in it. Some examples of content marketing tactics are blogs, articles, brand videos, online courses, case studies, and downloadable guides.<\/p>\n Think of your social media platforms as another on-ramp for your website and distribution channel for your content. A blog can be a stand-alone content marketing piece, but it doesn\u2019t have to be. Social media marketing can keep you in regular conversation with your customers in a way that your website, email newsletter, or mailer can\u2019t.<\/p>\n For example, try this: have your CEO record a short video summarizing one takeaway from your blog. Then you post that video on Facebook with a link to the blog. What if, after reading the blog, your lead provides their contact information to download an ebook to learn more on the topic? They might share your post on their social media page if they find the information valuable.<\/p>\n As you can see, the blog benefits from the power of social media. Not to mention, posting blog content across social media increases backlinks to your site, which improves your page rank in Google\u2019s search algorithm.<\/p>\n Read More: 5 Small Business Social Media Hacks to Save Time and Sanity<\/a><\/p>\n To seamlessly integrate your social media and content marketing tactics, you need one over-arching strategy to orchestrate the details. If you are starting from scratch, here are a couple of posts that will help get your wheel turning when determining your goals and tactics.<\/p>\n A content calendar is essential for an integrated social media and content marketing strategy. You can plan content annually or quarterly. For example, an accounting service may want to focus on tax preparation tips in the first quarter. A nonprofit, on the other hand, may focus on giving around the holidays.<\/p>\n That said, it\u2019s not enough to just choose timely topics. You must consider search engine optimization (SEO<\/a>) and write content around keywords that resonate with your ideal clients.\u00a0 Keyword planning tools such as Google Ads Keyword Planner<\/a>, ahrefs free keyword generator<\/a>, and Semrush\u2019s Keyword Magic Tool<\/a> can help you choose popular search terms that will help your content rank.<\/p>\n Leveraging social media to complement your content marketing strategy is more than just filling the air. Make your words count. Here are some ideas for meaningful social content that brings value to your audience.<\/p>\n Before you start posting away, ensure your social media channels are optimized<\/a> to maximize traffic and impact. Take the following steps:<\/p>\n Not only do you want to use social media to direct traffic to your website, but you want to use your website, newsletter, and email campaigns to point your prospects and stakeholders to your social media accounts. Include social media icons and links to your organization\u2019s accounts in all of your digital marketing activities<\/a>. And don\u2019t forget to invite your current clients or email subscribers to follow your social media pages.<\/p>\n You\u2019ve created a strategy and optimized your profiles, now it\u2019s time to post. Use what you know about your target audience<\/a> to help craft your message and decide which platforms to focus on. Sprout Social has some great information on social media demographics by gender, age, and time spent per day.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n If your brand is highly-visual such as a salon or home renovation company, Instagram should be at the top of your list. LinkedIn is a great fit if your focus is B2B. You should also check where your competitors post to avoid being left out.<\/p>\n Read More: Who Is Your Ideal Customer?<\/a><\/p>\n You must be intentional about when to post your content based on each specific channel. Sprout Social tracks the best time on each social media platform<\/a>, but as a general rule of thumb, the highest traffic is mid-week between 9 a.m.-10 a.m. If you want to drill down even further, Sprout Social has a super cool \u201cBest Time to Post\u201d generator<\/a> specific to channels and industries.<\/p>\n If you post your social content a la carte, you\u2019re more likely to get out of the routine and trail off. And your audience notices if you post religiously for several months and then\u2026crickets. They may even wonder whether you\u2019re still in business.<\/p>\n Social media scheduling tools<\/a> can post for you at appointed times, even when you\u2019re not at your desk. There are many options\u2014some free, some paid\u2014 with varying degrees of user-friendliness. Using your content calendar, load your content in batches (say at the beginning of the month) and select ideal publishing times for each channel. Now those posts will fire off while you\u2019re getting other things done.<\/p>\n While many content marketing tactics involve information dissemination, social media marketing is, by nature, interactive. Automating your posting through a social media scheduling tool doesn’t mean you can \u201cset it and forget it.\u201d Followers seek out social media channels to connect.<\/p>\n When you use social media marketing as part of your larger strategy, you must commit to monitoring the activity on your business or non-profit\u2019s social channels.<\/p>\n Read More: 3 Ways Great Content and Digital Marketing Work Together to Grow Your Business<\/a><\/p>\n When executing content marketing strategies, it\u2019s easy to feel \u201cdone\u201d once you\u2019ve written a great post. But in many ways, the blog post is just the beginning. Maybe you see the value in leveraging social media to boost your content marketing efforts; however, you\u2019re feeling overwhelmed with how and where to start. That\u2019s where we come in.<\/p>\n We are proud of our all-star team of social media experts who can manage your social media and content marketing strategies for you. Our clients range from nonprofits to small businesses and more. Best of all, our team can help you develop and execute a strategy that gets results with website design, branding, video production, social media, and content marketing. Let\u2019s talk<\/a> about working together to create a robust and integrated digital marketing strategy that produces needle-moving results!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Social media and content marketing work together in many ways to boost traffic to your website and ultimately grow your brand. However, you’re missing opportunities to significantly increase your impact if you approach these as separate tactics and do not integrate them. 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Social Media Maximizes Blog ROI<\/h2>\n
2. Developing a Content Marketing Strategy<\/h2>\n
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Create a Content Calendar<\/h3>\n
What to Post: Content Marketing on Social Media 101<\/h3>\n
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3. Optimize Your Social Media Profiles<\/h2>\n
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4. Ready, Set, Post: Sharing Your Content on Social Media<\/h2>\n
When to Post: Mid-week Mornings Are Prime Time<\/h3>\n
How to Post: Automate Your Posting<\/h3>\n
Rules of Engagement: Keeping the \u201cSocial\u201d in Social Media<\/h3>\n
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Need Help Merging Social Media and Content Marketing?<\/h2>\n