Five Reasons why Content Strategy Comes Before Social Media

Here are five important reasons why a content strategy needs to be considered before integrating social media into your marketing plans.

1. Social media does not work unless you have something valuable to say! Developing a content marketing strategy is about understanding your customers' pain points, and then delivering multi-channel content that solves those customer challenges. Without having something to add to the customer conversation, how is it possible to leverage social media tools where you can help guide the conversation and position your brand/company as a trusted advisor?
2. Publishing is marketing, marketing is publishing. If we've learned anything over the past few years, it's that the majority of new media marketing efforts rely on a keen understanding of publishing. That means that you (the marketer) need to take your sales and marketing hat off and put on your publishing hat. Instead of features and benefits communication (look at most enewsletters, which are most times product or offer driven), are you delivering information like a publisher does to readers? The publishers of the future are not going to be media companies, but companies that ultimately offer a product or service. That includes you.
3. Social media activity does not mean you are accomplishing your marketing goals. That's where content strategy comes in. What is the purpose of your content? What are your key messages? What content assets do you have and what do you need to acquire? All the social media interaction in the world won't answer these issues for you, which should be completed first.
4. It's the content that is ultimately shared through social media. Valuable educational and amusing information is shared through social media. So many brands have rushed into social media wondering why they don't have the right kind of Twitter followers, or why they don't have enough comments on their blogs or within their communities (or what they are getting out of social media in the first place). Understanding that it's the content plan that drives the spreading of your ideas is the first step.
5. Social media = I hear you + I'm listening to you + I understand (thx @briansolis). Now replace "social media" with "publishing" or "content strategy". Works, right? Now try this...content strategy = I hear you + I'm listening to you + I understand + successful marketing goal and content measurement. This cements the fact that you are producing this content, not only to be shared by your customers and prospects, but to accomplish a significant marketing objective.

via blog.junta42.com

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