The world of social media marketing is evolving. Things that were unheard of 10 years ago are today’s bread and butter for many marketers.
This dynamic development gives an opportunity for myths to perpetuate in full glory. What are the most popular myths about social media marketing? Let’s find them and get them debunked.
Social media is free
Joining social media platforms is, indeed, free, but a practice that is becoming more common among many brands is the “pay to play” approach.
Businesses are aware that if they want to win the social media marketing game, then they need to invest in it.
You need to have accounts on all social media platforms
It is not entirely true. While your presence can be highlighted on various social media platforms, you do not have to be present on all of them to achieve your business goals.
To be fair, it is not about being present, it is about being active. It is better to be pro-active and care about interaction and engagement on one or two platforms than to sign up for every possible social channel just to be there.
It’s enough to schedule posts.
This is another myth to be busted. Planning posts is really important, but you simply need to do more.
Taking care of community management or preparing visuals – just to name a few tasks.
You don’t have to analyze.
Social media analytics is more than crucial. The numbers speak for themselves and can help you evaluate social media marketing strategies.
Working on social media and not analyzing your performance is not even a faux-pas any longer: it is just unacceptable.
A lack of analysis can cost you a lot of time, effort and money. And, we suppose it’s safe to say, you do not like burning money.
Read also: How Caroline Used Pinterest and Affiliate Marketing to Grow a $100K Parenting Blog
It does not matter when you post.
False! It matters a lot when you post.
If you hit the peak time of your followers’ engagement then you can get really satisfying results. If you post without looking at the statistics, then the organic reach can be close to zero.
Again, it all comes down to analysis.
For example, here are the best times to post on Instagram:
It is all about having followers.
Nope. It is all about having engaged followers who are your target group.
Having followers who do not interact with the brand or are actually fake can do more harm than good to your brand, negatively affect the reach and be nothing more than vanity metrics.
It is more beneficial for your social media marketing to have a smaller but more engaged follower base. It can take some time to build, but will pay back in the long run with an above-average conversion rate, reach or engagement.
Read also: How I Increased My Pinterest Traffic by 778% in 2 Months
You should only post photos.
Many social media marketing stats show the popularity of the photo format.
It is hard to disagree that they can be a vital part of your strategy, however, it does not mean that you can’t post any other types of content.
Short video clips, made in various social media marketing tools, can be equally great for your brand and loved by your followers.
Still, you should not resign totally from photos. Just try to modify your content plan a bit and introduce videos, slideshows or carousel posts. Why wouldn’t you give polls a try, too?
Of course, the aforementioned myths are only a drop in the ocean when it comes to false statements about social media marketing.
Instead of believing in them and following them blindly, try to test them out and debunk them on your own. You may be truly surprised by the results. Good luck with your social media strategy, and don’t let myths overcome your extraordinary creativity!
Stock Photo from Denys Prykhodov @ Shutterstock