Social Media Marketing Myths explained by our Expert.

There is no shortage of advice about the role of social media marketing in businesses.

It has the potential impact on your business to gain a reasonable return on investment if you invest well.

Years have passed since companies began to use social media for business purposes.

Online platforms continue to flourish, leaving business owners wondering where to focus their marketing resources.

But remember, when there are profit and useful information, there will always be a social media marketing myths.

In Tanzania, social media has advanced a lot and there is no sign it is going to stop anytime soon.

But changes come with everything, it gives us both social media myths and realities (truth).

How will we be able to distinguish social media myths and realities?

We need to come up with the best social media marketing strategy that can help to stop myths from affecting our business’s growth.

Learn about this strategy in “How to Create a Social Media Strategy in 8 Easy Steps.”

Many businesses fail to realize the maximum potential of these platforms because of some widespread myths.

Discarding myths from realities can seem a challenging task for business owners already over-tasked with leading their companies.

We have prepared this article to pinpoint those myths so that marketers will be able to conduct businesses online without misconception.

Let’s dive in.

Why social media marketing?

No matter what industry you belong to, social media is a must tool to increase your ROI.

It is one of the best ways to search out, contact, and convert your potential customers.

With numerous sites and billions of individuals on these networks, you will be able to gain exposure and trust for your brand.

Any company, big or small can effectively use online platforms for its marketing activities.

You just have to be smart in handling these sites because, in the end, it is all about being trustworthy.

You can read more on “What is social media marketing and why it matters for your business growth?”

Social Media Marketing Myths that are not true.

We have prepared a number of the common myths about social media marketing along with suggested strategies for turning these myths to your advantage. Those myths are:

1. My customers aren't on social media.

According to Backlinko, in 2021 there were 4.48 billion people actively using social media in the world.

This is an increase of 13.13% year-on-year from 3.69 billion in 2020.

Back in 2015, there were only 2.07 billion users that an overall increase of 115.59% in just six years!

Today, it looks like there is an online platform for everything and everybody.

While family and friends connect on sites like Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, professionals are networking on LinkedIn.

Chances are, at least one online platform has an audience that may align with your brand.

Myths about social media that your customers are not online is a blunder that will cause you to lose many opportunities on these platforms.

The best thing to do is to choose the type of audience that can be great for your business.

Take a look at this blog post and explore which platforms are best suited for your business. “How to choose the right social media app for your business growth”

2. You should join all social media networks immediately.

Just because there are plenty of platforms, it does not imply you should jump in and create a profile on all of them.

Having a profile on every platform will generate difficulties while operating them.

You can choose a few and research the type of audience available if they are relevant to your business.

Then slowly you will find channels that are worth investing hard for your kind of business.

You ought to devote time and resources to the platforms that align most with your audience and marketing tactics.

As a digital marketing agency in Tanzania, Bridging Technologies offers a free consultation about social media marketing considering the nature of your business.

3. Social media is completely free marketing.

It is free to join, but it is still a resource investment.

As your social media strategy grows more successful, it will increase investment in time and money.

The myth about it is completely free will affect your business both in brand building and sales generation.

Social media is free, but social media marketing isn't.

Even Facebook restricts showing your posts to most of your followers regardless of how great your content is.

Do you know why?

They want you to invest in Facebook paid ads if you want to reach more of your audience.

All online platforms have one thing in common, which is to encourage marketers to spend money to achieve more of their followers and new prospects.

Not only that, every company now must have an account and hire an agency/expert who can create a platform that matches the company's profile, culture, style, and so on.

Also, you need a designer to make compelling images and a few tools to schedule, manage and see insights.

Some companies even have content creators/writers, and tools.

For example, Bridging Technologies, a digital marketing agency has professional content writers.

Does each of them come for free? No way, it needs investment.

4. Remain with the same social media marketing strategy that has worked in the past.

Social media platforms are constantly changing.

So, recycling the same strategies over and over might cause your company harm.

According to HubSpot, 80% of 1000 Marketers said their company’s marketing strategy would be changing from 2021 to 2022 for good reason.

Companies that still counting on an early 2020 strategy may miss an opportunity to be seen by a wider audience.

The marketing strategies that worked in the past might not be effective today.

Many platforms have been updating their features to align with their users' demands.

For Example, TikTok has introduced stories, Instagram has reels and so on.

Marketing teams need to come up with new strategies so that their brand will be in a good position in the online landscape.

Bridging Technologies, a digital marketing agency in Tanzania provides free consultation about social media marketing and its challenges.

5. Social media can take the place of your website.

The use of social media is a newer marketing tactic than launching a website.

There are myths about social media whether can take the place of a corporate website.

The answer is, no.

There are things that your website does best for your company and other things you will be better accomplished with social media.

You can’t expect online platforms to take the place of your other marketing efforts.

Instead, put together a strategic plan that recognizes the importance of both social media and website for a great marketing outcome.

Social media could be new and effective, but a website remains a powerful tool in your collection.

6. I will be successful if I have a ton of followers

People online have been believing tons of followers can make someone a business giant.

