Social media marketing has made it more obvious than ever that customer engagement and relationship building is the 🗝️ key to success. It’s not a fad anymore, it’s a super powerful communication tool businesses can use to interact with their audience.
BUT, there are still businesses that haven’t adopted social media as part of their marketing strategy because of doubts they have associated with it. These doubts mostly stem from no hands-on experience or little to no education on social media. It’s more than randomly posting Facebook updates, tweeting all day and even commenting on blogs!
From the most frequently asked questions I get, I compiled four popular doubts, myths, whatever you want to call them.
1. You need to be on every single social media platform in order for it to work
The 2018 Social Media Landscape
Um, no. Could you imagine having to market your business on every single social media site?! Definitely do NOT spread yourself thin. For one, you’ll most likely suck at social media marketing on every platform, you’ll do a crappy job because you’re trying too hard to be everywhere.
Solution: Focus on one or two networks at first. Research which platform your ideal client or audience hangs out on and start there. Learn the ins and outs of these channels, figure out what content is popular with your audience on those platforms. Remember, people consume content (and when I say content I mean photos, videos, blogs, captions, etc.) differently on each platform. So while you can be more casual on Instagram, the same messaging may not work on LinkedIn because it’s a more professional network.
2. Social media marketing is time-consuming
Brah, if you’re literally trying to be on every single platform, it sure is time-consuming af! But seriously, I get it, managing two social media platforms can actually be overwhelming or undoable for some business owners or marketers.
Solution: It’s really about planning ahead and using tools that exist to your advantage. For example, you can sit down every Sunday (or whatever day really) and plan out your next week’s social media posts. Using a scheduling tool like Buffer, it will automatically publish the post on your behalf at the time and day you set it to. Then it’s just a matter of checking in daily to ensure you’re responding to any engagement such as comments, mentions, etc. If you can use these tools effectively and plan ahead, you’re already doing social media marketing better than 75.2%* of your competition.
* I just made up that number, but think about it, if your competition sucks on social media, and you start planning and being strategic with your content, you’re already ahead of them.
3. Social media ROI can’t be measured
It’s important to measure and monitor your social media activity on a regular basis, so yes, you can prove ROI if you know what you’re looking for. Each platform has in-platform analytic tools and there are more robust 3rd party tools available as well.
- Using Google Analytics on your website can make it simple to report leads and conversions on your website that came from social media
- You can implement custom UTMs, custom phone numbers and vanity URLs to help track the activities that came from social as well
- Use a marketing automation tool like ActiveDEMAND (referral link) will also show you the data more in-depth.
4. Your customers don’t use social media
According to CIRA’s 2018 Canada’s Internet Factbook, 74% of Canadians spend at least 3-4 hours online per day, with Facebook leading the way for the most popular social media platform in Canada.
Further, despite the stereotype, yes, older people use social media, especially Facebook.
Social media is where people connect and keep in touch. Whether they’re staying up to date with the latest news, sharing photos of their day or engaging with others, your audience is on social media! You just need to know where/how to find them.
So, you might have your doubts about social media or even digital marketing in general, but can you afford to NOT partake in these activities? While it does require research, a solid strategy, consistency and active participation, don’t let that stop you from getting your business on social media!