Are you wondering why your social media efforts aren’t coming to fruition? You’re not alone. We’re all aware of the fact that social media is a vital aspect of building a strong online presence, but we’re not always aware of how much time, effort and investment is actually needed in order to create any significant results. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at some of the most common misconceptions about social media held by small business owners.
1. Social Media is Free
Although it’s free to make an account, some investment will be needed if you’re to make the most of your social media channels. A business needs a clear social plan of the posts and strategies they’ll use to grow the business to its full potential online. Then of course someone is needed who is able to regularly post and engage with your followers, all of which takes time and good planning.
2. Small Businesses Should Post on Every Channel
Rather than wasting your efforts posting on every social media channel out there, take a moment to research and specify which would be the most beneficial to your type of business and focus on those, it’ll be more beneficial.
3. Social Media is a Sales Wand
While social media is a great tool if used to its full potential, using it to its full potential means investing a lot of time and effort that most small business owners simply don’t have. Without the necessary investment it’s very difficult to generate worthwhile results that will actually grow your business and make you money. Studies show that most small business owners don’t hire anyone to manage their social media accounts, leaving them always on the back foot trying to build something that in reality needs full time attention and the knowledge and expertise needed for it to succeed.
4. A lot of followers = Success
While an account with a lot of followers might look like a successful business, that’s not necessarily the case. Gaining followers shouldn’t be your primary goal (although it should certainly be one of them), your main focus should be on engagement of your current followers. This will help build community and your followers sharing your content and interacting with your posts will grow your account and find you new followers organically.
5. All you have to do is post
Regular posting is most definitely one of the most important aspects of running your social media accounts. That said, it’s not the only thing you need to be doing. The clue is in the name here; keep your social media presence, social. By this we mean interacting with your followers; like, comment and share their posts, engage them with competitions and polls and reply to all your messages in a timely manner.
6. Your followers will see all your posts
You post something and all your followers see it, right? Unfortunately not. Your posts will actually be seen by less than 30% of your followers. Instagram decides what to show its users based on its algorithms, so you need to be up to date with how the latest algorithm works and post accordingly. This is where the help of someone who runs business’ social media accounts professionally can really help boost your account to the next level.
7. Social Media Killed Email
It didn’t. Email marketing is still alive and kicking as a revenue producer, especially when it comes to B2B. A combination of capturing customers’ interest on social media and following through with tailored email campaigns can be a winning combination.
Is social media even worth it then?
Yes! Social media has many plus points that, if nurtured correctly, can produce great results. It just depends if you have the time and/or resources to sufficiently invest in order to bring you a worthwhile ROI.
