What is the Difference Between Social Media Marketing and Content Marketing?

By Adam  |  19 Aug 2015 19:00:00

In this blog, two of the things I talk about most commonly are social media marketing and content marketing. There are lots of different approaches and strategies you can take towards either of these and I have offered ideas in the past, but, of course you're not all at the same level of understanding and perhaps there are some of you reading this who are not quite sure what the distinction between content marketing and social media marketing actually is. If that sounds like you, then read on! I shall explain what separates them so you can have a clearer understanding for your marketing plan.

First, I'll go over social media marketing. This is based entirely on social media outlets and is a case of trying to promote yourself. If you make an account for your business on any social media outlet, what you use that for will be social media marketing. Social media marketing is great for keeping yourself in the minds of your existing customers, who will then receive regular updates from you, as well as for reaching new customers, which is where the 'social' side of social media comes in. Interacting with people in a friendly way will make your business look good. Whether you're interacting with prospects or existing customers, it's a great way to give a nice public image.

Now, I'll explain content marketing. While social media marketing is all about going out and promoting yourself on different platforms, content marketing is about creating exciting content for your own website to increase the chances of people finding it. The most common form it can take is that of a blog. If you write about lots of things that are related to your business (and will be of interest to potential customers) then you stand a good chance of coming up on search engines when people search for the things they are already interested in. Furthermore, if somebody comes to your eCommerce website and sees an interesting, regularly updated blog, then they're likely to want to return for future posts.

There's a lot of crossover between the two as well; with social media marketing, you're likely to post a lot of things about the content on your website, with content marketing you'll occasionally sign up to other websites (like YouTube or Vine) in order to post the content and other things like that. Nonetheless there is still a clear difference between them and both have their place in any marketing scheme. If you don't have the time for content marketing, you might like to look at our other service, Click Booster, who can provide you with the content your website needs. And, finally, if you were reading this post to research marketing methods before starting your eCommerce website, then why not get things started and sign up now? It is completely free to do so!