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Top 7 Biggest Myths About Social Media Marketing
There are a ton of misconceptions about social media marketing best practices, and what generates the best results. I’m here to debunk some of these myths, as well give you some tips to help you get the most out of your small business’s social media marketing strategy.
It’s 2020, and by now we know that social media isn’t just a fad, but something that is ingrained in the lives of nearly every single person on the planet that has internet access. As a small business, social media can be used to get in front of a new audience and connect with them on a deeper level. Here are some common misconceptions about social media marketing for small businesses, along with some tips to make your social media efforts go even farther.
Myth #1: Your business needs an active presence on every platform.
In the real world, you can’t be everywhere at once, and the same applies to social media. It’s much better to have a strong presence on 2 or 3 platforms where you’re fully engaged rather than 7 or 8 platforms, most of which are not supporting any customers or potential customers that are reaching out to your brand. Decide which platforms are most popular amongst your target audience (here is a post to help you), and work on having a strong, consistent presence on those networks first.
Myth #2: You need to post something every single day.
Notice the word I just used: “consistent”. The secret to social media success doesn’t rely on posting the most often, but the most consistently. Consistency is what creates an audience of captive followers, because over time, they will find that they can rely on you to share something valuable to their feeds.
If your business is just starting out, don’t sweat it. Even one post per week is an improvement from zero. Start there and work up to posting more often as you feel more comfortable with hitting that goal.
Myth #3: You need to use as many hashtags as possible.
Hashtags are a great way to get your posts in front of more people, but sometimes, less is more. Stuffing your posts with tons of hashtags that aren’t all related to the content of your post could end in spam reports of your content, and ultimately, less trust in your brand. Additionally, some platforms like LinkedIn might mark your post as spam right off the bat if you use more than five hashtags in a single post.
A good rule of thumb is to focus on the relevancy in your hashtags. If you were searching for posts with the hashtag #AffordableWeddings, you would want to see content that gives tips and examples on how to save money when planning a wedding, not price lists from drone companies.
Myth #4: You need a call to action in every single post.
Ask yourself this: when YOU are on social media, what are you looking for? More times than not, the answer is interaction and entertainment. Social media users are looking to be entertained, not to be told to buy something. Even so, you can be strategic about the posts from you and your brand on each of the different platforms.
Even if you’re not linking to your website, talking about your products or services, or asking people to give you a call or email, you can create value for your target audience that will (over time) equate to revenue. Share some insights or information that will appeal to them and that aim to create trust. Interact with them by asking questions. Take some time to actively listen to what their daily struggles are. This helps build the strongest business-customer relationships.
Myth #5: You can’t really measure the success of your social media efforts.
Photo by Georgia de Lotz on Unsplash
There are a ton of metrics and KPIs that you can track to help you build a better social media strategy for your small business. Here are just a few of them:
Engagement (likes, shares, comments)
Reach
URL clicks & referrals to your website
Video views
Conversions
You’ll want to track a combination of these metrics for posts on each of your accounts. There might be additional metrics that are unique to your marketing goals, such as mentions of your company in forums that relate to your industry.
As you grow your business, it might be worth investing in additional software, like HubSpot, that will help you track your customers’ acquisition and behavior on your website much more closely.
Myth #6: Posts from your company page will always be the most successful.
This myth may be surprising until you think about it this way: it’s easier for people to connect with other people rather than a faceless business. We see a great example of this on LinkedIn, where individual profiles outshine company pages in terms of both reach and engagement. This is also why 80% of marketers say that they find influencer marketing to be an effective strategy. People listen to people because people like people.
As a small business owner, think of yourself as the “face” of your brand. Switch up some of your social media tactics by sharing content from your individual account, as well as by commenting on other pages and posts relating to your industry.
Myth #7: B2B companies won’t see any success from social media marketing.
Like I said at the beginning of this article: it’s 2020. Your target audience is most likely spending some time on social media, and it’s your job to find them, connect with them, and create enough value to convert them to customers. If you’re a B2B company, there are likely groups or forums on social media where people in your industry connect and share ideas with each other.
It’s still important to have a profile for your company on these networks, but think about having an active presence as an individual as well. Remember what we’ve already talked about: people like people. It will be easier for other business owners to take advantage of your products or services when they see value in what you bring to the conversation as well.
Social media marketing really isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. Every business will have different goals and strategies for success. One thing that applies for any business, however, is that when you shift your focus to having a presence on social media that is relevant, consistent, and valuable, it will be easier to see a return on the time and money that you invest in social media marketing.
The (Busy) Small Business Owner’s Guide to Social Media Marketing
If you're not engaging with potential customers on social media, you could be losing out on reaching a larger audience. This guide to social media for small businesses will help you determine which social media platforms will give you the biggest return on your marketing efforts.
Photo by Sara Kurfeß on Unsplash
A recent report shows that internet users spend an average of 2 hours and 22 minutes each day on social media networks. As a small business owner, if you’re not also spending some time on these networks interacting with your customers and potential customers, you could be losing out on a much larger audience.
Understandably, you’re also trying to develop and run your small business. It can seem pretty daunting to think about the hours you might need to pour into your social media efforts. However, streamlining your strategies to focus on the platforms that will give you the highest return will help you save time while still reaching a wider audience.
