In this day and age, tons of online marketers are going with social media as a marketing strategy to drive sales and traffic.
You can’t blame them. Everyone’s on social media these days.
However, social media marketing has been around long enough that it’s gathered a few myths and misconceptions about what should and shouldn’t be done while using this strategy.
Well, one thing I’ve figured out:
MYTHS = EXCUSES
If you repeat a myth often enough, it can become reality.
If it becomes a reality for you, you’ll believe it’s true and take steps to avoid it.
And if you do that, you might end up avoiding using social media altogether as a marketing tool, which would be a shame because you’d be missing on several awesome opportunities for advertising and getting traffic.
So let me take some time to debunk a few of these myths for you today.
Here are some of the 5 most common myths I usually hear:
Myth #1 – My target market is older, so social media won’t work for my business.
Don’t look down on the older generation. You’d be surprised, some of them might know more about social media than you do.
In fact, according to research, there’s a whopping 56% of Internet users who are 50 years of age or older, who use Facebook – and other social networking websites like Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram and the like.
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to connect and build relationships with your customers, who may be just waiting to find your business through social media.
Myth #2 – If it doesn’t go viral, my campaign failed.
Just because your social media campaign wasn’t as wildly popular as Old Spice’s or other such campaigns that went viral, it doesn’t mean it was a failure.
That’s not the way you should judge the success of a social media campaign.
It’s not about creating a huge, one-time hit, but about creating and adding value over time.
You can’t expect to see instant results with this strategy. Work on slowly growing your audience through interesting and unique campaigns, with value-laden content that people would definitely share.
Myth #3 – Twitter only works for celebrities, politicians and well-known brands.
Yes, we can’t all be Ashton Kutcher, but we don’t need to be celebrities in order to have a following.
Twitter can still be relevant and valuable for marketers.
All you need to do is keep Tweeting relevant, valuable content (without spamming!) that isn’t entirely about promoting your products or your website.
You can also use Twitter to monitor and engage with your target audience. People might reach out to you with questions or feedback, or mention your company or products.
Also, make use of #wpromote.
Myth #4 – Serious professionals don’t waste time on social media.
Social media isn’t just for college kids and hipsters.
It’s a platform for the creation, exchange and sharing of information and ideas in a virtual community or network.
And even if the “professionals” aren’t on social media, your target audience probably is.
Would you ignore an opportunity to advertise or reach out to a large, targeted audience on a global scale?
I didn’t think so.
So make use of the medium to enhance your reach, increase your effectiveness, and brand yourself.
Myth #5 – Facebook advertising drives “likes”, not traffic or sales.
If you believe this, then it means that you don’t really understand the value of a ‘Like’ or a fan.
You also probably haven’t thought about the ROI you can receive from a social media campaign.
When done correctly, advertising on Facebook can help you and your business increase your online presence, fans and customer engagement.
This means you can attract new customers and bring back current ones, as well as build loyalty for your brand.
And your current customers and fans can use Facebook to refer your products and offers to new, potential customers.
