Is Social Media Content Marketing?
Is social media content marketing? Are they one and the same?
Content marketing and social media marketing are not the same pursuits. They can and do play off of each other, however. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Here’s a look at the key differences and share how they can enhance each other.
What Is Content Marketing?
Blogs, images, infographics, videos, e-books, white papers and more are used to attract, engage and retain consumers and ultimately convert them into buyers. Sometimes, one solid piece of content can be the lynchpin of an entire marketing campaign. That’s where social media can add fuel to the fire, so to speak.
What Is Social Media?
Social media is a tool or suite of tools that enables brands to share content and connect with others. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok and LinkedIn are a few of the most popular. However, being active on social media isn’t enough for longevity or relevancy. Brands should aim to have a social media marketing strategy through which they filter posts.
Social media often works as a content amplification channel, that is, to help content reach a wider audience.
How Do They Work Together?
While content marketing and social media are unique activities, they work together. For instance, brands can get more shelf life out of a long-form piece — like a whitepaper — by breaking it up into more bite-sized posts, infographics and even videos — and sharing them on the brand’s social media accounts periodically.
Social media can also be used for content amplification, to share good content to a wider audience and gain search engine traffic, readers, and site visits.
What Does This Mean for Brands?
Social media marketing supports content marketing because digital assets can lead to conversions when strategically promoted. This plays a significant role in helping a brand capture and hold the attention of its target audience. Savvy marketers know they need both to achieve their goals. Understanding the parallels and synergies between content marketing and social media marketing can help you gain an advantage over other brands that don’t put in the time and effort.
Content Marketing vs Traditional Marketing
Content Marketing vs. Traditional Marketing: Navigating the Modern Marketing Landscape
Content marketing vs. traditional marketing is the most recent debate in the evolving marketing landscape. Some argue that content marketing is merely a tactical channel rather than a strategy. In contrast, traditional marketing, with its emphasis on the four Ps of marketing (product, price, place, and promotion) as the fulcrum of lead generation and sales, is the only valuable marketing approach. The truth is that either approach can be effective if chosen wisely. Here, we dive into content marketing vs. traditional marketing, and why a modern marketing plan may include both rather than focus solely on one.
Content Marketing vs. Traditional Marketing: Understanding Traditional Marketing
Technically, the definition of traditional marketing is marketing offline – that is, non-digital media. Think direct mail, print advertising, television, or radio commercials. It’s the kind of marketing that’s been around for decades since the first business published a newspaper ‘advertisement’ touting hair tonic, ladies’ dresses, or the latest shows or entertainment. Even as far back as ancient Rome, people used advertising – for example, bread preserved in the volcanic ash in Pompeii displays a maker’s mark on the top. It was a form of advertising used by bread makers to distinguish their product from another’s bread, similar to how we might use a wrapper or label on products today.
The Evolution of Web Marketing
Because I am as old as dirt (well, not that old), I remember the early days of internet marketing. Just as the first automobiles were called ‘horseless carriages’ because the carriage was all people understood as a conveyance, marketers transformed print ads into digital formats. Behold: the banner ad.
The banner ad appeared in the early days of the internet, like a print advertisement in a magazine. Static, except for this incredible thing we called click-through. You could click it and be taken directly to the product page. Wow!
You are probably laughing at this mental picture, but I assure you, back in the late 1990s, it was the 'right' way to advertise. Of course, we still have some static ads – my blog, Home Garden Joy, displays two in the sidebar for affiliate programs we belong to. I do this for a simple reason: I am very choosy about my advertisers, and so are my readers. I was unhappy with the quality and quantity of ads displayed by Google's algorithm technology, so I switched to tightly controlled advertising. It works for me, and my readers seem to appreciate it.
Evolution of Digital Marketing
That brings me to my next point. The evolution of traditional marketing into digital marketing is more complex than one might assume. The two areas overlap. Like content marketing vs. traditional marketing, digital vs. traditional marketing is a false dichotomy. There's no need to choose between them. Instead, finding the right blend of online and offline advertising and incorporating successful content marketing strategies and tactics into the overall marketing plan may be the best way for your company to obtain leads and sales.
The Right Marketing Approach Depends on Target Audience
Choosing the right marketing approach, whether it’s traditional marketing, digital marketing, content marketing, or a combination of all three, depends on one thing: your audience.