Why should I focus on Social Media Marketing?
Social media is ingrained into the daily activities of so many people today, and this number is only going to increase. It is estimated that by 2021, there will be over 3 billion social media network users worldwide.
You can accomplish a wide variety of goals by reaching and engaging with users on social media. Here are some examples:
Generate brand awareness with an audience that otherwise wouldn’t have heard from you
Increase customer engagement with your brand through thought-provoking conversations with potential customers
Increase the number of leads that you can target in other ways
Retarget and re engage with users that have visited your website in the past
Promote new products or events to a more engaged audience
How do I find the time to be on Social Media?
There are plenty of opportunities to connect with users, as there are hundreds of social media platforms out there today. To be successful at Social Media Marketing, you don’t necessarily need to develop a presence for your business on every single one. Depending on your target customer, you may only choose 2 or 3 platforms to focus on, especially when you’re busy with getting your business started!
So, how do you know which platforms to focus on? Some may be obvious, while others could be your secret weapon. Take a look at the graph below to see which platforms other small business owners tend to focus on right now. Obviously, there are many more social media platforms out there than the ones listed, but this is a good start!
Remember, you won’t be able to focus on all social media networks on your own. Pick 2 or 3 to start with, and go from there.
Which social networks should I focus on?
Photo by Georgia de Lotz on Unsplash
Ask yourself a few questions first to find out where to best reach your target audience. Who are they? Where do they spend most of their time online? If you haven’t already, build a profile of your target customer that lists their demographics, behaviors, problems, and interests. This will help give you a better idea of which social platform they are spending time on (and where you should spend your time on, too).
Let’s take a quick look at some of the most popular social media platforms to help you decide if your target customers are there.
Facebook has 2.41 billion monthly active users, 2.2 billion of which spend their time browsing the platform on their mobile phones. It is without a doubt the biggest social media platform. It’s safe to say that a good portion of your target customers is spending time on Facebook.
Facebook can help you achieve plenty, if not all, of the goals listed earlier. With the ability to create events, join groups, and run ads as a page, having a presence on Facebook is a great first step for your business.
Create a business page and make sure to update it with all of your business’ information, such as your website, address, phone number, etc. Then, make sure you’re posting to your page on a regular basis to engage with your fans and followers. You can reach a wider audience by boosting posts or running ads.
If your research shows that many of your potential customers are instagram users, this is great news! It turns out, 80% of Instagram accounts follow a business profile. Instagram actually has the highest engagement out of any of the listed platforms, with engagement rates that are 58% higher than Facebook and a whopping 2000% higher than Twitter.
To be successful on Instagram, start thinking about investing some time into getting high-quality shots of your product or service in action. Your posts should focus on the visual aspect of your offerings. One way to accomplish this once you have a strong customer base is to ask your customers to post pictures of your product on their profiles so that you can repost them on your page. Make sure to ask permission and give credit!
Video posts and Instagram Stories are other great ways for businesses to engage with customers on the platform. You can repurpose this content from YouTube or Facebook videos too.
YouTube
Creating a YouTube channel is a great idea if you offer a product or service that requires a demonstration or explanation. You can also share customer video testimonials or interviews.
Tag your videos with keywords that will help your target customers find your videos. Use consistent branding in your videos, and engage with viewers by replying to questions and comments.
Twitter is considered by some as a micro-blogging platform, with a 280-character limit for posts.
Photo by NordWood Themes on Unsplash
Many brands use Twitter to simply start a conversation with their customer base. If you’re a consumer-facing company, you might find some return on your efforts on Twitter. However, keep in mind that you’ll get out of it what you put into it. Many suggest tweeting 3 times a day to gain enough visibility and traction on your account. Use hashtags to increase your engagement; just don’t overdo it.
If you’re a B2B company, you might find that LinkedIn is a great place to engage with your target audience and grab more leads. In fact, 79% of B2B Marketers say that LinkedIn is an effective tool for generating leads.
Post about what’s going on in your industry, your latest blog post, or a thought-provoking question that many of your customers have. Like Twitter, LinkedIn allows users to follow hashtags that interest them. Be sure to use hashtags in your posts to gain more views and engagement.
Snapchat
If you’re targeting a younger audience, marketing on Snapchat is a great idea to reach that audience. In the US, about 90% of 13-24 year olds are using Snapchat today. This platform is huge, with over 14 billion daily video views.
Create a Snapchat account for your brand, and start posting videos to your story. You can repurpose content from your YouTube or Instagram videos or just take them on your smartphone. Make sure to promote your account on other platforms so that your target audience knows to follow you.
Don’t forget that as a growing business, it’s just not feasible for you to have a strong presence on every single social media account out there—at least not right away. Start by creating a few accounts that make the most sense for you, don’t be afraid to cross-post to multiple networks, and be sure to engage with your followers that engage with your brand. Soon, you’ll start seeing more and more traffic to your website, and people will trust your brand enough to make a purchase!
Hi! I’m Jennie.
Thank you for visiting my blog! I write about marketing tips for small businesses and how to succeed as a female professional. I write from experience about the things that I love.