Social Media Platforms as we know them today were originally created as spaces for others to keep in touch and interact with one another on a personal level. When you have a mass amount of people in one space, it is only a matter of time before marketers take the opportunity to place business messaging out there for the consumers to absorb. Social Media Marketing is now a huge element in digital marketing strategies worldwide. As a digital marketing company that specializes in the social media sector, we wanted to take some time to share some common misconceptions that businesses may have in their approach to marketing on social media. Let’s dive right in.
Social Media Marketing does not work for all industries.
If you sell a particular product or work heavy in B2B, you may question the effectiveness of social media marketing for your business. “We have actually surprised ourselves with how well certain industries have performed on social,” says Hannah Johnson, Social Media Director at Klout9. We have learned that this platform can be successful for any business if it is appropriately utilized. The basis of social media platforms is humans interacting with humans. Creating content for humans, respecting the space, and keeping in mind what the platform was originally created to do will allow opportunities to grow relationships and promote your brand regardless of the industry.
Content should only focus on selling your product or services.
While the ultimate goal of any marketing strategy is to grow your business and get a positive ROI, social platforms should focus more on the relationship-building side of the sale. Focusing your content on awareness and educating customers about who you are, what you do, answering questions they may have about your industry, etc., will resonate better on social platforms than a SELL, SELL, SELL method. Position yourself as the educational leader in your industry and post engaging content. Include links to products or your website as well, but the attention grabber should “tug on the heartstrings,” so to speak.
It is better to leave bad reviews or responses alone than engage.
While there are situations in which you should not engage, more often than not, addressing the issue has a better outcome. Digging into the negative feedback and finding out what happened allows that person to feel heard and provides the opportunity to make things right. We have seen some of the most frustrated customers turn into loyal returning customers who even refer others to the business simply because the business adequately addressed their issue. Sometimes people just want to be heard. Use your judgment when responding. Some problems may need to be handled off of social media but should still receive a polite reply to let others know it is being addressed.
You don’t need to do paid advertising on social media.
Unfortunately, organic reach is getting smaller and smaller. Only a small percentage of those who like your page will ever see your organic posts. Paid advertising is essential to expand your reach. The good news is, social media marketing is still significantly cheaper than other marketing forms. You get far more exposure and success on the dollar, which leads us to our final point for today.
Spending more gets you more.
In traditional marketing such as TV and Radio, the more you spend, the more your ad runs, thus the more exposure you get. Social media, on the other hand, doesn’t work that way. The platform does not like it, and spending a large sum over a super short time frame may minimize your exposure and have a damaging effect on campaign performance. So if you do have a large budget, be sure to space it out over a longer time frame and multiple campaigns. And remember, no amount of money guarantees your content will go viral!
Social Media Marketing will continue to grow into a very affordable, efficient way to push your message out to your desired audience. When done the right way, you can increase your brand and your business with an excellent ROI. If you are looking for a digital marketing company to help you grow your brand and manage your social media, contact Klout 9 today.