Advertise Where Your Audience Is
You must fish where the fish are biting. This means you must market to your target customers in ways that appeal to them and in places where they are spending time. Depending on your target audience, this may mean:
- Print advertisements in magazines or newspapers
- Radio commercials on traditional local radio, national radio, or digital broadcasts
- Google advertising or other search advertising
- Social media advertising
- Direct mail
- Outbound calling (“cold calling”)
- Events and conferences (attending, presenting, a trade show booth or sponsorship)
- Sponsoring the local sports team
- Billboard ads
- Become part of a trade organization (chamber of commerce, etc.)
- Affiliate marketing
- Content marketing, including case studies, white papers, videos, and more
- Coupons, sales, and rebate programs
I’m sure I have forgotten traditional, digital, or content marketing methods, but the point is that the list above is not a ‘one size fits all’ list.
The Best Marketing Plan Is Created Just for Your Business
The best marketing plan is one that suits your business. It is a plan created by researching the product, its place in the market, and its competitors. It is a plan that draws from market research into what your customers – not your competitors, not anyone else's, but YOUR customers – want and need from the product or service. A good marketing plan charts a roadmap to position your company among a sea of competitors so that it stands out and helps develop recognition, awareness, leads, and sales.
Content Marketing vs Traditional Marketing: Let Common Sense Be Your Guide
So, regarding content marketing vs. traditional marketing, here are the similarities and differences.
Content Marketing:
- Focuses on awareness, education, and sharing information to empower customers
- Does not overtly ‘sell’ with a call to action
- Provides useful, desirable information
- Meets the consumer need at the point of interest
In sum:
- Educates customers on how to use products or services
- Provides increasingly detailed information to bring customers to the point of sale
- Highly targeted to specific customer groups called "personas."
Traditional Marketing
- Focuses on generating awareness and a desire to own a product
- Does “sell” or calls to action: buy, call, click, etc.
- Motivates through emotional appeal
- Promotes to a mass market or large targeted market to generate interest
In sum:
- Generates interest to generate leads and sales
- Appeals to emotions (keep up with the Jones, look better, feel better)
- Often mass market or to a large audience, but can also be targeted
Content Marketing vs Traditional Marketing: We’re All About Content Marketing
At Seven Oaks Consulting, we have over 20 years of experience in all aspects of marketing: content marketing, traditional marketing, and digital marketing. We specialize in business-to-business content marketing and can provide this service to your company. If you feel content marketing is a helpful adjunct to your marketing program, call us, and let's discuss your ideas. We're honest. If we think we can help you, we'll tell you. And, if we believe content marketing isn't helpful, we'll let you know that, too.
Also Read...
5 Ways to Get More Traffic to Your Blog
Looking to get more traffic to your blog?
Driving traffic to your articles can make or break your content marketing efforts. After all, what’s high-quality content without an audience? But sometimes, it can feel like a chicken-and-the-egg situation. Here are several effective strategies to help encourage clicks.
Get More Traffic to Your Blog Fast
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Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Optimize your articles for search engines to improve their visibility in search results. At minimum, use relevant keywords organically throughout your pieces, including in the title, headings, and body. Add internal links, meta descriptions, and outbound links for an added boost.
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Share on Social Media
You can get more traffic to your blog quickly by promoting individual articles on social media.
Promote your articles on social media platforms where your target audience “lives.” Craft compelling social media posts to tease your content and include eye-catching graphics. As is best practice, use relevant hashtags and post at optimal times for the best outcomes.
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Use Email Marketing
Don’t forget about your email list as an untapped resource. Send out newsletters or email updates featuring your latest articles. Provide a brief summary and a clear call-to-action (CTA) that piques interest and encourages readers to click through to longer-form pieces.
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Repurpose Content
What’s old to you might be new to them. Convert your articles into different formats like videos, infographics, or podcasts. This allows you to cross-pollinate and cater to different learning preferences without creating content from scratch.
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Embrace Collaboration
Align with other content creators or businesses in your field to amplify your efforts. Co-author articles, run joint webinars, or host podcasts together. By combining energy and resources, you can significantly expand your reach.
Get More Traffic to Your Blog, Fast! Consistency Is Key
Driving traffic to your articles requires intention and consistency. Remember that building an audience takes time, so manage your expectations. Over time, as your content inspires engagement and provides value, your analytics will go in the right direction, too. With these 5 ways to get more traffic to your blog, you're off to a strong start.
