5 Myths about Social Media Marketing

It’s obviously no secret that we believe SMM is a critical part of any business’ overall marketing plan, for a variety of reasons - not the least of which is how inexpensive it is, particularly in terms of ROI. Still, there are a number of smart business owners out there who are either basing their entire SMM campaign on erroneous information and are not using these mediums effectively because of some common myths that are floating around. We’d like to take a moment to dispel 5 of those myths and set the record straight.

Myth #1 - Bigger is better – A lot of businesses make the mistake of equating the number of “likes” or “followers” they have with successful SMM. The truth is just as with most things, when it comes to social media, quality is always better than quantity. Having 6,000 people “like” your page means absolutely nothing if not one of those people is a potential paying customer.

Myth #2 - My customers aren’t using social media – Let’s consider a few facts. First, Facebook alone boasts over 800 million active users. Second, while younger people still make up the majority, there has been a steady increase in older adults using social media. In fact, according to a recent study, social networking usage among those aged 50-64 increased to 47% between 2009 and 2010. Usage for adults aged 65 and older also grew to 26%. What this means is that no matter what business you’re in or who your customers are, chances are quite compelling that they’re using social media in some capacity.

Myth #3 - It’s too hard to measure results – To the contrary! One of the nicest features of marketing through social media channels is the ease with which you can retrieve and analyze your results. Here’s a great article on measuring your conversions with Google Analytics. Additionally, many of the platforms themselves offer their own tools for viewing insights and other metrics to determine the level of success of any given campaign.

Myth #4 - Social media marketing isn’t professional – Well, I suppose this depends on how you plan to engage your audience, but as long as you approach the use of social media the same way you would approach a face to face meeting with a customer or potential customer it can be just as professional. If it weren’t, why would so many thousands of businesses already be successfully using these platforms?

Myth #5 - SMM takes the place of traditional marketing – Sure we think SMM is an incredibly powerful and important tool to have, however, it shouldn’t become the be all and end all of your marketing efforts. Instead it should be one of many tools in your arsenal. Remember the old adage “don’t put all your eggs in one basket”….it applies here as well.

If you’ve found yourself using one or more of these inaccuracies as a reason to limit your SMM activities, or if you’ve based your campaigns entirely on any of these myths, you’re most certainly not getting the most out of social media. Now that you know the truth, consider making some changes that will make your SMM more effective and able to produce the results you want.

Labels: small business tips, social media marketing