The whirlwind world of social media is like Pandora’s box – it holds powerful tools that can seriously boost your business to attract new customers, retain loyal ones, and engage the digital world…or it can be a heap of resources wasted if you don’t use them properly. Inevitably, with new means come misconceptions; you may be throwing your hands up at how to use Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to their maximum potential to build your brand and bring in profit. Never fear: here are five of the major myths debunked.
Myth 1: Social media is a weekday job
You may be on a 9-5 shift during the week, but social media outlets run 24/7 and move at greater speeds than your copy machine. Make a point to engage with your followers during off-hours, morning, noon, and night. That doesn’t mean you have to post 12 pictures a day on Instagram, but remember that followers check their feeds at all hours. A social media expert at SocialMediaToday.com found that you might actually have more success if you engage on weekends and odd hours.
Myth 2: I don’t have enough content to feed the outlets
As mentioned above, social media outlets are fast-moving trains speeding on a never-ending track. Content gets posted, pushed down, and becomes irrelevant before you know it. This may seem like wasted effort, but in actuality, it can serve as a way to re-post the same content in different ways to build concepts and values that your brand represents. The key is to not make it repetitive. People miss things, forget them, or don’t respond to how you express them. If it’s evergreen content, then it’s always useful! Just put a new spin on it when you re-post it a few weeks later.
Myth 3: I can’t show personality
Your content should be mainly targeted at your demographic and within your industry, but don’t be afraid to show some personality. There are real people behind your brand and real people following you. Even if it doesn’t directly relate to your product or service, throwing in some humor through office pictures, memes, or interesting news articles can humanize your brand’s message.
Myth 4: My target demographic is older, so social media isn’t worth it
Contrary to what you may think, the older crowd is quite active on social media. According to a 2012 survey by the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project, 52% of online boomers and 32% of online seniors are on social networking sites, especially Facebook. Not broadening your brand to older age groups or ignoring their presence on social media outlets will severely limit your company’s potential for growth.
Myth 5: Social media marketing doesn’t drive bottom line results
This may be the biggest misconception about social media and its effectiveness. Engagement and connection with your followers is key, but you can generate even more value than that. Social media creates leads and inspires new customers. Fact proven: companies that use Twitter average twice as many leads as companies that don’t, companies with more than 1000 Twitter followers get 6x more traffic, 45% of marketers note social media has a below average cost-per-lead compared to other channels…and the research goes on and on (SocialMediaToday.com). Case in point, putting the effort into social media marketing is worth it – the proof is in the profit.
Social media outlets are the perfect places to create a platform for your business and showcase it for current and potential customers, you just have to know how to use them – and that means knowing the truth behind the myths.
