Content Marketing Social Media and Content Marketing – Top Differences and Advantages

Have you ever wondered whether social platforms can boost your content consumption? How can you use social platforms to aid content marketing for the best results? While these digital marketing techniques have striking differences, the good news is that you can align the odds in your favour. In this blog, we discuss the differences between social media and content marketing along with their advantages.

Social Media Marketing And Content Marketing Main Difference

Social media is strikingly different from content marketing. The former has proven to be a game changer and it is a relevantly new addition to the marketing paradigm. An interesting thing to note is that the number of active social media users has crossed 4.9 billion to date. Thus, it means that over 55% of the global population uses social media. These numbers are expected to shoot upto 5.85 billion users by 2027. [1]

On the other hand, content marketing is a very old yet highly effective marketing technique. Since humans learned communication, the need for sharing information and engaging content has gained momentum. In fact, shareable content is among the top 2023 content marketing trends.

So, what is the difference between social media and content marketing? The simple explanation to this question is that:

Social Media focuses on reader participation and then Behavior. Contrastingly, content marketing focuses on content consumption and then reader behaviour. 

It means that social media marketing is more focused on getting interactive with the audience. For example, you can ask questions taken from a Random Question generator to engage with your audience on social media.

Contrastingly, content marketing focuses mainly on creating, distributing and promoting content consumption among audiences.

Suggested Read: What is Content Distribution in Digital Marketing & How Can AI Help With It?

In social media, professional marketers essentially share content to interact, communicate and support the customers. It can bring advocacy, brand awareness and even conversions. However, unlike content marketing which is essentially conversational, social media marketing is reactive. Social media ads support marketing ROI.

	Social Media Marketing	Content Marketing
Definition	Promoting products or services through social media platforms.	Creating and distributing valuable and relevant content to attract and engage a target audience.
Focus	Platform-specific marketing strategies and campaigns.	Creating high-quality content that resonates with the target audience.
Channels	Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc.	Blogs, articles, videos, podcasts, infographics, eBooks, etc.
Communication	Short, concise messages to capture attention and encourage engagement.	In-depth, informative content that educates, informs, and entertains the audience.
Goals	Increasing brand visibility, driving website traffic, generating leads, and sales.	Establishing thought leadership, building brand authority, and nurturing customer relationships.
Audience Reach	Targeted advertising to reach specific demographics and interests.	Organic search visibility and attracting an audience through valuable content.
Engagement	Encouraging likes, comments, shares, and direct interactions on social media platforms.	Sparking discussions, comments, and shares on blog posts or other content platforms.
Measurability	Metrics like reach, engagement, clicks, conversions, and follower growth.	Metrics like website traffic, time on page, conversion rates, and content downloads.
Longevity	Shorter lifespan due to the fast-paced nature of social media platforms.	Longer lifespan as content can be repurposed, shared, and discovered over time.

Also Read: Craft Your Social Media Ad Copy To Perfection – Top 5 Tips

Social Media: User Moves From Participation to Behavior 

Content Marketing: User Moves From Consumption to Behavior

Common Goals of Content and Social Marketing

Is content marketing and social media marketing the same thing? Although both these marketing tools are strikingly different, they do share some common objectives. 

Social media lets marketers share content randomly or according to their predefined content calendar. Additionally, the social media marketing strategy is mainly focused on the goal of boosting brand awareness among existing, new and potential prospects and customers. 

Content Marketing and Social Marketing Similarities:

• Both aim to engage and connect with the target audience.
• Both contribute to brand building efforts.
• Each targets specific demographics, interests, and behaviors.
• Each strategy focuses on providing value to the audience.
• Both rely on measuring and analyzing data to evaluate effectiveness.
• Both emphasize building relationships with customers.
• They make up a cohesive marketing strategy

Social Media channels not only help unearth the various streams for better other streams of marketing but also support the overall marketing performance. Since social media marketing is focused on spurring discussions and activities from the audience segments, social channels play an important role in brand advocacy. 

Through direct discussions, social media also helps in promoting positive word of mouth, which is the strongest form of marketing. 

Social Media Marketers Role	Content Marketers Role
Distribute and Share Content on: Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram	Produce, publish and distribute Content Such as: Blogs, Videos, Podcasts
Acquire and Translate Expertise on Marketing, Product and Brand Aesthetic	Acquire and Translate Expertise on Product and Brand Aesthetic
Create, Own, Manage and Tweak Content Calendar	Create, Own and Manage Content Calendar
Own and Manage Marketing Channel	Own and Master a Marketing Tactic

The Common Link – Quality Content!

Social media marketing is only as effective as content quality. Good quality content can bring healthy prospects and customers to a brand’s channels. Thus, quality content marketing helps in building stronger relationships with the audience. 

Stronger customer links lead to more demand generation and thus, the content marketing goals are met.

