Small Business Social Media Myths You Need to Forget
When you start forming a social media strategy for your small business, it is hard to overlook the many myths that continue to swirl around this type of marketing.
You want to set yourself up for success, but how do you know what to focus on with your plan? First, know what is truly important and disregard the misinformation.
Here are nine of the most prevalent myths that relate to developing a social networking strategy for your small business: Just setting up my accounts will bring me new leads...
Nope.
Creating your business pages on Facebook and Twitter is only a first step in the efforts you need to invest in a social marketing plan.
It is the actions that you take with those accounts that will determine the success of your lead generation plan.
I can do better things with my time than focus on social media...
Sure you can, but you won't see any of the long-term results that other businesses are enjoying.
Social networks can bring in new business and build customer loyalty.
Social networking is about creating a community around your brand.
And that takes an investment of time.
It takes up too much time...
Seeing results with your social media accounts does take time, but it doesn't mean you are shackled to your computer all day.
As long as you can post one piece of engaging content each day- an interesting article, a stunning image, a survey question- you will see engagement.
There are also a large number of tools available to help automate your social media to save you even more time.
If it doesn't go viral, it was a total waste...
As a small business, "going viral" is not an important goal.
Your goal is to have a constant flow of visitors that are interested in what you have to offer.
Anyone can click a Like button on a big-brand post, but does that mean the user actually cared about the brand? Not likely.
I won't reach a more mature audience...
A few years ago, it might have been difficult to find a user over the age of 30, but that has changed recently.
Now, there are a great number of users in their 40s, 50s, and 60s.
Don't worry that you are missing out on your target audience.
Just make sure you are posting content that appeals to your more mature crowd and you will reach them.
Twitter is only for celebrities...
Yes, Twitter does have a large number of celebrities filling up the feeds of millions of users.
But that doesn't mean your small business cannot take part in the social network.
You don't have to tweet your random thoughts to build your audience.
You just need to tweet messages that are relevant to your audience and at a time when your audience is most likely to see those messages.
Complete profiles are not important...
Would you do business with a company you know nothing about? A social media profile with no image or description is the online equivalent of a store with blacked-out windows and no signage.
Spend time when you set up your accounts to give a full bio of your business.
Who are you? What do you do? Why should I follow you? More posts = more returns Flooding news feeds with inane posts will not win you any fans.
Be selective about what you post and when.
Remember that quality is what counts in social marketing, not quantity.
Posting videos will cost too much...
Video marketing does not have to be an expensive venture.
People are not expecting an epic film worthy of Hollywood.
A simple video shot with the camera on your phone can be a success if the content is good enough.
There is a lot of information about social media marketing out there.
Just make sure that you are paying attention to the information that will help you be successful in your efforts.
Did you believe any of these myths when you started?
You want to set yourself up for success, but how do you know what to focus on with your plan? First, know what is truly important and disregard the misinformation.
Here are nine of the most prevalent myths that relate to developing a social networking strategy for your small business: Just setting up my accounts will bring me new leads...
Nope.
Creating your business pages on Facebook and Twitter is only a first step in the efforts you need to invest in a social marketing plan.
It is the actions that you take with those accounts that will determine the success of your lead generation plan.
I can do better things with my time than focus on social media...
Sure you can, but you won't see any of the long-term results that other businesses are enjoying.
Social networks can bring in new business and build customer loyalty.
Social networking is about creating a community around your brand.
And that takes an investment of time.
It takes up too much time...
Seeing results with your social media accounts does take time, but it doesn't mean you are shackled to your computer all day.
As long as you can post one piece of engaging content each day- an interesting article, a stunning image, a survey question- you will see engagement.
There are also a large number of tools available to help automate your social media to save you even more time.
If it doesn't go viral, it was a total waste...
As a small business, "going viral" is not an important goal.
Your goal is to have a constant flow of visitors that are interested in what you have to offer.
Anyone can click a Like button on a big-brand post, but does that mean the user actually cared about the brand? Not likely.
I won't reach a more mature audience...
A few years ago, it might have been difficult to find a user over the age of 30, but that has changed recently.
Now, there are a great number of users in their 40s, 50s, and 60s.
Don't worry that you are missing out on your target audience.
Just make sure you are posting content that appeals to your more mature crowd and you will reach them.
Twitter is only for celebrities...
Yes, Twitter does have a large number of celebrities filling up the feeds of millions of users.
But that doesn't mean your small business cannot take part in the social network.
You don't have to tweet your random thoughts to build your audience.
You just need to tweet messages that are relevant to your audience and at a time when your audience is most likely to see those messages.
Complete profiles are not important...
Would you do business with a company you know nothing about? A social media profile with no image or description is the online equivalent of a store with blacked-out windows and no signage.
Spend time when you set up your accounts to give a full bio of your business.
Who are you? What do you do? Why should I follow you? More posts = more returns Flooding news feeds with inane posts will not win you any fans.
Be selective about what you post and when.
Remember that quality is what counts in social marketing, not quantity.
Posting videos will cost too much...
Video marketing does not have to be an expensive venture.
People are not expecting an epic film worthy of Hollywood.
A simple video shot with the camera on your phone can be a success if the content is good enough.
There is a lot of information about social media marketing out there.
Just make sure that you are paying attention to the information that will help you be successful in your efforts.
Did you believe any of these myths when you started?
