By Susan Tucker
There is so much noise out there about social media, it can be hard to decipher what works and what doesn’t. On my day-to-day activities meeting with new clients, I often hear a whole slew of social media marketing myths that are simply not true.
So, I’m here to bust those myths and get you on the right track with your social media marketing.
My clients aren’t on social media
While it is true that not every single person uses social media, data from the Pew Internet project finds that 85% of Americans are online and 72% of American adults who are online use social networking sites. Chances are your clients are there… somewhere. The challenge is understanding WHERE they are. That’s why creating one or more Buyer Personas is key.
Social media doesn’t provide any benefit
Increased exposure, increase in website traffic and a deeper connection with clients are just three of the benefits reported in new survey from Social Media Examiner. Others include a rise in search engine rankings, lead generation and reduced marketing expenses. I think those are some pretty great benefits for small business owners.
More followers = more success
Strategically speaking, more is not always better… better is better. A handful of highly targeted and engaged followers is going to gain more traction than 100 not-quite-as-targeted followers who are never engaged. In fact, Facebook – and their ever-changing algorithms – are penalizing crappy content that does not organically engage followers. If you have 5M followers and no one is interacting, then it’s pointless.
Ignoring negative feedback is OK
When you put yourself out there through social media, there is always a chance someone is going to say something negative – it happens even to the best of us. But, the worst thing you can do is to ignore it. The beauty of being social is to show that you’re listening and that you care about your customers.
Have you encountered negative comments or feedback? Here’s how to handle it: always reply publicly with a heartfelt, non-confrontational response along with any relevant policies you have in place. Invite folks to contact you to privately discuss the matter at hand.
I don’t need to be strategic with social media
Social media marketing may sound all fun and games, but it’s actually a key component of any marketing strategy. As such, small business owners should think through goals, track where new users are coming from, actions they took and calculate the value of that activity. When you put a strategic mindset to your social activities, you can reap the benefits of this top-of-funnel lead generator.
I can’t track my social media ROI
Once you set up a strategic plan and walk through the process of social media followers, you can decipher how your social engagement is actually filling in the top-of-funnel process, then watch as newly engaged fans trickle down to become enthused clients.
Hint: Use Google Analytics to track where new site visitors are coming from.
What are your myths? Did I miss anything? Share below.
