If you are new to social media, it can seem quite daunting and a constant battle to win over followers, however few business online find real success without implementing some type of social media marketing to reach potential customers and leads.
With social media present in every part of life, a lot of myths and rumors are floating around. How do you know what is true and what isn’t? Here are the top 10 myths that you may come across.
- Everyone Is On Social Media
Despite the appearance that every person in the world is on social media, in fact many people are not. Current statistics show that out of the 3 billion active Internet users worldwide, 2.1 billion people have social media accounts, but do not assume that everyone is able to see and comment on your posts. Some only use social media to share pictures of their grandkids with family, and others are only interested in interacting with friends.
- Social Media Will Take Hours And Hours Of Your Time
Some companies give the appearance that they spend all day on social media perfecting their posts and sharing other people’s content. However, this may be the case for some, but it won’t be for all. Most social media sites have automated features that enable you to decide what you want automated, such as following those who start to follow you. This can increase your social media presence without taking up any time on your part.
Most social media marketing experts strongly advise a strict schedule with marketing implementation and a lot of campaign planning in order to prevent spending hours and hours on social media. Organization is key!
- You Only Need Social Media
Social media is an addition to your current marketing strategy, not a replacement. You still need a website to promote your business, email marketing still offers the highest ROI (return on investments), and content marketing such as a blog are all crucial aspects of a multi-faceted marketing campaign. Remember not everyone is on social media so some people will rely solely on your website and it’s never a good idea to put all your marketing eggs in one basket.
- Social Media Leads To Instant Sales
It doesn’t for the simple reason that an online presence on social media takes time to build up. Social media is a road and not a destination. IT takes time to build up a following, and it never really ends, as getting more followers and more shares is an ongoing and long-term effort. Social media marketing success will never happen overnight.
- Social Media Is Only For Young People
People of all ages are now on social media sites and capable of making purchases solely through them. When designing your social media strategy remember whom you are trying to sell to. Assessing and understanding your target audience is critical to not only choosing your social platforms, but also in designing an effective marketing plan.
- The More Posts The Better
Social media is all about quality and not quantity. It is better to have several well thought through posts about key topics than hundreds of mindless updates put out there for the sake of numbers. The Internet audience has short attention spans, and when they are drowning in hundreds of updates, the key messages will get lost.
- You Need Technical Skills To Work Social Media
The most commonly used social media sites are fairly easy to use, even for those new to the world of social media. Start by following some basic tutorials, and the skills will come in time.
- You Must Be On Every Social Media Site To See Success
This simply isn’t true, and may be a huge waste of your time. It is better to do your research and pinpoint which ones will be most influential for your business model. Spend your time on this and only when you are ready should you move onto another one. It is better to have one really good site than several poorly managed ones.
- Social Media Is Too Expensive For A Small Online Business
Social media can be as cheap or expensive as you wish to make it. You can set up profiles for free. Time and education are your main investments.
- The More Followers The Better
This is also much more about quality over quantity; there is no point in having 10,000 followers if not one of them completes your required call to action. It is better to have 100 followers on social media that are highly targeted, loyal, dedicated, and likely to do what you want them to as far as your business is concerned that to have 10,000 who never convert.