Recently, having a large number of followers doesn't guarantee success.

With the introduction of numerous automation tools, anybody can have mass followers now.

What is the use of having an enormous follower base but zero engagement?

Many followers matter only if you have a relevant one.

Does the number of your followers genuine?

Creating a true empire and follower base requires time, effort, and expertise.

Remember, 'Rome wasn't built in one day.

Some people claim themselves as social stars but their accounts do not have interaction while they have numerous followers.

Jayson DeMers, The Founder & CEO of AudienceBloom writes in his Forbes article that the quantity of likes and followers for any campaign doesn't necessarily mean success.

Thus, followers do not mean success, but engagement is.

Bridging Technologies, a digital marketing agency in Tanzania provides free consultation about social media marketing services.

7. I will get results on social media quickly

It is not true.

It takes time and energy to create a community and also to create trust.

This is something that does not come overnight, you have got to be consistent and deliver value to your community.

Preferably, you need to have a content strategy and plan in advance.

If this will be done correctly, you will have loyal followers who trust your brand and can feel great about purchasing your products or services.

Getting results from social media marketing depends on how you handle your accounts as well as how you interact with your followers.

It may take time and effort but the results are worth it.

8. I don’t need to hire a professional to do social media

One of the social media marketing myths I hear most is "I don't have to hire someone".

Most people would attempt to do everything alone or maybe takes time to find out the way to create ad campaigns on their own.

And some feel perfectly fine letting staff (non-expert) run their business accounts.

Social media management is no different from other trades.

It is better to hire an expert to make an optimal result for long-term benefit.

Bridging Technologies have social media marketing experts who can help your business to flourish in the social media world. Contact us.

9. Paid ads do not work

There are a lot of business activities taking place on online platforms.

The competition is higher as everyone wants to sell.

The best option is using paid ads where your business can be visible to a large audience.

The belief that it does not work is wrong as people keep increasing their use of paid ads.

See the following statistics:

-58% of millennials purchased something due to an online ad.

(Clutch, 2017)

-According to eMarketer, paid ads spending is expected to reach $36 billion by 2017, representing 16% of total digital ads spending.

Facebook dominates this market by accounting for more than 65% of the total paid ad spending worldwide.

Facebook is the most recommended online platform for businesses.

For more data on how Facebook ads works, read our Ultimate Guide, “How to Advertise on Facebook: An Introduction to Facebook Ads Guide”

Still thinking paid ads doesn’t work? Think again.

10. Newer platforms, are not worth taking seriously.

Currently, there has been an emergence of new platforms such as Snapchat and TikTok.

Snapchat and TikTok are both mobile apps that have pulled out in Gen Z (1992 to date generation) because of their unique features.

While Snapchat thrives on temporary content, filters, and Bitmoji features, TikTok highlights fun, or musical 10 to 60-seconds videos.

Even though these platforms pull in funny content created by users, it doesn't mean brands can't use these apps to achieve credibility and awareness.

A variety of larger businesses has also launched paid promotions or long-form Stories on these applications.

The increase of users on this app has been tremendous and drives marketers crazy.

You can try your luck by introducing your business on these apps too.

But, as we explained in a previous myth, do deep research first.

You need to identify which platforms match your goal before spending resources to create a technique for it.

11. Hashtags are essential for every post.

Do you know those tweets talk about #business having hashtag like #lol #fyp that has no relevance to what it meant?

The point of hashtags is to join together common conversation threads.

Marketers think it is necessary to put hashtags on every post without relevance just for it to go viral.

This resulting the post reaching an untargeted audience.

So, while it's nice to possess a hashtag for a function, a webinar, or a trade exhibition, keep it relevant.

Consider hashtags as the way to be more user-friendly for those following the hashtag.

Don’t trap the audience with something irrelevant to their needs to make your marketing dreams come true.

If you want to know more about the uses of hashtags, you can read the blog post below.

Related: “Social media marketing in 2022: Emerging trends you should never miss!”

12. Only young people use social media.

Thinking, the sole people on these apps are all young?

It is not true.

Meanwhile, social media consists of an audience of all ages.

As a marketer, your job is to decide what kind of audience will fit your brand and choose them by posting relevant content.

You can’t expect to get an aged generation audience while your content attracts youth.

Relevance is key in this type of marketing.

Consider this: 40% of internet users aged 46 to 55 are on LinkedIn by the tip of 2020 and roughly 55% of Facebook users are over the age of 35 as of 2021.

So, the fact that social media users are the young-based generation is a myth.

WRAPPING UP

Social media is a powerful tool, fun, and worth the effort.

But it is also a great generator of myths.

Now that you have learned the social media myths and realities, it is time to research the strategies that will make your brand successful on online platforms.

Remember, your existing customer base must not be your only concern.

If you are convinced your current clients are permanently offline, consider the chance to focus on another base to add more customers.

You might find that some small adjustments in your marketing strategy can lead to real growth.

If you still have a question concerning social media marketing service, don’t hesitate to check on us. We provide a free consultation.