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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.

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.