6 Common Misconceptions about Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing is an expectation for a growing number of businesses as part of their digital marketing strategy to increase their online presence. Using social media will allow you to reach out to your target audience and create brand awareness, gaining an advantage over your competitors. But with so many tips out there, how can you know what approach to take? Here are some common misconceptions to rule out:

‘You need to use every social network’

This one is logical really – think about your target audience and where they are likely to be. For B2B strategies, LinkedIn will be a key part of the plan to reach other businesses since the purpose is more corporate and professional, compared to Facebook which can be effective at engaging B2C prospects. Targeting by age? Then consider Instagram for a younger audience.

‘Social media is a separate strategy’

The truth is that social media marketing forms as greater part in SEO strategy as well as having its own benefits of customer engagement and greater brand awareness. Alongside generating more prospects directly, it can be a way to direct traffic to your site, especially as your content gets shared by other social media users. Social should be treated like any other marketing channel – segment, target and position and then monitor the ROI.

‘Google Plus is a nightmare’

Google Plus has a bit of a reputation amongst marketers as being more complicated to use, but it can be a significant part of your social media marketing. Do not underestimate Google Plus – not only will it allow you to reach out to an even further audience, but it will also have a strong impact on your organic search performance.

‘It’s all about immediate interaction’

Social media networks act as great platforms to begin conversations with prospects and like-minded individuals. In cases where there are customer queries, networks like Twitter give businesses a chance to provide customer service and answer promptly. However, there’s a lot to be said for creating content that doesn’t warrant an immediate response. Producing and sharing quality industry content in the form of a blog, once every week, will build up your reputation as an industry thought leader.

‘All social media platforms are the same’

Don’t allow your business to lose personality, individuality and interest by conforming to a set structure for all of your Tweets, statuses and posts across social media sites. Each social channel has an established trend for the style of post.

‘Social media is a waste of time and money’

30% of your business income should be spent on marketing – and social media should be a key element of this. Social media can be an effective digital marketing strategy when used well. The problem is most people don’t use social media properly. Build a genuine audience, use UTMs to track performance, and measure and test everything to achieve ROI.

For more social media tips, take a look at more Social Media blogs /category/tags/social-media or give our team a call on 020 7100 0726.

Author: Wes Maynard – Follow us on Google+