3.5 billion people worldwide use social media daily*. As a business owner, you simply cannot afford to ignore social media as a way to grow your customer base. However, in order to succeed at it, you need both a good strategy and a firm understanding of each platform you intend to use.
One of the things that can really frustrate your efforts, is trying to live up to a false notion of what social media is or should be.
The next time you hear a social media myth, question it, ask for the proof, and ask out loud. ~ Dan Zarrella
Another thing that can negatively impact your social media marketing is believing in any of these 7 common myths. Let's bust them once and for all!
1. Social Media Marketing is Free.
It's free to join and post content but it's still an investment of time and/or money.
If you can't invest the time, then you'll have to invest money in hiring an employee or agency to create your content, manage your channels, and build strategies that bring you amazing results.
Even if you can invest the time yourself to create and post content consistently, you'll still need to pay for ads and invest in tools to help you manage your social media marketing.
2. You need to be on every social network.
There are over 100 social networks. Even companies with dedicated social media marketing teams and agency support can't effectively be on every social network.
Don't spread yourself thin and exhaust yourself trying to be everywhere. You can and definitely should try out new platforms from time to time but only when it makes sense for your business to do so.
It's better to invest your time and resources in the ones that yield the best results for your business.
3. Followers equal customers.
This myth leads to so much frustration and disappointment. Followers are NOT customers. They are people that follow your brand for any number of reasons.
Will some become customers? Absolutely. But it's time to stop focusing on the number of followers thinking that this will automatically translate into more customers. Focus more on the quality of followers and genuinely connecting with people.
4. Social media marketing is the only type of digital marketing I need to do.
I see this myth playing out a lot with entrepreneurs and small businesses. Social media marketing isn't a replacement for other types of marketing. It's one of many ways to reach and engage with your prospects and customers online.
A solid digital marketing strategy will include a number of digital channels.
5. You can't really measure return on investment.
This is true ONLY if you don’t set goals or have a clear idea of what metrics to track and measure.
There are many social media and analytics tools that can help you understand whether your efforts are producing results that matter.
6. Social media will open me up to negative comments that can hurt my business.
Whether you're on social media or not, unhappy customers have many outlets to voice their views.
Being on Social Media allows you to show you care by addressing and responding to negative feedback whenever it arises.
It can also help you see areas of your business that you didn't realize needed improvement.
7. You should only focus on fans and followers that will become customers.
While it's true that not all of your followers will turn into customers, they form part of your social proof which will help you gain more followers, and customers in the long run.
Their engagement helps you reach more people. They can even refer you to others without ever becoming a customer themselves. So make sure you show love to all your fans and followers!
There’s a saying where I’m from that goes, “the hardest thing is to know”. So now that you know the truth about these myths, you can feel confident taking your social media marketing to the next level!
*Source Oberlo.com
Need help planning or managing your social media marketing? Contact me now.
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