Significance of Social Media Marketing
The advent of social media has changed the way we look at marketing entirely. Businesses are looking to adapt to the new and improved ways of connecting with their audience.
With more than 520 million new social media users in the past 12 months, social media has become the fastest growing platform for marketing.
And that’s why having a strong social media strategy provides a powerful way to captivate your target audience and increase your brand’s reach on a global level.
You can use different social media marketing tactics to create tailored content that attracts potential customers to your brand. It may be time-consuming, but if done correctly, it can work wonders for your business.
Numbers can provide insight where words can’t:
There are more than 4 billion social media users worldwide, which equates to 55% of the global population. The opportunity is there waiting to be taken. And yet, many companies still refrain from using any sort of social media strategy at all!
There are many myths about social media marketing for businesses that are holding them back.
But before we debunk these social media marketing misconceptions, here are some of the benefits of social media:
- Increase Brand Awareness
- Increase Website Traffic
- Improve Customer Experience and Feedback
- Easy Lead Generation
- Improve Search Engine Ranking
- Higher Conversion Rates
There are also many social media marketing tactics on how to choose the right social media platform for your business and how to determine the best time to post on social media.
With 16+ years of experience in the industry, we have come across many questions like:
“What are the top social media marketing myths?”
“What are the three myths of social media marketing?”
“What are the risks of social media marketing?”
“What are the 7 myths of social media marketing and how to overcome them?”
Here at Communication Crafts, as a result-driven social media marketing company– we know how to do social media best. That’s why we are the best suited to clear the air around social media myths and the actual reality.
There are numerous social media marketing myths.
So let’s bust some, shall we?
Social Media Marketing Myths Debunked:
Let’s discuss the seven myths surrounding the concept of social media marketing.
- Social Media Marketing is not for my industry.
- Myths about Social Media Marketing costs.
- A large following is imperative for success.
- Social media is only used by the younger generation.
- Must utilise every social media platform for success.
- ROI of social media marketing is not measurable.
- Avoiding/Neglecting negative feedback is okay.
Myth #1: Social Media Marketing is not for my industry.
This is one of the most common views on social media marketing, and it couldn’t be farther from the truth.
Social media marketing is never “industry-specific”.
It is just another form of story-telling for your brand’s image and audience.
There are many ways to create quality content for any type of industry:
- You can create informative content to display your expertise or technical prowess.
- You can create content that offers special treats for your customers. For example, special discounts with codes.
- You can create engaging content to entertain your customers.
Building your brand’s image and providing a platform for customer engagement is what really matters, and social media marketing is the easiest way to achieve those results.
Myth #2: Myths about Social Media Marketing costs.
There are two opposing schools of thought surrounding this social media marketing myth.
Content creation is too expensive:
Most companies are under the impression that hiring an agency to create content for their social media will make a big hole in their budget. It is simply not true!
The cost and outcomes of content creation completely depend on the agency and the quality of content you choose to go for.
In the USA and UK, the cost of social media content creation for 3 to 7 platforms costs starts from $800 per month.
While in India, the cost of social media content creation for 3 to 7 platforms costs starts from $400 per month.
And if you choose to go for a freelancer, the rates of a top-rated content writer/marketer starts from $25-$35 an hour.
Content creation is free or almost free:
Just because social media platforms are free, doesn’t mean that content creation doesn’t cost a dime. It is not too expensive, but it is not free either.
To get the desired results, you need to choose a specific agency that can understand your brand’s image and needs.
If you’re willing to pay well enough, you’ll end up with high-quality content that captivates your audience and better reflects your brand’s image.
Key point: Content creation does not cost too much, and the cost paid is definitely worth it. Creating quality content on social media is guaranteed to generate new leads and ROI.
Myth #3: A large following is imperative for success.
This idea has misdirected business owners all over the world.
Having a huge following can build your brand’s reputation and visibility. However, it does not guarantee success for your social media strategy.
Relevance is key for social media. Perfectly planned exposure with relevance yields the best results and improves your online presence.