The next phase is demand fulfillment and retention. Social media marketing helps in customer support, customer retention and customer satisfaction for consistent results.

Top Benefits of Social Media Marketing

Both types of marketing are complementary to each other. The rise in social media storytelling is changing the way marketers engage with prospects and customers. However, the consistent increase in content marketing is only going to support social media marketing – not replace it. 

Although both these marketing entities are different things with varying functions, both of them can act synergistically to support overall marketing.

Here are some top benefits of social media marketing:

1. Social media is an extension for boosting content reach
2. Social media offers a direct communication channel with prospects and customers
3. These Social channels support SEO ranking and social platform ranking of the brand’s online asset 

Why is Social Media Marketing Important?

So, why social media marketing?

Here are some reasons indicating importance of social media marketing:

• Social media marketing helps businesses reach a wider audience globally.
• It enables targeted advertising to reach specific demographics, interests, and behaviors.
• Establishing an active social media presence increases brand awareness.
• Engaging with customers on social media builds meaningful relationships and encourages loyalty.
• It offers cost-effective marketing options compared to traditional methods.
• Social media platforms provide valuable insights and analytics for data-driven decision-making.
• Having a strong social media presence gives a competitive advantage in the market.

How can AI help with Social Media Marketing?

Today, the main marketing focus is automation and scaling. AI can not only speed up content creation for social media but also align the brand voice with specific reader context.

See how AI Can Craft Engaging Social Media Captions For Your Brand

AI works well for supporting content marketing as well.

Here is How I Came to Realize How Social Media Marketing and Content Marketing Go Hand-in-Hand

As a small bakery owner, I struggled to raise brand awareness and engage customers effectively – it was mainly due to limited resources and strong competition up until I realized I was missing on a BIG resource i.e social media marketing.

The biggest challenge was to amalgamate my social media marketing strategy with my content marketing strategy. I did some brainstorming and came to the conclusion that a winning brand marketing strategy would be cohesive, scalable and aligned with my brand values. Ofcourse, I needed more than my business acumen at this stage – so I started looking into potential AI ideation and creativity resources.  

I implemented a winning marketing strategy that combined social media marketing, content marketing, and an AI-powered content writing tool.

For Social Media Marketing: I focused on Facebook and Instagram, using the AI-powered tool to create captivating posts that showcased my bakery’s creations. I actively engaged with followers, building genuine connections and fostering loyalty.

For Content Marketing: I created an engaging blog with the help of the AI blog writer, sharing recipes and behind-the-scenes stories. By optimizing the posts for search engines and leveraging social media, I increased visibility and attracted organic traffic.

The AI Content Writing Tool I used became my secret weapon in generating unique and creative content ideas while saving time and effort. It helped me maintain a consistent brand voice across all written content.

In a few weeks, my brand’s online traffic shot up from a few hundred visitors to thousand visitors every month. Needless to say that I was excited to start converting them and bring more sales! This is where I again referred to my content marketing baselines to streamline my social media retargeting strategy goals. To cut it short, consistent brand content marketing supplemented by social media ads gave my business a much-needed traffic and sales boost. 

This strategy helped me:

1. Increased brand visibility and engagement: Through strategic social media marketing and compelling content, I captured the attention of my target audience and fostered genuine connections.
2. Save Marketing cost while scaling it:  I optimized my resources and achieved impactful results without breaking the bank – Thanks to my secret AI creativity weapon.
3. Measurable results: I tracked the effectiveness of my marketing efforts through analytics, allowing me to make data-driven decisions and refine my strategies.
4. Enhanced reputation and authority: The combined power of social media marketing, content marketing, and the AI-powered tool elevated my bakery’s reputation and established industry authority.

This experience made me realize the true potential of social media marketing in boosting content marketing. Though both are different, they complement each other well!

Key Takeaways

• Social media and content marketing have different origins.
• They share similar goals and have advantages over each other.
• Both play separate roles in supporting overall marketing efforts.
• Social media marketers face the challenge of keeping up with rapid expansion and aligning new trends with brand objectives.

Social Media and Content Marketing FAQs

Is content marketing part of social media marketing?

Content marketing is a part of social media marketing. The reason is that content is used to educate, entertain, inform, and get action from customers. Thus, the essential messages of content marketing support social media efforts for raising brand awareness and shaping customer experiences.

How does social media affect content marketing?

Social channels and content marketing go hand in hand to enhance audience acquisition and retention on respective platforms. For instance, if you have more social media followers, you will have more readers for your content.

What are the benefits of using content marketing instead of social channel marketing?

The top benefits of using content marketing over social marketing are to boost brand awareness and improve brand perception of trust and loyalty. Moreover, content marketing helps add an authoritative touch to everything you share on social platforms. Finally, it is also good for sustainable brand growth.

References:
[1] Social Media Statistics, Facts and Trends – BloggingWizard