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Have you ever posted a gorgeous photo to #Instagram showing off your products?
Or how about clicking that boost button that shows up below literally everything on Facebook?
If you’re running a business that’s new to the world of social, “digital marketing” and “content marketing” may sound like the same thing.
But despite a little unfamiliarity with the jargon, you probably already know the difference and most likely apply both squarely where you should.
Let’s break these two down.
Digital marketing refers to the umbrella term marketing people use for strategies that look to build sales and for that oh so common phrase ‘AWARENESS.’
These include creating websites that showcase your product, search engine optimisation that ensures your website ranks high in search results, and email marketing that annoy people’s inboxes into submission.
In social media, digital marketing efforts tend to include boosted posts and sponsored posts on platforms like Facebook or Instagram. In these cases, you pay for your post to reach more potential customers, or to get them to engage with your post by liking, commenting or sharing.
While this umbrella term now covers a plethora of different channels and techniques, the objective remains the same; to reach your audience wherever they are online and increase their buying propensity.
There’s nothing better than trying to game the system and increase your odds. Wink Wink.
Content marketing is different in that it’s less about outright selling and more about adding value to your audience. Yes, I said value.
How does a 4:5 filtered photo enrich your life? You might want to ask the same question to the many artists that have enriched our lives through clay & oil.
But essentially, you either promote something, entertain your people or inform your audience of some thought-provoking or reliable piece of information. These normally take the form of creative imagery, dynamic and/or tutorial videos, infographics, inspiring quotes, fun memes and sometimes even controversial questions.
In content marketing, what you want is to consistently generate valuable and relevant content for your followers – followers who will then keep following you and develop trust in you. They may not be paying customers now, but with you putting out good stuff post after post, they’ll be more likely to turn to you when the time comes to make a purchase. They’ll also be more likely to recommend your product to others – they’ll become your brand ambassadors! Remember, a raving fan doesn’t necessarily need to be a buyer.
Now that you know what sets the two apart, I hope it’s a little clearer to you that the best strategy is one that combines both.
Say you have a website. You wouldn’t want to rank high in Google but not have well-written pages to actually keep your visitor on your site, would you? Same goes for social media. What good is a well-targeted ad without the strong visuals and copy that would make someone hit that follow button?
Strong content paired with effective digital marketing will lead people to not just know about your brand but will make it more likely that they’ll become loyal customers. And as a business owner, isn’t that ultimately what you want?
At If & When, we’ve helped a number of clients in different industries reach their customers through that one-two punch of creative content and effective digital marketing. Plus, with our affordable plans, our clients get to focus on growing their business while we do the heavy lifting on social. Contact us to book in a power session with me – I’d love to help your business grow by building a social strategy that’s tailor-made for you.
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