Many clients have high expectations of what social media can do for their business. We don’t blame them – after all, social media is free, it’s a great way to generate leads, and it’s something businesses can easily give to their interns to do when they have spare time. Or is it? Sadly, none of this is true and yet they’re things many people perceive as facts. Let’s take you through these three myths so you can use social media more effectively.
#1 – Social media is free
It’s not free. There are lots of real costs come with it. For example? Producing media to post on Instagram or YouTube costs money. Writing an eBook to share on LinkedIn has a cost as well. On top of that, you’ve got your labour costs – your social media campaign isn’t going to run itself! Simply put, social media isn’t free. There are many costs involved in running a successful social media campaign. With this in mind, make sure that you have set aside a budget for unavoidable internal and external labour costs.
#2 – It’s great for lead generation
Lots of people believe that the main purpose of using social media is to generate leads. After all, isn’t it your aim to entice people to click through to your website and then make a purchase? Apologies for breaking it to you, but many people who click on social media posts aren’t a customer – they’re just a passer-by. They click onto your website, look around, and then bounce. Adversely, your customer is someone who has a relationship with your brand and continually revisits your website.
So how do you actually generate leads? With email marketing, search engine marketing, direct mail advertising and more.
#3 – It’s something interns can do
This is something that happens in many workplaces. A new intern walks into the room, you learn that they know a thing or two about using social media, so you give them the job of managing your brand’s Facebook page in between their daily tasks. It’s most likely true that they know a lot about social media, but that doesn’t mean you should unleash them onto your potential customers. Why? Because maybe the intern doesn’t know your brand’s voice and values yet, or they might accidentally write something misleading or controversial.
Even if your intern is a big-time social media user, they shouldn’t be running your social media campaign. Can they contribute? Yes. Can they handle the technical aspects? Yes. Should they manage the entire campaign? No.
While social media is an effective way to generate brand awareness and build a relationship with your customers, it isn’t that great at generating new customers. What should you do? Instead of assigning the job to your interns, give it to someone who knows your business well. And remember that social media isn’t about generating leads – it’s more about building a connection with your existing customers.
