The exponentially growing popularity of social media has made this channel highly attractive to online marketers. Social media is a powerful channel that can be used by companies and brands to stand out in the sea of information available on the Internet. However, while most PR firms and advertising agencies try to capitalise on this trend, there are certain misconceptions that greatly skew the results.
1. Social Media is Easy
Social media is often thought of as an easy medium. “Anyone can do it” is the general attitude and very few people or organisations study the channel and the opportunities it provides well enough to actually use it to the fullest. While being powerful, social media does not work automatically.
2. Social Media is Fast
Social media can generate excellent results. But this may take time and it definitely will take experience and perseverance to achieve desired results.
3. Social Media is for Kids
Yes, “Generation Y” does spend a lot of time on the Internet and teenagers form a very large percentage of the social media users. However, there are different networking sites that attract people of different age groups. So, if you’re targeting people of a particular age group, all you need to know is where to go.
4. Social Networking Sites Generate Low Quality Traffic
The quality of traffic is not inherent to any social media site. You need to have a sound strategy to target the audience desired. A well-planned SMO (social media optimisation) campaign can attract the right set of people to the site.
5. There is a Formula for Success
There is no one set of rules that fits all social media sites. Success depends to a large extent on planning and each plan is unique. Plans would vary greatly depending upon what you wish to accomplish.
6. Better Results are Produced by Having a Presence on a Greater Number of Sites
There is no direct relationship between results and the number of sites on which you have set up accounts. It is better to focus your efforts on a few sites that are better suited to you, your company and your products, rather than wasting time ensuring a presence on every social networking site possible.
7. Only the Top 5 Social Media Sites Should Be Targeted
While it wouldn’t hurt to have a presence on MySpace and/or Facebook, these top sites may not be the place where you and your company get “noticed.” There are a plethora of other, very popular sites that you can leverage.
8. Social Media Can Substitute SEO and PPC
For best results, your SMO, SEO and PPC campaigns need to go hand-in-hand. Each one plays a distinct role in your overall marketing campaign and meets different objectives.
9. I’ve Tried it Before… Social Media Does Not Work for Me
You or your company may have tried to leverage social networking sites before… maybe a couple of years ago. However, recent developments have made social media immensely more powerful.
10. Anyone Can Yield Results
Yes, anyone can use social media and most efforts would yield some kind of result. However, without sound planning and execution, you would be shooting in the dark.
