Agencies usually fail to tell you about these 10 Social Media facts that have proven true over the years despite the diverse policies and strategies each company applies for their online marketing.
Understanding the truth about Social Media when you are working online will save you a lot of headache and frustration down the line and will make you stand out from the competition.
1- No, It’s not about how many fans or followers you have
Having lots of fan or followers is a good thing, but this should not be your sole goal; people often fall into the trap of chasing follower numbers, which is like trying to book more empty seats (more fans), forgetting that you need an audience to fill up those seats (engagement) by liking, sharing, retweeting, commenting…etc
2- No, You don’t have to be on every platform
Choose the platforms that are more likely to have your target audience, which better serves your industry and content, and you do not need to be on every single social media platform and jump into every new platform. Find focus on providing value on the networks where your customers and prospects are most active. Better to not be somewhere than to have a presence there and ignore it.
3- No, It’s not free
Even if you only use free channels to engage and don’t want to promote your posts, social media requires a time commitment, and like everything in life, the more time you put into it, the better it will be. If you want to stay ahead of your competition, you will need management tools. The good ones are not free; you need tools to listen and track conversations, you need tools to schedule your content, need proper hardware to maintain solid moderation…etc.
4- No, your neighbor’s kid can’t do it for you
Maybe he can build a wicked house in Minecraft, but does he know your business? Your customers? Does he have anything of value to add to a conversation about your industry? Would you ask him to lead a call with your biggest client? Social Media is indeed easy, yet it needs the experience to handle different and dynamic public situations.
5- No, not being on social media does not mean you’re safe
People will mention your brand either positively or negatively even if you do not have any accounts; having your own social media accounts means you have a chance of listening, responding, and ultimately seeding and steering conversations in your favor
6- No, you will not please everyone
No matter what you do, there will always be a group who attack you and find everything you say offensive, so don’t be offended. Just be polite, act professionally, and know there is nothing you can do
7- No, it’s not marketing or advertising
Social Media is not just another media to post your Ads, and your audience doesn’t want to see your marketing messages; they want you to listen and react to them
8- No, forget about B2C & B2B; it’s H2H
Have you ever had a prickly email or telephone exchange with a new prospect or client, and then you met in person and found out your kids go to the same school or that you both play tennis and then you were pals?
Brands now have the opportunity to create new energy – an energy that’s more powerful than even a Super Bowl TV spot. Why? Because it is delivered one-on-one, person-to-person, human-to-human, heart-to-heart.
9- No, you can’t ignore FB
Facebook is your core social media hub; there are 1,000,000,000+ people on Facebook. The number keeps growing so rapidly that you have to check it every time you need to mention it. Your customers may not use Facebook daily to conduct business, but they’re definitely there, sharing pictures, finding out fun information, researching products, and checking out local businesses. If you’re there too and have interesting, helpful, and engaging content, they’ll appreciate that and connect with you.
10- No, posting about “other” stuff is not bad
Over 80% of your content should be non-brand focused. You may talk about the competition. You may talk about the industry; you may even talk about totally unrelated topics… as long as your fans are happy, then you are on the right track.
Social media doesn’t have to be a big, difficult thing; in fact, it can and should be fun. Imagine having better, more human relationships with your prospects and customers all the time.
Social media should be part of your marketing strategy that you’ll enjoy. And if you’re having fun, your customers and prospects will have fun, too, and they’ll want to work with you.
