5 Misconceptions About Social Media

Some brands get social media right, while others get it wrong. Then there is most of us somewhere in the middle, getting some things right and other things wrong. The question is where does your business stand? These five misconceptions for brands on social media may to answer this question.

1. Your brand needs to have a social media presence on all platforms

This is a major misconception and can become a large issue for many brands because they are unable to stretch enough resources to multiple channels. What brands need to do is focus in on one or two platforms that serve their business best. Whether it be Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, etc., the key is to figure out which platform works best for your brand and implement a campaign for it. Allocating your social and digital resources to one or two platforms will increase your results on those channels and help your social presence immensely.

2. Your brand’s social media presence should be measured by quantity of followers

False. Many people believe that brands who have thousands, maybe millions of followers are doing the best job on social media. And to some degree this may be true. But what’s far more important is the quality of your followers and if they are willing to engage with your content. It’s better to have 10K followers and 1000 interactions per post than to have 50K followers and barely reach 100.

3. Social media is free

Social Media is not free. Yes, you can be on social media for free but if you do not invest the time, research, people, advertising dollars, and knowledge to your campaigns, posts, messaging, and interactions then you will not yield results.

4. Social media will not affect our bottom line

Depending on the business type this may be true. But for brands, retail stores, and restaurants this is false. Why? Reviews, post quality, shares, etc. People now more than ever are looking to social media first before making the decision to check out your restaurant, buy from your store, or purchase your product. They are also looking to Google, Facebook, and Yelp to figure out if you’re open, where you’re located, how they can get directions, and to sneak a peek at to what your place looks like and what kind of chatter is surrounding it. This is all hugely connected to your bottom line and will continue to be going forward.

5. If I post good content I will get followers

This is not true, though it should be. The issue is that there are so many brands on social media that it’s getting increasingly harder to attract new followers. There are several ways in which to go about this. Pairing with influencers, direct message campaigns, paid advertising, etc. But the point of the matter is good content is just not enough anymore. And this needs to be addressed for many brands.