Let’s face it: it’s not necessarily our fault that there are so many misconceptions about social media. Social media as a whole tends to pull us in ten different directions, confusing us about everything we thought we knew. Marketing through social media platforms not only takes (an incredible amount of) time, but misunderstanding the purpose can lead to huge disappointments within businesses.
The fact of the matter is that there are some extremely false facts about social media floating around the web. Believing these falsities only makes it more difficult to be successful. Thus, I decided to compile some of the top misconceptions of social media for this article.
And, yes, it is perfectly acceptable for you not to have known all of these social media facts prior to this article!
Misconception #1: If your clients are older, you don’t need to use social media to appeal to them. They don’t use the computer that often, anyway.
The Truth: According to Inc.com, “a whopping 56% of Internet users 50 years or older use Facebook.” Hard to believe, isn’t it? Well, think about it. A 2013 study discussed the fact that 67% of women aged 18-29 use Facebook. Now, think of their dads, who can keep up with their children through Facebook. They are online, and they are seeing businesses on Facebook. And one day, it may just be yours.
Misconception #2: You have to constantly be around your computer and/or online to manage your social media accounts.
The Truth: I don’t know if anyone is capable of being online to manage his marketing tools as much as is “deemed” required. By that, I mean we would have to skip eating, sleeping, socializing, etc., to be consistently active on our accounts all the time. That’s why there are management tools for scheduling. Hootsuite is a general “go to” but there are other options. In order to explore the different ways you can manage your accounts, go here .
Misconception #3: Social Media takes care of your advertising and marketing for you. That’s all you need to do.
The Truth: Not so much. Social Media gives you an advantage because of all the social media users. It definitely is an asset to your company when done right, yet you have to back up your tweets and posts with real product and service performance. You may think that you are engaging in solid marketing (and loving on yourself for your clever tweets). However, remember users can just scroll over those 140 characters in, like, a millisecond. Your audience will appreciate your social media efforts more when an outside relationship is established as well.
Misconception #4: You should expect results immediately.
The Truth: It takes a long time to develop your social media presence - longer than those who don’t use social media realize. I absolutely love the way Bright Cube explains the way social media is: “It’s a marathon, not a sprint.” Which leads to my last misconception…
Misconception #5: Social media is not complicated at all. In fact, it’s easy.
The Truth: I may be a little biased, as I work with most social media websites. The truth of the matter is that many people believe social media management is taxing. The real misconception about social media being easy revolves around the users who don’t need to worry about building meaningful relationships with others. Whether it is for business or personal networking reasons, it takes a long time to establish your presence. Unless you are a celebrity, famous figure, or viral video superstar, your beginning efforts most likely won’t be a walk in the park. It’s perfectly fine to get frustrated, because managing social media accounts is NOT simple.
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