Modern consumers want to find content that meets their needs right away on their preferred channel. Integrating content creation and social media marketing is a winning strategy for offering users what they want.

Developing a presence on social media is a powerful strategy for building your audience and generating leads. However, too many brands simply repost existing content on social media. You can go further by integrating content creation and social media.

What does integrating your content process mean?

Content integration is a way of managing your content production process. Instead of writing content and identifying publication opportunities later, this approach is more holistic. It looks at all your publication channels, identifies goals, and informs how you should create content. Integrating content creation and social media means you would consider the unique goals and challenges of social media early in your process. The result? Content that feels native to social media and supports community-building and lead generation.

What are the benefits?

Nine out of ten consumers want an omnichannel experience. Integration allows you to be present on multiple channels while delivering a consistent message. Moreover, 70% of Americans use social media. You can’t afford to overlook this platform.

Five strategies for integrating content and social media marketing

Use the following strategies to develop content for social media.

Building a community

A community is more than an audience. It’s a group of users who interact and connect with your brand. Here’s how you can build a community:

• Provide value, either with useful content or something more concrete like a rewards program.
• Adopt a persona that feels genuine and relatable.
• Create profiles that are easy to find on platforms where like-minded users are active.
• Nurture engagement by responding to comments.
• Launch hashtags for user-generated content.
• Think about getting help from influencers.

Cross-posting

You can broaden your reach by sharing a piece of content across several platforms. Brands often share blog posts on social media. In fact, 44% of all brand posts on Facebook are links. Identify the pieces you can cross-post and tweak them if needed. This strategy lets customers decide where they want to interact with your content and helps you reduce costs by reusing content.

Employee advocacy program

Employees have stories to tell. However, creating quality content and sharing it can be difficult. The solution? Launch an employee advocacy program. Share resources to help employees. Additionally, you can have employees work with your content creation team. You can use new formats like interviews or behind-the-scenes videos. After all, employees are an important part of your organization. Their stories can support your values and feel more authentic than standard marketing copy.

Lead acquisition

Forty-five percent of marketers are happy with lead generation on social media. However, only 34% like the quality of these leads. Get quality leads with these strategies:

• Create shareable content to reach a larger audience.
• Grow your community for social proof.
• Create content that gets clicks.
• Don’t forget calls to action.
• Invest in social media ads to target the right audience.

Lead nurturing

Your job doesn’t stop when you get a new lead. The next step is to nurture it, and you can use social media for this. Respond to comments to make this experience more interactive. In addition, you can use a chatbot to answer questions and recommend more content. Similar to an email list, you can keep new followers engaged by sharing a series of posts that encourage content consumption and repeat visits to your site.

Need help?

Social media shouldn’t be an afterthought when you create content. Add this channel to your process. This way, integrating content and supporting community-building, lead generation, and other goals is easier. Tempesta Media can help you get better results with social media by delivering high-quality content adapted to this platform. Reach out to learn more about our Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter integration capabilities. Not utilizing social media is a common mistake businesses make in their content marketing programs. Read our 100 mistakes e-book to discover other mistakes to avoid.