Another must read: 13 KPIs for Content Marketing
What Is BOFU?
What Is BOFU?
BOFU is a marketing acronym for “bottom of the funnel.”
This term is derived from a marketing framework known as the sales or marketing funnel, which describes the different stages a potential customer passes through before making a purchasing decision.
The stages are categorized as follows:
- Top of the funnel
- Middle of the funnel
- Bottom of the funnel
The BOFU - the bottom of the funnel - is the final stage of the buyer’s journey and is where the marketer focuses on turning the already nurtured lead into a customer.
Decision-Making Stage Content
Prospects at the bottom of the funnel are at the decision-making stage of the buyer’s journey and only need an extra push from the marketer in the form of discounts, rebates, testimonials, etc., to make a buying decision.
Besides the incentives the marketer offers here, one of the major characteristics of BOFU is the type of content the marketer publishes.
Here, the marketer focuses on publishing materials that help the prospect make a decision.
These can include case studies, product demos, trials, customer stories and reviews, and even initial consultations to clarify any doubts or questions the prospects may have.
This is where the marketer provides a detailed description of the products or services and the benefits customers stand to gain.
Metrics
The metrics for measuring the success rate of BOFU strategies and content include:
- Conversion rate
- Customer lifetime value (CLV)
- Average Order Volume
- Return on advertising spend (ROAS) and
- Cost per acquisition (CPA).
- Customer retention rate
- Sales cycle length
- Case study views and downloads
For more on marketing funnel content, please see our article on TOFU: Top of Funnel.
What Is TOFU?
What Is TOFU?
TOFU is a marketing acronym for “top of the funnel.” It is the first stage in the marketing framework, known as the marketing or sales funnel, which represents the customer’s journey to making a purchase decision.
Prospects at the top of the funnel are at the beginning of their buyer’s journey.
At this stage, the prospect knows they have a problem and need a solution but is unaware of the solution they need or the brand that offers it.
Here, marketers try to create awareness and attract attention to their brands or products.
They position themselves as industry authorities, providing valuable information relevant to the needs of TOFU prospects to make them interested in knowing more about the solutions.
The information becomes their first contact with a marketer’s brand, and if they’re interested in learning more, they go further down the marketing funnel into the middle of the funnel.
Marketers don't attempt to sell to their prospects at the TOFU stage of the buyer’s journey. Instead, they nurture the prospects by providing educational and informational content that answers their most dominant questions and gives them insights to understand their problems better.
Content for TOFU Marketing
TOFU content includes blog posts, infographics, social media posts, videos, e-books, and whitepapers.
After the TOFU in the marketing framework is the middle of the funnel (MOFU) and bottom of the funnel (BOFU), which describes the points when the customers are aware of brands that offer the solutions they want and when they’re making comparisons to choose the most suitable option for their needs.
Metrics to Assess Top of Funnel Success
The metrics for measuring the success rate of TOFU strategies and content include:
- Bounce rate
- Time on page
- Clickthrough rate (CTR)
- Lead generation
- Social media followers, etc.
Creating high-quality, search engine optimized top of funnel content is an art. A good content marketing agency can help you quickly fill your TOFU content for optimal results.
What Is Technical SEO?
Technical SEO
Technical SEO (search engine optimization) involves optimizing a website’s technical elements to improve its rankings and visibility on the search engine results pages (SERPs).
It is one of the three main aspects of SEO: On-page, Off-page, and technical SEO.
Optimizing a website’s technical elements helps the search engines understand, crawl, and index it effectively.
Furthermore, it helps provide a positive user experience to the website’s visitors.
Technical SEO includes these components:
Website Speed
This involves optimizing a website to load faster so a visitor doesn’t leave the website out of frustration. A fast-loading website increases user experience and ranks high on search engines.
Mobile Friendliness
Search engines use mobile-friendliness as an important ranking factor because most internet traffic comes from mobile devices. Optimizing for mobile responsiveness is a crucial aspect of technical SEO.
Crawling and Indexing
This involves preparing a website for crawling and indexing by search engines. Technical SEO specialists use robots.txt files to choose which pages should be accessible to search engine crawlers and XML Sitemaps to help search engines understand their website’s structure for proper indexing. They also ensure that pages are linked (internal linking) so that crawlers have an easier time finding and indexing pages.
