Last week, BtoB Magazine reported that “best of breed” content marketers (those who spend 30% or more of their marketing budgets on content) have a significantly higher preference for social media than average marketers. The reason, we believe, is that these high-level marketers already know something that the rest of the industry is just beginning to figure out: Social media marketing and content marketing feed one another.
Sure, there are plenty of ways to promote a new content piece. Paid advertising, email marketing and search engine optimization can all get your content in front of more eyes, but what could be more effective than promoting content on channels where your target market is likely to seek it out? Social channels like Twitter, LinkedIn and blogs are all widely recognized and highly trusted content channels that decision makers turn to when they want to learn. It’s essential to consistently create and release new, original content if we hope to keep these people engaged on our social channels.
But the benefits of integrating content marketing and social media don’t end there. When we create high-quality content and share it on social media, we’re making it easy for our fans, advocates and customers to share it with their own networks on our behalf. Think of it as a personal referral, backed up by high-quality thought leadership. It doesn’t get much better than that.
If you’ve decided to make content a priority this year (and if you haven’t, you should), it’s time to start making social a priority as well. You simply can’t reap all the benefits of one without the other.
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