There is no denying that social media is an important part of any business’ marketing strategy, but there is so much information flying about, its hard to know what is true and what isn’t. So when it comes to social media here are some myths I can definitely dispel
You must be on all Channels
There are so many social media channels, some you have heard of; Facebook, Twitter and Linked In for example. Some you not be so familiar with, such as; Pinterest and Foursquare. Some that have pretty much been and gone like Google +. And finally some which you may not even think of as social media such as YouTube.
You many have heard that you need to be on all social media channels, but not only is this probably impossible (you do want to have some time left to run your business – right?), but it is also not at all necessary. Your best course of action is to check out the main channels and see which ones are best suited to your business. Then focus on doing a few really well.
Social Media is only for young people
It is certainly true that many young people are very keen on social media, some might say ‘addicted to’. However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t reach an older audience via social media. All networks have a different demographic, not just in terms of age, but also in terms of likes and dislikes.
The best way to establish whether your target audience are using social media and which channels they prefer is to actually ask them! Then you can decide whether it will help your business communications.
You should post a couple of times a day
Unfortunately it is this attitude that is causing more and more people to switch off from social media and particularly from Liking business pages. People tend to get kind of annoyed if their feeds are full of ‘sales chatter’ from businesses, rather than cute pictures of cats and babies.
The ideal number of posts you should make will really depend on your business, but most businesses don’t need to post more than a couple of times a week.
It’s free
Well this is true to some degree, it is free to set up a Business Profile on Facebook, Twitter, Linked In etc. However when you take into account the time it will take to manage your profiles and the fact that time is money, it’s suddenly not so free anymore.
If you decide you need a professional to manage your social media, then there are certainly going to be charges involved. Having said that social media as a marketing tool can be a great investment, you just need to think of it that way.
Buying Fans and Followers works
This is a BIG no no! The best way to get people to Like or Follow your business is to engage them with quality content. Buying Fans may increase your numbers, but it will not work as a marketing strategy, because in general these ‘people’ may not be real people at all. Even if they are they are not going to be your target audience, they may not even by in the same country as you!
It may take longer, but getting real people to Like and Follow your business is the only way to make social media work
If you need help with your social media marketing, whether it’s just getting your cover image right or managing your whole social media profile we can help, just get in touch