Content marketing and social media work hand in hand

 

Content marketing and social media go together like peanut butter and jam. You see, when you go to the trouble of creating great content, there are two ways people can find it:
(a) search, whether organic or paid
(b) sharing, by you or others.

Let’s focus on (b). After you write an article or blog post for your site, it’s important to get it in front of your customers and prospects. You might follow steps like this:

• Tweet a link to the blog post
• Post an update to LinkedIn with a link to the blog post
• Publish an item to GooglePlus with a link to the blog post
• Share the blog post on your company Facebook page or your personal page or both
• Pin the item to Pinterest, if it has a visual aspect

By the way, there are good reasons to not publish simultaneously on all platforms via a third-party application. Please refer to this blog post for several reasons why.

You might also add a line to your email signature with a teaser about the blog post and a link to it. Of course you’ll refer to it in your newsletter too.

If your post or article is relevant and well crafted, chances are that others will share it with their friends and followers. And so the conversation will continue and more people will discover your business. Perhaps they’ll subscribe to your feeds or sign up to get your newsletter.

In the same vein, content marketing solves one of the problems many businesses experience around their social media presence: “We are on Twitter and GooglePlus and so on, but what are we going to say?” The answer is content marketing: You are going to publish meaningful content that’s relevant to your audience, and you’re going to share it on your social media platforms. Think of it as a cycle – a cycle that gains attention and potential business.

Of course you don’t want your social media accounts to look like advertising, so don’t let them become push-only platforms. Be sure to engage with your readers, to ask questions, to answer questions, and to promote the work of others in your network and beyond.

Do you have any tips to share about the links between content marketing and social media?

See the other posts in this content marketing series.

For more content like this, follow me on Twitter or GooglePlus.

Visit the Trafalgar Communications website for information about how we can help your organization to tell its story through traditional and new media.

Comments

[Staci Burruel]

Your content will serve as the foundation for your business to last in the World Wide Web. Keep it simple but informative, and some personal experiences to your content to let your customers know that you can relate to their needs. Using social media will be useful in the customer relations part, as consumers today are hooked on to these types of networks. You can easily give added assistance by joining in forums and conferences and imparting what you know.

[Andi - Marketing company UK]

I couldn't agree more. It could be a really tough competition when it comes to marketing and social media but if you could make them work together to your own benefit, then it could do lots of good for your business' exposure.

[Joe]

Great post Donna, I'll be sure to share this with others. It always amazes me how social media services started out as a means to keep in touch with friends and it has turned into a marketing powerhouse for businesses and politicians.

[Telemarketing Lists]

your email signature with a teaser about the blog post and a link to it. Of course you’ll refer to it in your newsletter too.

[Search Engine Optimization Alaska]

Nice article. The potential of social media marketing has attracted many business to use social media marketing as one of their marketing technique. Everyone wishes to get immediate profit it, soon after they start their marketing. But it is not possible in case of social media marketing. You have nourish your customers before you reap the benefits from them.