The social media world is a scary and puzzling place for many marketers. Web marketing experts know that the “veil of mystery” is quickly lifted with a little common sense and planning. Just take a look at some common misconceptions surrounding this quickly-expanding communications channel:
Myth 1: “Social marketing is great because it’s free.”
Social media marketing, when executed properly, requires a significant daily resource investment in terms of time and motivated personnel. “Set it and forget it” does not apply here – proper social media marketing requires careful regular maintenance.
Myth 2: “Everyone’s doing it, so I have to.”
You only have to participate in the social media conversation if you have the resources and know-how to do so (see Myth #1). Poorly-handled marketing in this space can do you far more harm than not participating at all. Google “Nestle Facebook fiasco” for proof.
Myth 3: “I can just post our press releases on Twitter. No problem.”
People will go to your corporate site for your press releases. The social environment is not another soapbox for you to spread your tired company-speak; it’s a place to take part in a conversation, and provide useful information to your readers.
Myth 4: “I need to be everywhere: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, blogs…”
You only need to be where your users are. Considering the resources required (there’s that “resources” word again), you’ll be better off giving your all on the one or two sites your audience frequents the most, rather than trying to spread yourself too thin across a greater number of channels.
Myth 5: “Twitter is a tool for egomaniacs to tell people what they had for breakfast.”
CEOs tweet to give their company a more “human” face. Jobseekers use Twitter to see who’s hiring and get a better idea of the “personality” behind the corporation. Twitter helps turn your corporation into a living entity for prospects to connect with.
Myth 6: “My kids use Facebook to talk to friends – we’re a legitimate business.”
Without Twitter’s 140-character limit, Facebook provides the same benefits described above, but with a bit more room to elaborate. It also allows you to enhance that “human” feeling with photos, longer notes, and a more centralized communication hub to initiate discussions with your customers.
Myth 7: “Our Director of Marketing can do it.”
Your social media maven should have enough time in their schedule to dedicate 1-2 hours a day to actively participating in the conversations being conducted and creating valuable new content to share. If your Marketing Director has a thousand other initiatives up in the air and tweeting is just another “thing” dumped on her plate, she won’t be able to effectively maintain your social presence.
Myth 8: “We can’t join! People might say bad things about us!”
People are already saying whatever they want about you. Wouldn’t you rather be a part of the conversation so you can tactfully defend yourself and respond quickly to any concerns that are raised? Being where the discussion is allows you to address existing problems and discover brewing issues before they get out of hand.
Myth 9: “This thing’s useless – I tried it for a month and it didn’t work.”
Social marketing doesn’t give you the instant, measurable results of an e-mail blast or targeted landing page campaign; it will take time for people to find you, warm up to you, and start adding to your conversations.
Myth 10: “Our customers don’t use social media sites.”
Search Twitter or Facebook for “investment banking.” Now try “supply chain management” or “solar wafers.” Industry is irrelevant in the social environment; the audience is there and they’re going to have their conversations with or without you.
As you can see, there’s a lot more to social media marketing than simply “doing it.” A realistic evaluation of resource availability and the partnership of a trusted, knowledgeable web firm can make a massive difference in how you present your company on this highly-trafficked, extremely public stage.
By Eric Rice
LWI and The Founders Den
The Founders Den
The Founders Den is a collaborative group of successful entrepreneurs, attorneys, investors, tax professionals, and advisors who are committed to sharing their knowledge, expertise, and resources to improve the environment for rising startup businesses. The Founders Den Members come from a variety of professional backgrounds and business sectors, and are focused on leveraging their wisdom and experience to offer advice to young companies, and in select cases the Den serves as an incubator for promising ventures who are in need of support to turn their plans into reality.
Eric Rice is a successful entrepreneur and has built a number of businesses in sectors ranging from financial services to gaming. He is currently the CEO of LWI, a non-traditional marketing firm specializing in social media and online branding.
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