URL Structure
Creating a clear and organized URL structure helps search engines and users understand a website’s content hierarchy and index it appropriately.
Structured Data Markup
SEOs use schema markups to categorize and label website elements, enabling search bots to understand, index, and rank a website’s page.
SSL and HTTPS
These are security elements that ensure a website’s content is encrypted. It enhances user experience and helps search engines rank a page faster.
XML Sitemaps
XML Sitemaps enable search engines to understand website structure and the relationship between different pages on the site.
Site Architecture
Website architecture is a vital technical SEO element, as it helps search engines and users easily navigate a website.
Technical Errors
Monitoring and fixing technical issues like broken links, server errors, and crawl issues is also an important aspect of technical SEO.
Canonicalization
Canonical tags help you identify and fix duplicate content issues on your page.
Other aspects of fall in between these vital components. With good technical, off-page, and on-page SEO, companies will excel on search engines, generate qualified traffic, and drive conversions.
The Case for Content Marketing
Engagement Matters: The Case for Content Marketing
The case for content marketing: this marketing tactic has emerged as a leading tactic in recent years due to its promise to engage audiences, enhance brand visibility, and drive conversions. However, skeptical business owners and leaders might wonder if it's all razzle-dazzle or if there's any substance. The short answer: It's still relevant, and it offers a great deal of value. Here's a look at the why and how.
The Case for Content Marketing
Content provides valuable, relevant, and consistent information to attract and retain a target audience. Unlike traditional outbound advertising — which can sometimes feel intrusive — content marketing seeks to engage and educate people. By inviting them in with trust and authority, your brand is perceived as a helpful guide, not merely sales-driven.
- Valuable: People hate "being sold to". But they do love learning. As one B2B customer said to us, "When you share information, I love it. When you sell to me, I hate it. That's why I love webinars, case studies, etc." - all types of content.
- Relevant: Make sure your content is relevant to the target audience. If your audience is using Sage, sending them content pieces about Acumatica or Oracle isn't relevant.
- Consistent: Don't publish sporadically. Consistent publishing helps build an audience and adds to engagement.
Advanced Analytics Help Assess ROI
Advanced analytics tools provide a look "under the hood." You can see how your audience interacts with your content, which allows you to refine or modify your content strategy. Adaptation is critical to creating content that meets your target audience's needs and preferences. On that note, content marketing transforms the brand-consumer relationship from a transactional one to a deeper connection based on trust and brand loyalty.
In short, content marketing is here to stay, and savvy business owners know they must subscribe to this strategy. Effective content marketing can deliver results and help companies reach people they might not otherwise. In other words, it's an investment brands cannot overlook if they want to stay in business.
Content Marketing vs. Social Media Strategy: Do You Need Both?
Content Marketing vs. Social Media Strategy: Do you Need Both?
Content marketing vs. social media strategy - what are they and do you need both?
Social media and content marketing are two distinct but complementary marketing strategies. Companies can generate mindblowing results from a robust content marketing or social media strategy. However, only top marketers understand the benefits of integrating both strategies.
A robust content marketing strategy provides detailed information that can be repurposed into social media content. Similarly, the insights from social media content provide valuable ideas for a robust content marketing strategy.
Only B2B companies that effectively integrate the two strategies gain optimal results from their marketing efforts. I’ll explain why.
What Is a Content Marketing Strategy?
A content marketing strategy refers to a company's plan to create, manage, and distribute content. The main goal is to build a solid relationship with prospects by sharing relevant and valuable content that addresses their needs, interests, and pain points.
Content can be created in many forms - blog posts, infographics, emails, white papers, videos, podcasts, etc., to capture various audience interests.
Top B2B companies understand that content is a valuable marketing tool for earning customer trust and establishing industry authority. To achieve their content marketing goals, they focus on being the go-to resource for helpful industry information, helping their prospects and customers make valuable business decisions.
A comprehensive content marketing strategy involves:
- Audience identification
- Defining content goals
- Content creation
- Content distribution
- Lead generation, etc.
What Is a Social Media Strategy?
A social media marketing strategy is a plan on how a company intends to use social media platforms to educate, inform, and engage with its target audience, drive traffic to its websites or sales pages, build brand, product, and service awareness, and ultimately meet other business objectives.
