Social media is a part of our daily lives in 2021. You probably use it yourself to stay in touch with the world. Because of this, you might think you know everything there is to know about using all the various platforms and can efficiently market your business on one. But the truth is that social media marketing isn’t always as simple and intuitive as it seems. There is a lot of misinformation and bad advice out there about the use of social media for business. In fact, you probably believe in some of the common social media marketing myths yourself. But if you want to improve your digital marketing and grow your business this year, you’ll need to leave those behind.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The dangers of believing in social media marketing myths
Social media is one of the best, most straightforward, and most easily accessible digital marketing hacks for businesses in the modern age. It’s a way to easily and quickly reach a vast audience and spread the word about your goods or services. But like anything else in business, social media marketing is only effective when done right. In order to do it right, however, you will need to understand the platform and learn how best to use it. You can’t do that if the information you’re working with is incorrect. Therefore, believing in myths about social media marketing will prevent you from taking full advantage of what is otherwise an excellent tool for your business.
7 social media marketing myths you need to stop believing
Although current platforms evolve and new ones show up all the time, social media as we know it has been around for quite a while now. In that time, we have come to a pretty good understanding of how it works and how we can use it in marketing. So in 2021, embrace that knowledge and leave behind the myths! Here are some of the most damaging misconceptions about social media marketing that you need to unlearn:
#1: Your target demographic is not on social media
Despite the rapid growth of various social media platforms in recent years, many still believe that only young people spend a lot of time on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other networks. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Today, people of all demographics have social media accounts. While it’s true that a higher percentage of young people regularly use these accounts, the share of middle-aged and even elderly users is steadily rising. Of course, every platform has its own target demographic. You probably won’t find as many retirees on Snapchat as you do on Facebook, for example. But still – whoever your ideal customer is, odds are they are on at least one platform. You just need to find them!
#2: Your industry isn’t suitable for social media marketing
There’s a common misconception that social media isn’t for “boring” industries like administration or manufacturing. After all, social media favors captivating content. Things like makeup, styling, photography, and other visually appealing topics will garner more attention. This much is true – certain industries will find it easier to market themselves on social media. But that doesn’t mean you should miss out on taking your digital marketing to the next level with social media just because your business isn’t an obvious choice for Instagram. It just takes a little bit of creativity. Tell fun stories from the office or make videos explaining what happens behind the scenes in your industry. There are many ways to garner attention on social media.
#3: You need to have an account on every possible platform
Logic dictates that the more accounts you have on various platforms, the more people you can reach. But sheer numbers across multiple social media channels don’t mean much if you can’t turn them into actual customers. This is why you want to target a specific demographic with your social media marketing. In order to do that, you must choose the right platform for your needs: a place where your target demographic is active and where the type of content you create will be popular. So select two to three platforms to focus on. This will be a better use of your time than trying to run a million different accounts.
#4: Constant posting is the key to success
Being active on social media is vital for your marketing strategy. But you don’t want to inundate your followers with too much content – they’ll grow bored and tired of it. So you don’t have to post all the time. Instead, find the perfect time to post by tracking which posts garner the most engagement. This will depend on your business, your timezone, your chosen platform, and more. Finally, keep in mind that quality is more important than quantity. One good post at the right time is better than dozens of bad posts throughout the day.
#5: Potential negativity will hurt your business
Everyone gets a negative review here and there. But on social media, these comments are public. So if you use social media, potential customers will get to see all the negative things people say about your business. You probably think this is a bad thing, but you should think of it as an opportunity instead. You have a chance to respond to these comments, turn around the negative experience, and show your followers the kind of customer care you provide. Handling negative reviews well can actually end up benefitting you.
#6: Followers are everything
We often measure the success of our social media accounts by the number of followers we have. This is certainly an important metric, but it is not the most important thing by far. One of the greatest things about social media is that it allows customers to engage with your brand. That is what you want to be aiming for – engagement. You want people to like and share your posts, ask you questions about your products, talk about your services. A large following without this type of engagement doesn’t mean much.
#7: Social media is a free business tool
Most people think that because social media is free to use, it’s also free for businesses to market themselves on. You can certainly set up a business profile on most social media for free. However, to make the most of social media, you’ll need to invest in it. This could mean paying for social media ads, or it could mean hiring a digital marketing agency to run your social media accounts. Either way, you’ll need to spend some money to see actual returns from social media these days
What can you learn from busting social media marketing myths?
Being aware of these social media marketing myths and, more importantly, knowing the truth behind them will improve your social media marketing. The more you know about how social media really works, the better you will be at using it. And the better you are at using it, the better you will be at promoting your business on social media. So don’t trust everything you read – look closer at widespread ideas about social media. You want to base your marketing strategies on the best possible information, not on misconceptions.
