Content Marketing & Social Media: Why & How

If you read Joe Poluzzi’s Epic Content Marketing (which I highly recommend for any marketer), you quickly learn that content marketing is not new. And social media marketing is no longer the shiny new toy that it used to be for marketers. However, these two areas are constantly changing, with new channels, platforms, technology, and strategies. Without delving into specific channels and tactics, here are a few of my thoughts on the best ways to move forward with a content marketing and social media strategy. Please note that content marketing and social media are NOT the same thing, but they ARE inextricably linked.

1. Entertain AND Educate. What is important is to have the right blend of insightful, comedic, interesting, and fun commentary, along with relevant information about your product or service. Most people don’t want to read a bland blog that talks singularly about facts and figures, when they could learn the same thing somewhere else that also has entertainment value. Think infographics, video blogs, animations, and GIFs.

But there is a balance! You can’t simply be entertaining and funny unless that’s all you are promoting. Your content must be relevant to your client/agency/product/service/etc. Believe me, there are a lot of entertainment/comedy sites that are funnier than you… So tell your audience something they don’t know about, and if you can, make them chuckle while they learn.

2. Posts, Posts, and More Posts. The key to creating a decent following, and ultimately, getting the most from your social media channels to your blog to product pages to conversion, is to be relentless. People expect content. That’s it. They aren’t going to check your site daily if you’re not posting daily. They won’t check your site several times a day if you’re not making the effort to give them new content multiple times daily.

But also refer to #1 on the list: it must be relevant and interesting; otherwise you can post all the content you want. If it sucks, you’re just left with a lot of babble.

3. Use Outside Sources. You know that you’re not the all-knowing, all-powerful Oz. And so does everyone else. Don’t pretend to be by only writing about yourself, your thoughts, and your product. Things are going on in this world that are much bigger, smarter, better looking, more interesting, cooler, and much, much more exciting than you… And if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.

Tell your audience about that cool stuff out there (videos, marketing strategies, websites) and what you’re doing to learn from it, catch up to it, emulate it. This is a great opportunity to join the larger conversation. Bring in a guest blogger. Or guest blog elsewhere. Participate in the community, don’t operate in a silo.

4. Monotony: The Enemy. If there is one thing the internet/social media is not, it’s monotonous. The best part about the internet is that you can find anything new, at anytime, anywhere. Like, literally. So don’t make your audience go chase it down using Google or YouTube. Be one step ahead and be that one-stop source for your fans to get their current information that is pertinent to them.

If you continuously write about the same thing, you will become the after-thought for your audience and will be used as a quick reference from time-to-time when they are looking for the same ol’ thing. In the case of social media and content, don’t be the tortoise, be the hare. But don’t rest! Slow and steady does not win the race! Fast, cutting-edge, ahead of the curve, no rest, in-your-face, breaking news wins the race.

5. Any Resource, Any Writer. Some may disagree, but a good company blog should use several different writers/voices. Think about it, any business is full of different departments that are made up of very different minds. There are right-brains and left-brains, intense go-getters and mellow creatives. I don’t think your audience is going to buy the idea that there is some sort of transcendent, harmonious agreement that occurs between these departments at the end of the day… As if everyone got together to enjoy a spirited sing-along of “Kum Ba Ya.”

Tell the stories of the product manager and R&D. Then tell people what the customer service representative did to make a customer’s day. Then find out what the CEO thinks about the next challenges and opportunities in your industry. Then ask the marketing team to share their latest seasonal campaign. It’s all good, and it’s all different, and that will help build your audience and keep the content fresh.

6. Don’t Plan for Perfection, Jump In! Learn from your mistakes. Everyone will make them. That’s what happens when people start trying new things. The only true mistake is to not learn from it. If you create a test-and-learn strategy with clear goals and metrics, you will quickly learn what your audience responds to and what they don’t. So don’t over-plan, procrastinate, and get bogged down in the details. Get started and learn as you go. With the right people in place, the investment is minimal.

Anyway, that’s my two cents. Now hopefully you’ll get to have fun with it! It’s a chance to educate and entertain. Not getting any return yet? It’s okay. Not all success metrics need to be based on ROI. Consider impressions, engagements, or traffic to start. It’s a full funnel process, after all.