Common Misconceptions on Social Media Marketing among Small Businesses

Social media marketing has gained popularity in the industry today. However, people have some misconceptions on social media marketing. In addition, they underestimate the value and importance of social media. This article, clarifies your common misconceptions on social media marketing.

Myth – Social media networking is meant for Teenagers: People have a misconception that Facebook and Twitter are meant for college students and young adults. However, in the current business scenario, it is not the case – everyone is included in these social media networking sites without any specific age group. Twitter users mainly include working professionals and white collar workers. According to the Pew Internet – 72% of online adults are social media users.

Myth – Social media is free: Social media networking is not free. Creation of your business profile in these social media sites is free. However, there are direct and indirect costs involved to manage your brand in these sites to perform functions either in-house or outsourced. You need to allocate some budget on creation of videos, graphics and other assets to enhance your social media profiles. You may also need to pay for sponsored ads on these sites.

Myth – Social media marketing simple and easy: Most small business owners think that social media marketing is simple and easy. However, this is not true. It is not possible to get fans in one day. You need to keep a lot of effort, time and resources in order to build relationship with your customers. In order to get better results, you need to have commitment and consistency in delivering the services.

Myth – Social media marketing is meant only for marketing: Social media networking is not only meant for marketing, but you can also use it for customer service, recruitment, product development, market validation, competitive analysis and so on.

Myth – Delivers immediate results: Many small business owners have a misconception that social media marketing delivers immediate results. However, you will not get instant results. It is an on-going process; it takes time for people to trust in you. So, be consistent in providing services and responding to their queries and interests.

Myth – Need to employ young employees to manage social media networking: Though social media networking is a new area, it does not mean you need to employ young employees. There is no rule to hire the person based on their age. You may hire young, middle age or mature employees. The only thing that matters is how good he is at marketing in general and social media marketing, in dealing with the negative critics of the customers, in analyzing and interpreting the data and so on.