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CONTENT MARKETING VS. SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING: THE STRATEGY SHOWDOWN

Allie Decker

August 22, 2023|Content Marketing

 * Home
 * Blog
 * Content Marketing vs. Social Media Marketing: The Strategy Showdown

When it comes to your digital marketing strategy, both content marketing and
social media marketing should take center stage. Each offers distinct ways to
engage your audiences and boost your brand presence.



But I’ve seen some companies treat both the same. Sure, there are blurred lines
between the two. But if you want to get the most traffic, engagement, and
customers out of each, you’ll need to know the differences between content
marketing vs. social media marketing.

This article explains the key differences and gives expert insights so you can
leverage the best of both content and social media for your business.


TABLE OF CONTENTS

 * What is content marketing?
 * What is social media marketing?
 * Key differences between content marketing vs. social media marketing
 * Content marketing vs. social media marketing: When to use each.




WHAT IS CONTENT MARKETING?

A content marketing strategy entails creating and sharing content that’s
valuable and relevant to your target audiences. It helps you attract and acquire
a clearly defined audience—and, ultimately, drive conversions. In fact, a recent
HubSpot study showed that brands that blogged got 55% more website visitors.



Creating quality content is also helpful for SEO—so your business can show up on
Google when people search for relevant terms. The better and more keyword-rich
your content is, the higher you’ll rank on the search engine results pages
(SERPs).

Content marketing tactics include publishing blog posts, creating videos, or
writing case studies. The content often lives on your website as a way to
generate traffic. But it can also be published on third-party websites or even
on your Google Business Profile like this example from a plumbing company.



Aside from acquisition, business owners also use content marketing to nurture
and retain existing customers through help center and knowledge base content.

Want more ideas to drive traffic? Get the guide >> 25 Ways to Increase Traffic
to Your Website



WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING?

Social media marketing is similar to content marketing in that you’re creating
content. But in social media marketing, you’re looking to generate audience
awareness and engagement through social channels like Facebook, Instagram, and
TikTok.

Social media marketing strategy helps you promote your brand, engage your
audiences in a more informal setting, and build relationships.

Social media marketing strategies include posting educational or entertaining
content, sharing special offers, or promoting products through social channels.



Advantages of social media marketing include community engagement and brand
awareness, immediate reach and visibility, enhanced audience targeting, and
viral potential and shareability.




KEY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CONTENT MARKETING VS. SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

Let’s unpack a few things that separate content marketing and social media
marketing strategies.


1. FOCUS AND PURPOSE

Content marketing primarily focuses on consistently creating and distributing
valuable, relevant content to attract, convert, and retain your target audience.
This strategy also plays a big role in educating your audience and capturing
demand for your product or service.

On the other hand, the main purpose of social media marketing is to enhance
relationships with customers, prospects, influencers, and partners through
two-way dialogues that generate interest in your company. This channel is also
powerful in creating demand for your business.


2. TIMEFRAME FOR RESULTS

Content marketing is more suitable for long-term strategy; it certainly requires
patience and consistent effort before seeing significant results. Content
focuses on building trust, authority, and brand loyalty, which typically takes
time to establish.

On the other hand, social media marketing often gives quicker results through
tracking immediate engagement and direct interactions with the audience. Since
social media allows real-time engagement, this can lead to faster actions like
likes, shares, and comments.

For example, Oreo, the cookie brand, made headlines during the 2013 Super Bowl
with its real-time marketing on Twitter.  When a power outage occurred during
the game, Oreo quickly responded with a tweet saying, “Power out? No problem.
You can still dunk in the dark.”



Source

This witty and timely tweet went viral, helping Oreo gain a massive boost in its
brand visibility and social media presence. (I remember seeing this happen in
real-time!)


3. CONTENT TYPES AND FORMATS

Content marketing is more about creating informative, in-depth content to
address your audience’s pain points and provide solutions, while social media
marketing focuses on concise, visually appealing, easily shareable content.

Marketers typically use these formats for content marketing:

 * Blog posts and articles
 * Ebooks and whitepapers
 * Infographics and data visualizations
 * Case studies and success stories
 * Podcasts and webinars
 * Video tutorials and explainer videos

Take The Farmer’s Dog, for example.

