Its validity has been established time and time again yet business owners and marketing managers continue to be concerned over the longevity and efficacy of social media marketing.  Instead of debating the multiple perspectives that we’ve heard and/or seen, here are eight of the largest myths of social media marketing as well as the truths behind them.

  1. Social Media Marketing is Free — As one of the biggest misconceptions out there, business owners and marketing managers consider social media marketing as being a free service.  However, while the use of social media platforms is free (for the most part), the proper implementation of a social media campaign takes time, skill, and money.
  2. Social Media Marketing Makes and Immediate Impact — There is no doubt that countless people consider social networks (and marketing through them) is an immediate fix to their marketing needs.  Unfortunately, there are very few cases and/or businesses that realize that mentioned overnight success.  Instead, the impact you have on your audience relies heavily on your dedication & loyalty to providing consistent, unique, and valuable content.
  3. If You Create Social Profiles, People Will Find You — The blind leading the blind is never the way to travel.  In other words, if you create a profile on a social platform and you don’t spread the word that you have a profile that provides valuable content, nobody will find you.  Successful social media marketing campaigns focus their energy on the efficient and effective delivery of a message through a narrow range of social media platforms. In other words, Twitter (Facebook or other platforms) may not be for you.
  4. Social Media Marketing Will Not Reach my Target Audience — One of the sayings that goes along with this myth, “Social networks are only for kids”.  The truth behind the myth rests solely with the statistics that disproves this perception.  In 2010, a new user registered for Facebook every 8 seconds, there are over 187 million users between 18 and 24, 154 million between 25 and 34, 79 million between 35 and 44, and 43 million between 45 and 54.  The overall idea behind those statistics…your target audience is absolutely present on social networks.
  5. Quality Relationships Cannot Be Built Online — Viewed as one of the more valid arguments, consider this…people get married from merely meeting online!  In all seriousness, though, people take online social network relationships to a face-to-face experience on a daily basis. In fact, these relationships have developed into successful relationships for all parties involved because of the value-driven relationship of social media marketing.
  6. Social Media Marketing is Only a Fad — Everything that is successful today started out as a “fad”.  Print marketing and today’s advertising methods, in particular, were one of those fads in the late 19th century.  However, statistics show (as mentioned above), the social networking world is growing exponentially each and every day.  And, to couple with that ideal situation, there are countless tools that you can utilize to increase the efficacy of your social media marketing campaign to make it last that much longer.
  7. Social Media Marketing Can Be Done In-House — If you want to run a successful campaign that has an impact throughout all of your connections as well as implementation with your current marketing efforts, it will take someone and/or a business that knows the ins and outs of social media.  In other words, you need to hire a professional to dedicate the appropriate time that you and your company deserve.  Let’s put it this way: would you hire just anyone to do your job, or would you look for the most qualified person available?
  8. The Social Media Work Cannot Be Measured — To be very blunt, the impact and influence that you have throughout your networks can and should be measured.  To be more specific, not only does your marketing campaign need to be measured, but it also needs to be tracked for ROI purposes.

Hopefully, this helps bring a conclusion to the misconceptions that have lingered out there.  However, if you know of others or would like to share your questions and comments, please feel free to fill out the comment section below.

*IMPACT branding & design LLC specializes in social media marketing campaigns and full integration of those campaigns with current marketing efforts.  Contact us for more information on how to establish a social media marketing plan today.*

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If social media marketing is something that you are interested in but don’t know how to get started, contact us today to schedule your free marketing analysis.

Sources:
“The Essential Step-by-Step Guide to Internet Marketing”-E-Book
SlideShare.net
Image Source: HubSpot, “The 2011 State of Inbound Marketing”, E-Marketer.com