It's one of the most popular marketing channels, and smart B2B companies understand the many opportunities it presents to build trust and authority while increasing their margins.
A comprehensive social media strategy involves:
- Audience identification
- Goal setting
- Platform selection
- Content creation and distribution
- Engagement strategy, etc.
Content Marketing vs. Social Media Strategy: How They Differ
Content marketing and social media marketing differ in many ways, from their focus to objectives, content types, and many more.
Focus
Content marketing uses different content types, like blog posts, infographics, videos, etc., to educate, inform, and address audience pain points while building a valuable relationship with them. Forward-thinking companies understand that by creating relevant and informative content, they establish their place as a reliable figure in the industry, giving them industry authority status.
However, social media marketing uses relevant and visually appealing content to attract engagement and interact with an audience in real-time. Customer-centric B2B companies leverage social media platforms to interact with their audience and understand their needs and interests.
Objectives
Content marketing’s objective is to use relevant and informative content to build brand awareness, establish authority and expertise, and generate and nurture leads into customers. It aims to capture customers at the different stages of their buyer’s journey, from awareness to consideration to decision-making.
On the other hand, the objectives of social media marketing are slightly different. It aims to use relevant and engaging content to increase brand awareness, foster direct communication with the target audience, drive traffic to specific content or offers, and enhance customer service and support. Companies build strong communities on different social media platforms by engaging their customers consistently, making it easy to convert them into loyal customers.
Content Types
Content marketing comprises various forms of content, from blog posts to infographics, eBooks, white papers, videos, etc. These content are usually long-form, as they’re more in-depth and informative. Companies create detailed content and later break them into smaller pieces to repurpose them on many channels, including social media.
On the other hand, social media marketing is known for short-form content, such as posts, images, infographics, short videos, etc., created to fit into a platform’s content specifications.
Social media platforms have different content length limits. Twitter, for instance, has a maximum of 280 characters. Even when platforms like Facebook allow long-form content with a character limit of 63,206, smart companies make their posts short and crispy to capture their audience’s wavering attention and maintain engagement.
There are many other differences between content marketing and social media marketing, such as content distribution mode, measuring metrics, content lifespan, etc.
Why Content Marketing and Social Media Work Together
Some B2B managers ask, “What is the link between content marketing and social media strategy?” “Does content strategy include social media?”
While content marketing and social media marketing are two distinct online marketing strategies, they complement each other in many ways. Top B2B companies understand that they need both to achieve optimal marketing results.
Amplified Content Reach
Content amplification is one of the vital ways social media and content marketing work together to enhance B2B marketing efforts. Social media is one of the major distribution channels for content. When a company publishes well-written, relevant content on its website, the next step is to share it on different social media platforms.
By sharing valuable content with their social media followers, B2B companies also reach their follower’s networks. How? Most social media users will not hesitate to comment, share, and retweet vital information that would benefit their networks. The wider the content reach, the more significant the visibility boost.
Profitable Engagement and Interaction
Social media helps B2B companies interact with their audience in real time, allowing them to address inquiries and customer complaints.
But beyond that, this social media engagement and interaction provide companies with valuable insights that could inform their content marketing efforts. They get new content ideas to keep their content marketing efforts going. And with more content published on their websites, companies have multiple excerpts to post on social media to increase engagement. It’s like a positive feedback loop.
One of the key benefits of this for B2B companies is that it proves their expertise to their customers and shows them they listen to their complaints across these social channels. This allows the customers to speak up more and helps the companies to keep improving their products, services, and marketing efforts.
Quality Lead Generation
Social media is one of the primary traffic sources for B2B companies. With over 4.2 billion social media users worldwide, innovative B2B companies see social media's untapped potential and try to share their content consistently on these platforms to leverage them.
By sharing valuable, relevant content on social media, these companies direct their social media audience to their websites or sales funnels. Then, they receive in-depth information about their products and services.
After getting high-quality products and experiencing good customer service, these customers return to social media to discuss their experiences, generating more quality leads for the companies.
Integrate Content Marketing and Social Media Strategy for Optimal Marketing Results
While companies can implement separate content and social media marketing strategies, integrating both promises better returns. Companies repurpose their most valuable content on social media to drive engagement and traffic. Therefore, content marketing serves as a feeder source for social media content.Social media serves as an amplification tool for web content.
