Promoting your small business on Social Media can feel like a minefield.
There’s so much information, and misinformation, out there.
You can spend days down the online rabbit hole of conflicting advice and best practice.
In this post, I will share with you 5 myths that perpetuate around social media marketing and the truths that I have proved in managing social media marketing for dozens of small businesses.
Five myths you need to ignore in your social media marketing…
Myth 1: More likes = More customers
Or as a fellow social media manager said to me when I was writing this blog “LIKES ARE LIFE.”
Many small business owners get caught up in the idea that they need to get as many followers as possible, as quickly as they can. It might look good to have celebrity levels of followers on Instagram. But that’s all it is. A vanity metric.
Numbers for the sake of numbers is actually counterproductive to your business. Not every one of your followers will see all of your posts. So if the algorithm is only showing your carefully crafted offer to 10% of your followers, you want those people to be your customers. Not someone who followed you for a follow back, or worse a bot because you bought the like…
Reaching landmark figures can unlock more features on a platform, but don’t make the size of your following your No.1 goal on social. Provide value and they will come. Concentrate on attracting the right likes – the people who will pay you for your product or service.
You can’t pay your bills with likes.
Truth 1: The right kind of likes = More Customers.
Myth 2: Organic Reach is DEAD.
Or Social Media is a “Pay to Play” marketing tool.
You may have heard this from people who began their Facebook pages when organic reach was very different than it is today.
You may have heard this from Social Ads gurus.
The truth is, you don’t have to spend money on ads to reach your clients on social. Yes, ads can help you to reach more of your ideal clients quickly, but organic reach is still very much an opportunity on social media.
When I researched this blog amongst my peers, one social media manager said:
“I’ve just done an entire year of organic-only work on the SM channels for my company.
Follower numbers have increased by 70% across the board, and engagement by 23%.
CTR has also gone up by almost 30%”
Truth 2: Engage with your audience and give them value, and your organic reach will be alive and kicking (and bringing you leads and sales).
Myth 3: Anyone with a smartphone can market a business on social media.
Or “I don’t need a Social Media Manager, I’ve got a member of staff under 25 who has an Instagram account”
Would you send that member of staff to represent you at a global networking event?
Are they familiar with your business goals?
Do they have a strategy to grow your community, get you more leads and increase your sales?
Truth 3: Being a confident user of Instagram is a good first step, but there’s more to marketing your business than installing an app! To succeed on social, invest time into strategy, content and engagement.
Myth 4 The more you post, the more you will sell.
Or “if I throw enough mud at the wall, some of it will stick.”
Whilst that might be A strategy, it’s not one I would recommend.
Quality outweighs quantity. Posting every other day will be more successful in driving sales than posting three times a day if the former is engaging, educational and entertaining and the latter is just spam.
And don’t forget to be social on social. Engage more than you post.
Truth 4: The more quality content you post, the more you will sell.
Myth 5 Using a scheduling tool means lower reach.
In other words, if you use a 3rd party platform such as Hootsuite or Buffer your post will be seen by fewer people.
Now I’ve tested this with several accounts on all platforms, using different scheduling tools and my conclusion:
If you schedule posts (and never log into the app, never engage with your followers, never reply to comments on your posts,) you will have lower reach.
If you mean to post in the moment, so don’t schedule posts, but never actually get around to it you will have no reach.
Scheduling posts can achieve the same level of reach, or higher, than posting “in real time” as long as you are also spending time in the platform. Interacting with your current followers and engaging your ideal client.
Truth 5: Schedule posts AND log into Twitter/Instagram/Facebook/Linkedin and your reach will be just fine. Ghost post and you’re doing half a job, and you’ll only reap half the rewards.
In conclusion…
A small and growing number of followers who love what you do is better than 1 million followers who will never engage or give you money.
You CAN grow your business using social media, without spending on ads.
Success on social media takes some strategy and know-how, beyond downloading an app.
When it comes to content – quality beats quantity every time.
Scheduling tools are a valid part of your toolkit, to compliment time spent on the social media platforms, not to be used instead of it.
Don’t have time to do all of this? Lets have a chat about outsourcing your social media management to me. Book a discovery call.
Happy to “DIY” but need more pointers? Book a Power Hour to address your individual needs.
