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There are a few common myths going around about Social Media that I’ve been hearing or seeing recently that I wanted to clear up.
Myth #1: I have to advertise constantly on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc.
This is not true at all. In fact, the lack of advertising is why Social Media works. Now that is not to say that large corporations with profiles on Facebook, MySpace or Twitter are not going to advertise consistently about job openings, mergers, updates, etc. but for the average person trying to run their own business (a one man shop) this is not the best idea. Social Media is exactly about that, social. Users tend to make friends with people that they are interested in following because they have a common interest. Usually most “Facebook stalking” occurs when a user puts up photos of themselves, has conversations with their friends about random topics, etc. The primary rule to stick to when the company is just starting up is 80/20. Meaning 80% personal 20% business. You don’t want to advertise to the point that your friends block you because it gets irritating to them, but you do want to alert friends that you are in business and would be interested in potential leads. Best rule of thumb is to be informative without being irritating.
Myth #2: Social Media is Free
Yes, Social Media is free, but the amount of time spent using Social Media to help increase business can be amazing. I know several companies that spend obscene amounts of time to the point that they have individuals working for the company that their sole position is to work on the company’s Social Media Profiles. To translate this a little better: time=money. Every hour that is spent drumming up new business on Social Media sites is time that could be spent on other things for the business. Not to say that this isn’t time well spent, but just watch how much time is spent on these sites. It is very easy to get sucked into promoting the business and lose track of other projects that need to be completed!
Myth #3: Anyone can do it
It is amazing the sheer amounts of people that claim to be Social Media Guru’s, and quite honestly how many of them have an outstanding background or proof to show for it? However, there is a lot of aspects of Social Media that the average person can do themselves. Personally, when someone asks me to run their Social Media campaign I usually tell them no. Why? The reason is simple. If the Facebook, MySpace or Twitter account is set up under that user’s personal information, those accounts are about that person and not the business that they are running. Since the rule of thumb is 80/20 (in this case), it would be practically impossible for me to blog about their personal life, explain photos taken about them or even say what they had for lunch (since most of the clients I work with are all around the country). However, if they need help with the business aspect of the Social Media Advertising, I usually help the client and stay on call with them whenever they need me, but I encourage clients to try different things since some ideas work and others do not depending upon the company, the product, etc.
For larger, more established companies it is practically impossible to have Social Media completely under control in-house. There is just too large of an area to cover and too many updates to keep up with. In these cases its best to outsource to a company that keeps in contact with the company for updates.
Myth #4: You will make a HUGE profit in a short amount of time
Now in some cases this is true, but the majority of cases it takes some time to build up the network before a noticeable difference in sales occurs. For most people in Social Media the individual needs to have some sort of a reputation before they are willing to do business with that person. This is why references on LinkedIn or other sites are so important. It shows that the person has credentials and has others willing to vouch for them, their work ethics and standards.
Quite honestly if a company is looking to make a HUGE difference in traffic or profits in a short amount of time, I always recommend starting out with some PPC ads and starting up the Social Media at the same time. Usually by the time that the company wants to stop running ad campaigns, the Social Media has kicked in and there is some revenue building that way.
Myth #5: Create something great and they will come
This is definitely not true. It is all about getting the traffic to your website (which is why we use Social Media, SEO, Ad Campaigns, etc). The more you advertise this product, the more people will come. That does not mean that they will necessarily purchase it however. It takes an average person at least 4-5 (and most are around 6-7) times of visiting a site before they will purchase something. This means that the site has to have “stickiness” or better way to explain it, a reason for that person to stay on the site and come back over and over. This is where a blog or updates to the website (that can then be Tweeted or updated on Facebook) can come into play. If the website is not updated consistently, the SEO rankings go down, there is really nothing to advertise on Social Media sites and you lose any and all traffic to the site. Here I’m going to steal Google’s phrase of “Content is King”, because it really is.
I just wanted to leave a quick comment to thank you for your post! I really like your blog site!!! Would you mind terribly if I put up a backlink from my site to your site? Keep up the great work!
Well written and a great read :)
Its tough to find cheap site developer now that will actually create a professional product.It is really unfortunate that “cheap” has become the same as “ugly”.
Cool, just what I needed
Hi, Good blog you have here. I wanted to let you all know that I think Twitter is going to be one of the best networks because of the fact that it is supported by so many industries. I also think when Twitter introduces some of it’s new functions, returning traffic will increase to show the real growth of the network.
Anyway, I created a blog that offerers great resources for Twitter that are 100% free, so come and visit and don’t be a stranger.
Keep up the great work!
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I am not an expert at many things.I don’t know about politics,I’m no medic, I have no clue about animals, the truth is there are so many things that i don’t know about…BUT..I’m a professional at cooking, I’m a chef and my business is to make folks feel like in heaven when they eat what i cook. Maybe a wedding or a birthday party or whatever and whenever the reason might be. So I know how hard can be at times to make people feel better at times. That’s why i like you!
There is also something that i enjoy, people blogs that educate other people on diffrent topics.
Continue the good work Thank You!