There is often a misconception that social media marketing and content marketing are the same thing. While yes, these marketing forms are quite similar and there is an overlap between the two, there are some distinct differences.
It is extremely common to use the phrases “social media marketing” and “content marketing” interchangeably, but doing so can muddle your efforts. To get the best marketing results and to increase your brand’s visibility, it is pivotal to understand the difference between social media marketing and content marketing as a whole.
Here's a guide to help.
The Basics of Content Marketing and Social Media Marketing
What Is Content Marketing?
Content marketing is the process of publishing original content to attract new customers to your business. There are many different pillars of content marketing, so it is best to describe content marketing as the strategy behind what content you are producing, and why you are producing it.
Content marketing has many faces; it can entertain your audience, inspire buyers to convert, educate newcomers to your brand, and boost brand visibility and notoriety. As a whole, content marketing is exceptionally versatile and has existed as long as humans and storytelling have. After all, how did small stores promote themselves in an age when consumers didn’t know how to read? By creating a picture that represented their brand and their services. With that, content marketing was born.
The world is consuming content most of its content online, so it is incredibly important to have a digital content marketing strategy. You can create content in a variety of formats, including blog posts, white papers, e-books, infographics, podcasts, videos, and how-to guides. Educational content strategies can help you connect with audiences while providing valuable insights. Additionally, content strategies can engage clients and keep your brand top of mind. Content marketing can be used to support your overall digital strategies while helping your business and brand grow.
What Is Social Media Marketing?
Social media is the latest way in which we communicate and tell stories to one another. Consumers create social media profiles not only to chat with their friends and family all around the world but to speak to and get updates from their favorite brands. Because of this easy access to consumers, businesses of all sizes are catapulting themselves onto social media platforms to interact with customers. Social media has transformed advertising from merely branding and messaging into a conversation.
Social media was founded on the basic principle of creating digital platforms for people to easily communicate on. These platforms allow brands to create a dialogue with consumers in all stages of marketing. Through targeted content marketing on a social media platform, a brand can deliver valuable information while nurturing relationships with its clients.
Just as there are many formats of content marketing, there are also many social media platforms that can be used for marketing. Each platform has its pros and cons depending on a business’s needs.
What Is the Difference Between Social Media Marketing and Content Marketing?
Simply put, content marketing is a tactic, whereas social media marketing is a channel that allows you to communicate with consumers. Where content marketing gives you an understanding of how to promote your brand both online and in person, social media gives you a channel to do so. Social media also enables you to have conversations with clients and prospects, while content marketing allows you to share valuable information and ideas.
Content Marketing Includes More Kinds of Assets
Content marketing and business development work together when there is a solid strategy behind it. As mentioned before, there are many different formats for content produced under the larger content marketing umbrella. Depending on a business’s marketing goals, these content formats can be as long or as short as you want them to be. They can be descriptive and long, punchy and short, whatever you’d like. Content marketing includes all types of content produced. This includes blogs, print articles, and website articles.
Social media marketing only includes a fraction of these, since not all content pieces will be relevant or easily consumable to the platform. As social media is a means of distribution, not a strategy, content is built around the platform chosen by the marketer to share it on. However, it is important to note that social media is constantly changing and evolving. So, we recommend doing research to determine what social media platform is best for your current and specific needs, as not all are created equally with the same functions.
Social Media Is a Conversation with Consumers
Although content marketing provides value, it generally serves as an educational tool and doesn’t ask for client feedback. It can communicate on customer pain points or about the brand. Social media has feedback and communication built directly into their platforms. Prospects and clients can message brands or comment on posts. This cycle of feedback allows brands to improve customer service and products.
Being Successful in Social Media Marketing Requires a Different Strategy
A successful content marketing strategy must evaluate content gaps and the customer journey. While social media must also take this into account, social media marketers must also pay attention to the constraints set forth by platforms, their followers, and new platforms. Below is a breakdown of popular social media platforms and the type of content you’d be most successful in publishing on them.
Requires short blurbs or messages. You are able to share only 280 characters’ worth of content, and link to one video or graphic of your choice.
This visual platform allows consumers to “pin” pictures they like and are interested in. This allows for more creativity, especially if your brand converts customers most when they use graphics to explain their products and services.
Like Pinterest, Instagram is a platform that consists of pictures and videos. You’d be best suited creating infographics, showcasing images of your products, and pictures of your team. There’s an option to create a caption, but the platform limits you to just a few lines of text.
Facebook is one of the oldest social media platforms and is great for the beginner who doesn’t necessarily know what forms of content they should produce. Due to its versatility as a platform, Facebook allows you to post lengthy blog posts, videos, graphics, and more, so length should not be an issue when developing content.
Similar to Facebook, LinkedIn is a social media platform designed for professional networking. As such, businesses can post lengthy content in the form of blog posts, newsletters, e-books, and more. Brands can also encourage employees to publish articles via LinkedIn Pulse. For B2B organizations, this tactic can be especially beneficial for sales teams, looking to connect with prospects.
Differences Between Overall Goals
As with any marketing goal, there needs to be some sort of objective that will guide your overall strategy. While goals and KPIs overlap for both content and social media marketing, the main focuses are slightly different.
Content Marketing Focuses on the Marketing Funnel
Successful content marketing strategies guide prospects down the funnel while strengthening client relationships. Gated white papers can help generate leads, while targeted email campaigns can nurture leads in the middle of the funnel. High-quality webinars and resources can also strengthen current customer relationships and establish your brand as a thought leader.
Social Media Focuses on Interactions With Customers & Prospects
Since social media enables communication between brands and their target audiences, this is a primary aspect of any social strategy. By simply posting information on your social media pages, you’ll generate activity and discussion around your brand. People will start gaining interest and will be eager to learn more about you from your posts. Many organizations use social channels as a customer service channel, communicate with clients, or to get feedback on products. Gone are the days when customers had to visit a brick-and-mortar store to speak directly with a business owner. Instead, we can now use social channels as an open forum for direct conversations with customers.
Content Marketing and Social Media Marketing: Which Is Better?
It is impossible to answer this question, as content marketing and social media marketing go hand in hand. Content marketing allows your brand to share ideas, information, and valuable insights. Social media can be a vehicle for showcasing these assets, while allowing you to engage with consumers in a more personal manner. They can both be used for a variety of reasons, and if you’re creating a marketing strategy, there certainly is room for both!
In summary, content marketing can be a great place to develop readership and drive clicks to your website. Social media can then be a tool to drive readers to your longer, more in-depth content pieces while encouraging shares. They both work simultaneously. Why wouldn’t a brand want to take advantage of this?
Final Thoughts
Now that you understand the difference between social media and content marketing, it is time to get to producing that content. However, many business owners may not necessarily know what to do next. They know they need content, but how can they get it?
If you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed by the amount of content out there that needs to be produced, don’t worry, that’s where licensed content can come to help. Licensed content is when a business uses content that has already been produced and published by another, more well-known brand. The reason for doing so is twofold, as not only can licensed content be customized to fit your industry and niche, but using the content allows you to build brand authority with your readers.
Using licensed content and copyright licenses from NYTLicensing lets you harness the power of curated journalism from The New York Times, all while utilizing content as a means to meet your larger marketing goals. These licenses also facilitate the process of getting copyright permission, making it easy to use quality articles, videos, and other assets across a wide variety of use cases.