The healthy pet food service posts long-form articles to their blog to educate
their audience of dog owners and veterinarians.



Alternatively, here are content types marketers use for social media marketing:

 * Short and catchy captions
 * Visual content, such as images and graphics
 * Short videos and video clips
 * Polls and interactive content
 * Memes and GIFs

In contrast to The Farmer’s Dog’s content marketing, let’s examine Dove’s social
media marketing campaign on Instagram with the hashtag #RealBeauty.



Source

They shared images and short videos featuring real women of diverse body types
and ethnicities, promoting body positivity and self-acceptance. These posts
resonated with their audience and encouraged them to share their own stories,
leading to a viral movement.


4. COST CONSIDERATIONS

The cost of content marketing can depend on different factors, including the
type of content you create, the length of your content, and the number of
channels you distribute your content on.

According to a HubSpot study, the average cost of creating a blog post can be
anywhere between $150-$3,000. This cost can vary depending on the length and
complexity of your blog posts.

The cost of distributing your content can also vary depending on the channels
you use. If you distribute content via social media, you can organically share
your posts on your profiles, or you can pay to boost or sponsor your posts.

The cost of social media marketing can also vary depending on a number of
factors, including the number of social media platforms you use and the type of
social media advertising you run.

Do you remember the viral social media marketing campaign on YouTube called
“Will It Blend?”

Blendtec, a blender manufacturer, launched a series featuring the founder
himself demonstrating videos of blending various items, from iPhones to golf
balls, to demonstrate the power of their blenders.



Source

The relatively low production cost of these fun and engaging videos, combined
with the massive reach of YouTube’s audience, resulted in significant brand
exposure and increased sales.

All in all, both content marketing and social media marketing are relatively
cost-effective marketing strategies.




CONTENT MARKETING VS. SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING: WHEN TO USE EACH

The choice between content marketing and social media marketing should take into
consideration:

 * Your business goals
 * Your target audience
 * What resources you have available
 * Your overall marketing strategy and what other channels you’re investing in

Both approaches have their fair share of advantages and downsides. Let’s see
which one you should use and why.


UNDERSTANDING YOUR MARKETING OBJECTIVES

When you’re positioning your brand as an industry leader and providing in-depth,
actionable insights into a topic or product, content marketing is the way to go.

On the other hand, when your primary objective is to quickly garner outreach,
gain brand visibility, and create viral content, creating social media content
is a more attractive option.

According to Coty Perry, the Chief Marketing Officer at Anglers.com,

“The higher the level of trust needed, the more content marketing matters. Think
of how omnipresent healthcare companies and banks are in their marketing, from
billboards and TV ads to how-to guides and direct mail. There really isn’t a
marketing channel these companies don’t leverage, and that’s a direct choice.

Social media marketing is more useful when trying to make a faster connection.
It’s also for scrappier companies since social media is often the cheapest
marketing strategy (not to say it can’t get pricey!) Fashion is a great
example–you don’t care about the retailer’s long-standing reputation. You just
want the fashionable top, and you want it now.”




IDENTIFYING YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE AND THEIR PREFERENCES

Many industries and businesses benefit from both approaches, but one can be more
of a priority based on your industry and its target audience.

For example, Carrie Boswell, a Digital Marketing Content Specialist at PLANOLY,
shares that industries like healthcare, repairs, automotive, legal, and
restaurants rely heavily on content marketing. Whether users seek medical
advice, information on services and offerings, the closest restaurant or salon,
etc., they’ll be looking for the most digestible and relevant information based
on their search to help them make the right decision.

Social media marketing is great for industries like lifestyle, real estate,
fashion and beauty, and entertainment that thrive by showcasing products or
services and offering solutions to customer problems. It results in customer
leads and brand relevance.

The best approach will also depend on how well-established you are in your
industry.

