As social media tools become more mainstream, companies of all sizes are eager to adapt to this new trend in their corporate strategies. Living and breathing social media everyday, I’ve found, in particular, several false and misleading assumptions that most CEOs or entrepreneurs hold about social media marketing. While social media signifies a completely different way of communication and socialization, its role can not be overstated. This article reveals ten common myths of social media that usually lead to false expectations and poorly executed corporate plans.
1. All social media tools are free
In my opinion, this statement is way too general. We can interpret the meaning of this sentence in many different ways depending on the angle we look at it. Twitter and Facebook do not charge its members for using the service. In that sense, it is, indeed, free, or free of charge. However, time weighs heavier than money for most entrepreneurs. Social media can easily take away hours of your valuable time that you could have used productively to do something else that would contribute to your company’s bottom line. If this is the case, social media is costly, especially considering it’s highly addictive for certain people.
2. You must dominate your market on all major social networks
Some people are under the impression that the more social networks you involve, the faster your business will grow. While this belief may sound logical, it’s simply not realistic because of the limited time and resources everybody has. Dominating your market on a single network may already prove to be a daunting task, not to mention several. Here is how I handle this situation. I predominately use Twitter as my marketing tool. On the side, I set up Facebook pages, YouTube and Flickr accounts, etc., but only on supplemental basis. Besides, if my messages goes viral on Twitter, one of my followers may Digg it, or bookmark it on Delicious. That is how my message spreads to other networks without me getting involved in it.
3. You can do everything by yourself
While you have the capacity to do everything by yourself, be prepared it’s extremely time consuming and involves a huge amount of self-learning. On the other hand, it’s better to use your time efficiently to do the things you are good at. For example, if you have a blog but you are not familiar with Photoshop, the best option is to hire a graphic designer to do the logo and site layout for you. This way, you can work on more important things such as writing articles which provide good content.
4. Your site can attract a good amount of traffic within months
If you have a blog or website, chances are you already know it takes time to build your following. It’s rarely a succeed-overnight story, unless you already are a celebrity. In order to take your site to the next level, here is the correct formula: Success = Content + Links + Hard Work + Discipline.
5. Just be social, and success will come
Given the literal meaning of “social media,” it’s not uncommon to hear advice that goes like: “You must be social and proactive in order to stand out from your social media peers.” Well, all I can say is social media comprises of people with a variety of backgrounds. Sometimes, strategies are more important than personalities. The key word here is “Relationship.” Relationship is the thing that bonds you together with your target market audience. Fortunately, there are many other ways you can build good relationships on social networks even though you are not a social person.
6. Just provide good content, and people will find it
There is not doubt that content is the king. But without links, you are not getting all the Google juice. In order to increase your presence on different social networks, you must have the correct marketing strategies. No matter how good your content is, it means nothing if people can’t find it. Good marketing and PR strategies are indispensable to make your content findable. My recommendation of reading: The New Rules of Marketing & PR
7. You must monetize your sites in an early stage
Monetization may be a good motivational factor for people to own a website, but monetizing your site too early may actually backfire. Here is why. Monetization only works when your site has a good amount of traffic. Most sites won’t have a lot of traffic at the beginning stage. Even worse, too many banner ads may turn your visitors off. Some of them will never return again.
8. Social media is all you need for your marketing strategies
This one is the worst mistake. It has the most devastating consequences. Social media never equals marketing. Period. It is just a good and cheap tool to facilitate your marketing department to increase it target market reach. Every company needs to have a budget for marketing campaigns and other advertising needs. If you use Google Adwords, that’s even more costs you should take into account.
9. The YouTube Myth
Do you have to make a YouTube video and make it go viral? Absolutely not. The truth is most videos ever created and uploaded to YouTube never surpass 100 views. The videos you watch daily on YouTube are those outliers that have made its presence to YouTube’s “front page”. Depending on the nature of your business and the resources you possess, video marketing can be something optional.
10. The Twitter Myth
Twitter is the latest buzz word in social media. I’ve read many articles that claim the essential role that Twitter plays in our daily life. Yes, it is powerful. This has proven to be true given my own example. My blog and networking website couldn’t have gained so much traffic without my presence on Twitter. But, is Twitter for everybody? Perhaps not. Twitter is a microblogging tool that requires you update your status daily, sometimes even multiple times a day in order to build relationships with your followers. That said, if you don’t think this is something you can commit your time to, don’t even start in the first place.
Please feel free to let us know your opinions on these ten myths. Do you have any new ones to add?
