One of the least talked about aspects of good digital marketing is cohesiveness. There should be an overall plan that takes advantage of all of the opportunities to promote and market. As a top digital marketing firm, one area of cohesiveness we regularly see overlooked is the integration of social media marketing and blog marketing.
When people ask us, why should I integrate my social media marketing and blog marketing, the simple answer is potential. These two platforms, when properly aligned, will allow you to maximize the potential of both.
Why Two is Better than One
Most businesses utilize social media for promotion on at least one channel. Many businesses also have a blog to help showcase knowledge, improve SEO, and provide value. Putting them together is like peanut butter and jelly; good apart but something special when combined. Joining these channels, you can increase traffic and engagement, help create a community, and gain important feedback which can lead to better content development.
Increase Traffic – One of the basic ideas of using both platforms is in cross-promotion and increasing traffic to both sites. But it should not be done in a basic manner of just reposting blogs to social media or adding social media buttons to blog posts. Instead, look for ways to stand out and engage in unique ways. Remember, thousands of other companies are bloating users’ feeds with blog re-posts. How will you stand out? Use different graphics or videos with unique summaries of the article or create custom memes and gifs to spice up the content on social media. On blogs, don’t just use social media buttons but also write copy to entice people to visit those platforms now. For example: Did you sign up for our $100 Amazon Gift Card giveaway yet? Check out our Facebook Page for details!
Improve SEO – Blogs use keywords. Social media uses hashtags. Why not make those work together for maximum effect? It takes a bit more effort as you are researching both keywords and hashtags to find the right combination of popularity and search volume. But it is worth it as then your social media will provide better SEO for your website. Many times, people use generic hashtags and by doing so they are missing the opportunity to use long-tail keywords that are less common but align with content.
Better Feedback – Initially, one of the great things about blogs was the ability to get feedback and interact with people in the comments section. Sadly, that was short-lived, replaced now with tons of spam about how you can earn $8000 a month working 5 hours a week from home. Or even worse, negative comments from people who like to cause problems. That is where the social media integration is useful. They are much better platforms for talking to an audience, getting valuable feedback, and listening to honest opinions. You can easily utilize surveys and polls to gain more insights, all of which can be used for better content development.
Opportunity for Personality – In some cases, blogs can be a bit bland. They adhere to specific guidelines for tone, professionalism, etc. land are posted by Anonymous or Business Name rather than by Don T Crockett Esquire. When you utilize a combination of platforms, it offers the chance for more personality to be exhibited along with personal branding. Let employees step out behind the brand name and foster connections while still following company expectations. Consumers prefer to connect with people, not faceless companies. Include author/bio links that connect to their social media platforms and use that to help connect blogs to people and back to your brand. Take content marketing “Live” on social media channels and let the authors promote themselves and the brand.
The Bottom Line
The bottom line is that for nine out of ten businesses, you should integrate your social media marketing and blog marketing for better marketing results. By combining strategies and integrating those platforms, a business can improve the content and deliver better engagement, all while providing a more consistent brand experience.