According to Katherine Claire Atienza, a Senior Content Strategist at ExaWeb
Corporation, “Startup businesses can benefit most from social media marketing
since it’s easier to establish and introduce your brand, products, and services
to potential customers using social media platforms. Facebook, Instagram, and
Twitter are also used more by people nowadays, so you have higher chances of
raising your brand awareness and engagement.”

Meanwhile, if your business is already established and you want a platform your
audience can visit for more information and other transactions, you will benefit
more from content marketing.


CONSIDER LONG-TERM VS. SHORT TERM-RESULTS

If long-term, sustainable growth is your goal, look no further than content
marketing.

Unlike paid advertising or social media posts with a short lifespan, actionable
and evergreen content can continue to bring you audiences for years to come.
This also translates into a more substantial ROI over time.

Look at the soap brand Dr. Squatch as an example of how content marketing can
establish your brand and build trust through education.



Source

The brand infuses each post with its quirky voice but also answers important
questions about sustainability and personal care. Over time, readers will become
subscribers (scrub-scribers?) who’ll then become repeat customers.

Social media marketing works differently. A brand can get interactions from
their audience on an Instagram or Facebook post a few minutes after posting it.


LEVERAGING BOTH CONTENT MARKETING AND SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

Content marketing is a way of building customer loyalty, trust, and brand
awareness by creating and sharing relevant, valuable content with your target
audience. Social media marketing is a way of doing the same thing–only through
social networks like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

And if you think about it, you can’t use one without the other.

For example, when implementing content marketing, brands still use social media
as channels to distribute their content.

Notice how the pet food brand shares their long-form content on Instagram.



Source

And when implementing social media marketing, they’re still creating content in
the form of social media posts, videos, reels, Instagram stories, and the like.

So, it goes without saying that it’s best to leverage both in a coordinated
strategy.

According to Sarah Jameson, Marketing Director at GreenBuildingElements,

“While content marketing focuses on owned channels, social media amplifies its
reach. Social conversations also inform content creation. Together, they attract
and retain audiences by establishing thought leadership and community. The key
is integrating content and social strategies across the customer journey to
accelerate awareness, consideration, and conversions.”

Nick Gaudio, Director of Content & Creative at Rattle, also believes that,
ultimately, you need both social media and content marketing to make progress.
He shares,

“If you write an amazing blog post and nobody can find it, it doesn’t get seen,
and it’s all for naught; if you promote yourself on social media without
developing the thought leadership/street cred through longer form, deeper,
meatier content, you’ll have a vapid and tenuous relationship with your
audience.”


STRIKING THE PERFECT BALANCE: INTEGRATING CONTENT MARKETING AND SOCIAL MEDIA
MARKETING

Content marketing focuses on creating valuable and informative content to build
trust, authority, and long-term relationships with the audience. On the other
hand, social media marketing emphasizes real-time engagement, immediate brand
visibility, and fostering a vibrant online community.

Ultimately, both content marketing and social media marketing are essential for
marketing success. Content marketing builds authority and trust through valuable
content, while social media marketing will help you with immediate brand
visibility and engagement.

ALLIE DECKER

Allie Decker is a Senior Content Marketing Manager at Shopify and Head of
Content at Omniscient Digital. When she's not writing, you can find her reading,
traveling, playing the piano, or rewatching Schitt's Creek.

Other posts by Allie Decker




RELATED ARTICLES


 * THE SMALL BUSINESS GUIDE TO AI CONTENT MARKETING: TIPS, TOOLS & PRECAUTIONS


 * WHAT IS DIRECT RESPONSE COPYWRITING? (7 BEST PRACTICES + EXAMPLES)


 * 50 POWERFUL CALL-TO-ACTION PHRASES TO CONVERT MORE CUSTOMERS (WITH EXAMPLES)


 * 22 TRIED & TRUE CONTENT MARKETING IDEAS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES


 * 107 TRIGGER WORDS TO MAKE YOUR MARKETING MORE EFFECTIVE




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LocaliQ is a marketing platform that helps businesses find, convert, and keep
customers with a suite of marketing automation, channel campaign management,
marketing dashboard and insight tools, plus expert-led services.



Get Found

Listings

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SEO

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Scale

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Convert & Keep

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