Digital marketing has always been dynamic. Thanks to the medium’s nature, the industry’s evolution is fast-tracked, making it difficult for markers to keep pace with the hottest trends.

Do you focus on PPC advertising, social media marketing, user-generated content, or any one of an endless list of tactics? It’s confusing at best and can soon become overwhelming.

Today we’re about to make your marketing a little easier. We are introducing a relatively new concept, but it brings together several disparate marketing strategies. With a simple shift, you’re able to draw on the best elements of several tactics for optimal success.

In this article, we’ll examine social content marketing and how to create a winning strategy from scratch.

What is Social Content Marketing?

Social content marketing (SCM) is best described as a fusion between traditional content and social media marketing. SCM is a complete paradigm shift. It’s about shifting your focus from your company being the center of the client’s world to the client’s world being your focus.

The format is different from traditional digital marketing in that it encompasses both online and offline activities. It also requires the intelligent use of pressroom principles to generate interest in your brand.

You’ll provide your clients with valuable resources that sometimes fall outside the ambit of your normal business activities. You’ll collaborate with other businesses to enhance the client’s experience and rely on growing brand engagement.

Say, for example, that you sell cars. On your website, you might have articles on choosing the right vehicle, obtaining finance, and similar content. You could then go one step further and collaborate with an auto-valet service, getting clients deals on detailing their cars.

Why not take it even further and create a package for your client that includes deals on:

• Driving lessons for their children
• Road safety courses and advanced driving training
• Advice on how to get the best parking and insurance deals
• Ideas for road trips and interesting or safe places to stop along the way

Think outside the box and look at what you need when you buy a new car. Why not step it up even more with fun challenges? Partner with a local gym to see who racks up the most points for parking their car on the far side of the lot.

Start Moving Away From a Specific Channel

We’re heading into an era where the lines are continually blurring. Social media used to be a place where you connected with old friends and family.   Today you can get the latest news, hours of entertainment, watch videos, find memes, and buy and sell items.

Web users are becoming accustomed to a channel-less interface. They want to view the latest sports scores and then access their team’s merchandise from a single channel. They may also contact the company.

The catch is that there are so many platforms for businesses to choose from, it gets exhausting. Get off the merry-go-round and start focusing on the experience first, rather than on focusing on one specific channel.

Your basic client experience across all channels should be consistent. If you start by creating a generic template that will work no matter what platform you apply it to, it becomes simple to achieve this aim.

Instead of frantically creating specific Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, and so forth journeys for each client, you’ll have one basic plan from which to work. You’ll adapt the content depending on the channel, naturally, but you’ll improve brand awareness and customer satisfaction significantly.

To further improve consistency for the client, many firms outsource the day to day management of their social media pages.

Get Started Today

The concept may take some time to get used to, but we have some quick tips to give you a head start:

• Who is your target audience? What pain points do they have, and about what do they care? How do they behave? Where do they hang out online, and how do they access information?
• Segment your target audience into like groups. Create buying personas within these segments to target your marketing efforts better.
• What is the typical customer journey for each persona? What do they need at each stage, and how do they meet those needs?
• Now look to your various contact points with your clients. Can you better integrate them? Enable social sharing of your blog content, and consider tying together themed content across all channels. Instead of posting the same thing on each channel, create an interesting journey for readers.
• Story-telling is becoming even more important. Potential buyers want to know more about your brand and the people who support you. Create content that explains your “origin” story and possibly gives some industry background. Pair it with interesting user-generated content.
• Drive interaction by following your followers on social media and other platforms. Did Joe Smith just win the town’s 5-mile fun run in record time? Congratulate him on your social media pages. Encourage people to upload their stories about Joe or even their experiences during the fun-run.

Final Notes

SCM puts the “social” into content marketing. The combination of contemporary and traditional tactics not confined to the digital world is a powerful one. All that’s left now is for you to get started.