The 4 Biggest Misconceptions about Social Media Marketing

With the increased use of social media in Africa, more businesses are turning to this channel to connect with customers. There’s no disproving how effective social media marketing can be in building a marketing funnel or creating a positive image for a brand. However, this relatively new space on the continent comes with a lot of misconceptions that has both new and existing businesses grasping at straws when it comes to creating an effective social media strategy.

Here some of the biggest social media marketing misconceptions, that probably has you spending lots of time and resource with little or no results for your business. 

1. All social media platforms are the same.

You can imagine that when Facebook entered the scene in 2004 people probably weren’t expecting Twitter in 2006, and then Instagram in 2010, not forgetting Linkedin which was founded in 2002.

So why have so many different social media platforms; is it not all social media? Well, it actually isn’t, every social media platform has its personality, some are most lighthearted while others carry a more serious tone. 

This is why you don’t want to approach your social media marketing as though all social media are the same. There’s a reason why B2B companies find more success on LinkedIn than Snapchat. If you sell clothings for instance a more visual-oriented social medial like Instagram or Pinterest might be better for you. Ensure to understand the nature of social media platforms and see which one will mostly have your target customers. That’s where your efforts should be, you don’t need to be on every social media platform. 

2. A Large Following Equals Success

Your primary social media marketing goal should not be all about raking in the numbers, because what your business will truly benefit from is the level of interaction your making with customers. When you’ve got great social media engagement, it can do a lot for your brand; you’ll have actual people making enquiries about your product, which can lead to sales. It’s a lot easier to pull in the ‘right’ numbers when your brand has provided true value through its social media engagements.

3. Social Media is Free

Well, the truth with social media is that freedom isn’t always free.  When trying to target a set of social media users, organic posts can only go so far, except your brand is lucky enough to be one of those 1 in a million that sets a social media trend out of know where. A sure-fire way to increase your reach on social media is to advertise, you’re in ‘their’ house, so  ‘appreciate’ them with some money so they can open up closed doors to you, and I’m talking about the ‘powers that be’ across all social media platforms.

4. You’ll Never Catch-up to Your Competitors

You’ll only have this worry about this if you’re trying to build a model social media profile, and that’s exactly what you shouldn’t be doing. Remember you’re not trying to create a social media that simply looks good, your trying to connect with people and build meaningful relationships that benefit your brand. So who cares if the competition is way ahead, play to your strengths and showcase what’s unique about your brand. You’ll eventually get the attention your need.

https://atomic-temporary-203083154.wpcomstaging.com/2021/05/12/how-tiktok-decides-what-goes-viral-on-its-platform/