By integrating both marketing channels, B2B companies build valuable relationships. They also establish their expertise and authority, and generate high-quality leads that turn into loyal customers.
What Content Marketing Services Do Marketing Agencies Provide?
Content marketing services provided by content marketing agencies vary according to the agency, its specialty area, and the end customer's needs. Seven Oaks Consulting, for example, is a business-to-business (B2B) content marketing agency specializing in content strategy and planning, outsourced content creation services, and written content: blog posts, articles, case studies, white papers, and more.
Before addressing the larger question of what content marketing services content marketing agencies provide, it might be helpful to take a step back and ask: What services do you need, and is a content marketing agency the solution?
Content Marketing Services: Content Creation Can Be a Big Task
I recently read a book about scaling up content for organic search traffic (organic SEO). The book's authors provided statistics and screenshots of Google Analytics platforms to prove that it takes over 1,000 blog posts to reach a specific level of traffic to yield X leads. According to their formula, posting a certain number of optimized posts over a specific period and building up a repository or search engine optimized posts leads to more leads and sales over time.
After reading their explanation, the question that lingered in my mind was simple: How in the world does the average person write that many posts?
Sure, some turn to AI-powered tools like Chat GPT and new platforms with similar generative AI running in the background, but generative AI isn't meant for content marketing. It spits out plagiarized content, often with glaring errors (ask the lawyer who had it prepare his brief - it cited fictitious cases, and he's facing charges because of it!).
There are many problems associated with this content creation method, yet with the increasing competition for search traffic, creating thoughtful, optimized content is essential.
Most people struggle to write, and it takes the average person several hours to write a blog post like this. How do you scale up your content marketing?
Scaling Up Your Content Marketing
There are several ways you can scale up your content marketing efforts:
1. Write your own content: If you like to write, you understand how to write compelling SEO content, and you have the time, this is undoubtedly an option.
2. Hire a freelancer: You can look through Fiverr or Upwork to find freelancers or post ads on FlexJobs or other ad search boards. Or, look for hashtags on LinkedIn for freelance writers who specialize in your content area.
3. Hire a part-time or full-time writer: If you have the budget, hiring a content writer is also an option.
4. Hire a content marketing agency: Agencies offer content strategy and planning services, content creation, and content amplification. They can translate rough ideas into action plans to help you achieve your goals, measure the plan against KPIs, and scale up or down according to your needs.
Pros and Cons of DIY and Freelance Approaches to Content Marketing
The question of which of the four options to choose is answered by budget and need. If you're a startup or sole proprietor with a limited budget, you will likely be the DIY writer (1) or hire a freelancer (2).
DIY or Hiring a Freelancer
Pros
- Lower cost: DIY costs only time, and freelance writer prices vary according to the writer, the length/topic of the content, and the turnaround time.
- Flexibility: If you’re a DIY writer, you can write when the inspiration strikes - after reading a news article or hearing a podcast that inspires a reaction, for example.
- Output: Output depends solely on your efforts or the budget spent on freelance talent.
Cons
- Costs money: Freelancers don't write for free, and if you expect them to provide free content, stop there and be a DIY writer. Expect to pay $25, $50, $100, and up for a good article or blog post from a freelancer.
- Requires time: You'll need to write your content (DIY) or create the instructions, called a creative brief, for the writer. You'll still need to research topics, find keywords, assign them to writers, check and review their work, provide feedback, and publish your content.
- Finding good writers: Freelancers are a dime a dozen, but finding reliable, professional freelance talent who understands your company, products, services, and target market can be challenging. And once you find that person, they may stop freelancing, ghost you, or raise their prices.
Hire a Part-time or Full-Time Writer
Pros
- You’ll have someone on staff during business hours whose sole job is to write content for you.
They’ll quickly learn brand voice and tone, products and services - Depending on the writer, you can turn out a high volume of quality content quickly.
Cons
- Expensive - you have to pay a salary, benefits, and insurance.
- Challenging - it isn't easy to find a good full-time freelancer.
- They may be unable to turn out the consistent quality you desire or handle other aspects of content marketing, such as planning, strategy, and amplification. So you'll end up doing that yourself, too.
Content Marketing Agency Services
Pros
- Offers teams of professionals to work on your account, so someone is always ready to handle any aspect of your project.