Your social media strategyshould prioritise your target audience for your posts and contents to reach their maximum potential and provide decent ROI.
Additionally, social media is not just for spreading your word, it is a platform for your consumers to interact and engage with your brand. Focus on delivering captivating content for your target audience, instead of trying to grab big chunks of followers.
Myth #4: Social media is only used by the younger generation.
Numerous companies steer clear of social media marketing because of this myth.
And that’s why we need to clear out this social media marketing misconception once and for all.
Although a majority of social media is indeed populated by the younger generation, it is used widely by people of all ages.
Social media usage is not “age-specific”
- With the age group of 50-64 reaching almost the same levels of social media usage as generation Z in 2020, it is obvious that the usage of social media is not declining for any age group anytime soon.
- 40% of people in the age group of 46-55 were on LinkedIn in the last quarter of 2020.
- More than 50% of people in the age group of 50-65 use Facebook in 2021.
- 66% of people in the age group of 46-55 watch videos on YouTube in 2021.
You can find your audience at any age through social media, and different social media marketing tactics can be used to find out which platform your target audience prefers the most.
Myth #5: Must utilise every social media platform for success.
This is one of the social media marketing myths that every new company or entrepreneur believes in.
Trying to maintain an online presence on almost every popular social media platform can be detrimental to your goals. Without proper social media marketing tactics, your efforts and content won’t reach the right people.
Each social media platform is used by different types of people, different percentages of the population, different nationalities, different demographics, and so on.
Your content and posts should be concentrated towards a target audience by forming a focused social media strategy. And to form such a strategy, data is key.
Data reveals all the hidden secrets. You can use data to evaluate your target audience and determine the social media platforms that your brand needs to be active on.
Myth #6: The ROI of social media marketing is not measurable.
Business owners needlessly believe that they can’t track the effectiveness of their social media marketing activities.
It is true that social media marketing has too many factors and elements, making it a cumbersome process to quantify its effects.
But there are many ways to measure the success or failure of a social media strategy.
While website analytics gives you an idea of what channels redirects visitors to your website, there are many other tools you can use to accurately track your social media marketing:
- Sprout Social
- HubSpot
- TapInfluence
- BuzzSumo
- Snaplytics
- Curalate
- Keyhole
- Google Analytics
- ShortStack
- SHIELDApp
These tools provide many unique ways to track your different social media metrics.
And by leveraging these insights and data, you can easily measure the ROI of your social media strategy.
Myth #7: Avoiding/Neglecting negative feedback is okay.
No, it’s not okay.
It gives you the chance to make amends. Every customer loves a company that goes above and beyond to rectify the mistakes and solve their problems.
The main objective of social media marketing is building your brand’s awareness. But another equally important objective is to provide your audience with a platform where they can easily engage with your brand.
An ongoing digital conversation between the brand and its audience is the true essence of social media marketing.
Negative comments and remarks should be perceived as constructive criticism. By acknowledging negative feedback, responding to the audience, and coming up with ways to solve their problems, you can improve user experience drastically.
Social media marketing myths have blinded and deluded business owners for way too long.
No company can avoid the ever-growing wave of social media marketing. With more than 2 hours of daily usage on average, social media is the fastest-growing trend in the world.
Social media marketing applies to any industry, and its effectiveness depends on your strategy and the quality of your content.
Social media marketing is neither too expensive, nor free. With the right mindset and strategy, the amount of money spent on it is minuscule compared to the amount of ROI and leads generated by it.
You should study various data regarding social media usage to determine the platforms you should use and the audience you should target.
Many tools are available to be used for measuring the effectiveness after implementing your social media strategy. Making it easy to update and change your tactics accordingly.
Now that we have discussed and debunked the top 7 myths of social media marketing, you should be able to accept the era of social media and reap its benefits.
If your brand needs the right kind of exposure or an effective online presence to engage your audience, contact us!
Here at Communication Crafts, our team of social media marketing experts can create strategies to improve your brand’s awareness, customer relations, and online presence to achieve all your marketing goals.
We’ll provide the care and direction that your brand needs to reach new heights.
