5 Myths Your Business Should Ignore About Social Media
November 25, 2020
Social media began as a way for internet users to connect and communicate. Now, it’s evolved into a highly efficient social and ecommerce tool. With shop options being added to new platforms regularly, and consumers navigating their views on products and services through social media reviews – it’s no surprise to learn that many businesses choose to create accounts with these platforms.
While you can find great success through social media marketing, there are also some pitfalls to avoid. One of these is in believing the many myths which circulate about social media in relation to business. You may have heard one or more of these in recent months. It’s important to recognize that these 5 myths are inaccurate.
1. You Need to Sign up For Every Platform to be Successful
One of the myths floating around in the ecommerce world is that in order to be successful with social media marketing, you need to create a profile on every platform. This only makes sense if you have the following to support such a decree. You see, the more platforms you join, the more schedules you need to maintain, the more unique content you need to create, and the more relationships with followers you need to nurture. For big companies with social media managers who have a broad target audience, signing up for every social media platform might work. However, for the majority of business owners, one, two, or even three accounts is more than enough.
What’s important isn’t the number of accounts you have, but the quality of those accounts. If you create a Facebook and Twitter account but find yourself mostly maintaining the Facebook account and forgetting about the Twitter account, you could lose business. Consumers who spend their time on Twitter might assume your business is inactive, while those on Facebook will know otherwise.
2. Social Media Marketing Doesn’t Cost Anything
To create a social media account, you don’t need to pay a cent. To market on social media, however, the story is completely different. Many businesses choose to use paid advertising on social media. These are those sponsored posts you see popup throughout your newsfeed based on websites you’ve clicked in the past, or businesses you’ve visited on social media before.
There are fees associated with this form of marketing, and they can be quite costly if not properly executed. Be sure to read the fine print on your business profile before you start advertising. There are plenty of free and inexpensive ways to promote your business through social media, but not all of it is without cost.
3. If You Don’t Post Daily, You’ll Lose Followers
Just as your customers don’t want to see an email from you every single day, they probably don’t care to see content posted in their news feed from you every day either. When speaking about content – it’s always regularity over quantity. In other words, post consistently the same number of times each week, rather than posting as many times as you can each week. Not only will this improve readability, but it keeps you from exhausting yourself creatively as well.
It’s important that consumers see your business as reliable, organized, and relevant. This is where consistency rules out. It’s ok not to post every day, so long as you do post, and when you post it’s with some sort of a schedule and a decent length of content.
4. Delete or Ignore Negative Reviews Immediately
This is a huge no-no. In fact, it’s extremely important to react positively to every negative review you receive. Be empathetic, address the problem, apologize when applicable, and rectify the situation if possible. In many cases, a consumer just wants to know that the business who has “wronged” them is willing to admit to a fault and do their best to fix it.
Sometimes all you can do as a company is apologize, and in many cases this is enough. When more action is needed you can reach out separate from your original review and see if there’s a way to retain their business or mollify them. What’s crucial for your other customers is simply to see that you tried to make amends and you addressed that someone wasn’t satisfied.
Companies who delete negative comments or reply rudely only appear guilty in relation. It’s always better to try and catch the flies with honey over vinegar.
5. Posting on Social Media Appears Unprofessional
When MySpace first appeared on the social media field, this statement might have been true. Now, it couldn’t be more wrong. All businesses belong on social media. It doesn’t matter if you run a birthday supply store or a successful law firm. It’s not about whether you’re active on social media, but how you carry yourself online.
There are even some platforms, like LinkedIn, which cater to a more business-oriented set of internet users. This doesn’t mean a mortgage provider can’t have a Facebook account. It’s just important that the Facebook account be professional and provides relevant information to its customers, rather than personal details.
Social media works on a variety of levels, whether you’re using it to schedule appointments, communicate with customers, post information, or as a creative outlet for your brand. When used appropriately social media can make a business very successful.
Hopefully debunking these social media myths helps you improve your own Facebook and Instagram efforts. For more on social media and business-related news, check back regularly.