- Experienced at content marketing - no need for hand-holding.
- Flexible teams can provide additional content services (amplification, strategy, visual content) as needed
Can get better results faster and report on results.
Cons
- The most expensive option. Seven Oaks Consulting's monthly fees start at $2,500, although we work on a per-article basis if companies want to try us out first. Pricing with large content marketing agencies like Brafton begins at $10,000 per month. The average is around $4,000 - $6,000 per month.
- It still requires some time from the client. We always ask clients to review their content before publication to ensure accuracy.
- Some ramp-up time is needed to learn the company, products, and services (but likely much less than a freelancer would need).
Typical Content Marketing Agency Services
Again, I emphasize that no two agencies provide the same services, and the final list of services an agency recommends for your company's needs may vary from another company's list. It's all in the goals: What do you want to achieve? Then it's about the audience: who are your customers and competitors, and what will it take to reach them?
Strategy and Planning
- Developing a strategic content marketing plan
- Creating an editorial calendar or content calendar
- Competitive analysis
- Persona identification and mapping
Creation
- Researching and writing content
- Identifying target keywords
- Optimizing digital content
- Graphic design of content
Amplification
- Promoting content across various channels (social media)
- Guest posts and article placement
- Advertising content on search engines and social channels
Other
- Reports and metrics
- Other marketing services: brand consultation, digital marketing, direct mail marketing
Do You Need a Content Marketing Agency?
A content marketing agency offers a comprehensive suite of content marketing services: strategy, planning, competitive intelligence, SEO, creative design, writing, and promotion - the marketing of the pieces themselves. Agencies also provide reports, coaching, and guidance on various marketing disciplines.
Content marketing agencies may work across both B2C and B2B companies or specialize in a specific niche: beauty and health products, medical or health, technology, manufacturing, and more.
Agency-Client Fit
Finding the right agency to fit your goals, needs, industry, and audience is essential. Part of your due diligence is to ensure a good agency-company fit. This means meeting with the company's team - perhaps the account executive you'll be working with and other key players who will be hands-on with your projects.
Experience Match
Take time to ensure that your expectations align with their experience. Don't try to fit a square peg into a road hole. You may like how an agency approaches its graphic design, but the ramp-up time may be significant if they don't know your industry very well.
Time Investment
Be ready to invest over 6- 12 months with a content marketing agency. Most will require that much time to get content planned, created, and promoted. It is unreasonable to expect results within weeks or months. Good content marketing takes time to develop, time to index by search engines, and time to be found and appreciated by customers.
Ready to Get Started with Content Marketing Services?
Are you looking for content marketing agency services? We're happy to help. Please contact us after you've reviewed our prices and services, and we can discuss your goals and needs.
Yes, Content Marketing Still Matters!
Content marketing still has a place in the marketing mix. Consumers are hungry for information online and look to online sources to help guide their decisions. In 2021 nearly 70 percent of online shoppers typically read between one and six customer reviews before making a purchasing decision, according to Statista. This points to the fact that consumers are influenced by the content they encounter in their buying journey.
Leading the Way
That’s where content marketing enters the equation. It’s a powerful means to inform and influence potential customers about how you can add value, while establishing trust. Plus, optimized content marketing can bring organic traffic from search engines like Google. This can translate to improved Google rankings, online visibility and more robust sales.
However, effective content marketing doesn’t happen by design. Both art and science, the brands with the most success know to approach content marketing from an inbound perspective. In other words, marketers have become adept at reaching their consumer base in ways that don’t seem too sales-y or formulaic.
Custom Content Is King
While each brand has its own style, a storytelling framework resonates with consumers and lays a foundation for loyalty. It’s rooted in intentionally tailoring your content to your target audience and their needs, instead of pushing out a message to a general audience. In contrast, an inbound content marketing strategy means your brand and products appear naturally during their fact-finding mission.
For example, if a health-conscious consumer is looking for information about adding protein to their diet, they might be researching protein shakes. If you're a manufacturer or marketer of plant-based shakes, you could write a blog post with recipes. Based on keyword research that produces search engine results pages, you could drive consumers to your e-commerce website naturally.
In short, content marketing is still the secret sauce when it comes to creating brand awareness. Companies of all sizes can remain competitive in a crowded digital landscape while engaging with core consumers more effectively than ever before.