Content marketing vs social media marketing: with FAQs
We’ll answer your questions about these two digital marketing methods.
Content marketing vs social media marketing: with FAQs
Are you considering trying content marketing or social media marketing? Stepping into the world of digital marketing can feel like orienteering boldly without a map and compass. You are aware that your brand needs to be more visible. But knowing how to achieve this (and which route to take) can leave you walking in circles.
Thankfully, this blog will start by defining each marketing approach and its associated channels, then highlight the differences between content marketing and social media marketing through several FAQs. Afterwards, you’ll feel on the right path, excited to market your products or services.
What is content marketing?
If you have ever opened an email, listened to a podcast or read a blog article written by a business, brand or creator, then you have been on the receiving end of content marketing.
The London-based Content Marketing Institute offers the following definition of this often bewildering term:
“Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience – and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.”
Eagle-eyed readers will notice that the word ‘consistent’ features here. Crucial to attracting and retaining new customer prospects, content marketing doesn’t ask someone on a first date straight away. In other words, your business can attract and keep a loyal following when it regularly publishes new content.
Content writing is just one element of content marketing. It represents a single part of the content marketing process, alongside:
- Customer research
- Content planning
- Content distribution
- Measuring the content’s impact.
What is social media marketing?
If you have a social media account, you will have no doubt seen social media marketing at work during your last scroll. From the industry event photo you liked on Instagram, to the link you clicked under a colleague’s LinkedIn post, the algorithm learns what you enjoy and shows you posts from relevant accounts.
Salesforce, a world-leading customer relationship management (CRM) company, defines social media marketing as:
“The process of creating and publishing content on social media platforms to build connections with your target audience, promote your products or services, and turn consumers into loyal customers.”
This digital marketing approach relies on two-way interaction. You should respond quickly when you receive comments or questions from potential customers/clients to build trust, loyalty and rapport with social media users.
What forms of content marketing and social media marketing can you try?
Content writing examples
Arguably, the available formats of content writing channels (within content marketing) are more varied in nature than the different social media networks. Content writing mediums include:
This breadth of content types allows you to repurpose the same message in several formats. However, don’t be overwhelmed. Many businesses successfully build their following with 1-2 forms of content initially. Once these have been established, you can then expand your content marketing strategy at a later date.
Social media marketing examples
Social media marketing has exploded as a way of marketing businesses in the early 21st century. Leading social networks include:
- X/Twitter
- YouTube
- TikTok.
Once again, there is no need to dive headfirst into all these options. Rather, many experts advise businesses to master 1-2 options before expanding their reach. Please note that the first four social networks listed above are known as ‘The Big 4’, leading many brands to include at least one of this group within their strategy.
Comparing content marketing and social media marketing FAQs
Which marketing style is better for B2B or B2C?
Not only entertaining, engaging or informative, the very best content marketing and social media marketing speaks to a specific target audience. These ideal customer groups include other businesses (B2B content) and the general public (B2C content).
Both audience types can be successfully reached via either marketing style once you are clear on who you are speaking to. Pre-defining demographic interests such as age, gender, and income levels within an ideal client profile (ICP), alongside their goals or problems, informs your message and tone of voice.
Top tip: tailor your choice of social network to your industry!
You can also choose a social media platform that suits your type of business, products and services. For example, a jewellery business, fashion label or hairdressers on Instagram will be able to showcase their finished styles given the image-centred feed. Whereas a solicitor’s firm, tech start-up or telecoms company can convey its expertise in longer-form LinkedIn posts.
Where does content marketing or social media marketing appear?
The majority of content writing formats you create will appear on your website. However, there are exceptions, such as email-powered newsletters that may be sent via Mailchimp, MailerLite or other alternatives.
By contrast, what you curate for social media marketing will appear on third-party platforms such as Facebook or YouTube. This can then be shared by your followers to help you grow your online network. Hootsuite’s statistic that “more than 5 billion global users [are] spending dozens of hours every week plugged in” to these platforms alludes to your potential to be seen.
How long before you can expect results?
While nothing is guaranteed in digital marketing, a DEV Community post argues that “Unlike content marketing, which is often slow to yield results, social media marketing offers instant visibility and real-time interaction with consumers”.
Both marketing approaches require commitment. You should be prepared to post consistently to attract your target audience. Tools such as Google Analytics (summarising total website users, traffic sources and the average time visitors have spent on a webpage) and Facebook’s metrics (detailing your number of likes and comments, and conversion rates) can help you see what is working well. It also allows you to make informed changes to your future marketing.
Does the lifespan of the content vary?
It certainly does. Content, such as a blog or ebook, typically remains visible on your website for as long as you keep it there. It can outlive social media marketing posts, which are often replaced on users’ refreshed feeds in a matter of hours, if not days. That it lives on your website ensures your content won’t disappear overnight should a social algorthim change or a social media network decide to close your account.
Add into the mix SEO, where Google and other search engines can index and then suggest relevant content marketing assets as the answer to the users’ queries for many years. Whereas content marketing is much more evergreen (and long-lasting) than the fleeting nature of social media marketing.
What are the core aims of content marketing and social media marketing?
Content marketing is there to build authority by showing your business’s knowledge within its industry. Social media marketing thrives on building engagement and a community of active followers.
Which digital marketing method is best for your business?
Now that you are familiar with these two marketing approaches, we should tell you that neither content marketing nor social media marketing is inherently better than the other. Rather, they achieve distinct things for your business.
Many companies, therefore, choose a 50:50 approach. Others adopt both but lean more strongly towards one method to market their business to a wider audience. Combining both allows them to reap the rewards of each route.
Choose thefingerprint for both marketing methods
Looking for non-website and logo design services to boost the standing of your business through premium blog, video or infographic-based content marketing? Equally, our professional videography, photography and copywriting can bring real professionalism to your social media marketing.
Contact us or email design@thefingerprint.co.uk to realise your business growth ambitions, save time and receive on-brand digital marketing materials.
If you found this helpful, then you should also read these articles: Do websites matter in the age of social media?, Writing Effective Title Tags and Meta Descriptions and Why Loomly Is Our First Choice for Social Media Management.