After hearing about and witnessing all sorts of odd and strange social media strategies/campaigns/discussions, I decided to address some of the big social media myths out there. I’m sure you know of several social media myths as well so please share them in the comments. Ok, let’s get right into the social media myths:
He who has the most followers or friends wins
False. Quality does not equal quantity. Just because you have 10,000 twitter followers or facebook friends doesn’t mean the quality of your relationships is good, are you interacting with them? are you providing value?
If you create a social media profile, people will talk to you
False. This is a big myth, a lot of people and some companies think that just by creating a facebook fan page or a twitter profile that users are going to want to talk to them, not true! You have to work to earn trust and you have to work to earn the privilege of having your users talk to you.
It’s good to be everywhere
False. Do you really think that if you join 100 social networks you are going to be more successful than someone who joins 3 social networks? Join as many networks as you can maintain and when I mean maintain I mean provide value and interact with those that are engaging with you. Join the networks that are relevant now the ones that are prevalent.
Leave comments everywhere, it’s good for SEO
False. As someone who runs a team of technical SEOs, I hate hearing this. Let’s think about this for a moment, Google has a whole team of phd’s (I have a few I work with) working for them, do you think that leaving a few comments with your desired anchor text is really going to propel you to the top of rankings? There is a lot more to SEO then links, and if you really want to know more then you can e-mail me. Leaving comments is a great idea but don’t do it for SEO, do it to add value to the conversation, that way people will want to visit your site to see what you have to say.
Social media is easy
False. Social media is far from easy in fact I would argue that social media is probably the most difficult aspect of marketing. Why? Because it involves building relationships, growing communities, continuous interaction, and human emotion. Relationships are never easy, and if you think that you can just waltz into the social media game and expect to get great results, well good luck!
Everyone loves me or my brand
False. People and companies alike are oftentimes shocked when they engage their users via social media only to find out that the users actually don’t have anything nice to say about them. Let’s be clear, if you get involved in social media you’re probably going to come across a few people who hate you and a few people that love you. The challenge is keeping the ones that love you happy while converting the ones who hate you into people who love you.
Social media works is a quick strategy
False. Social media does deliver results but if you are the type of person who asks “what can we see in one month from a social media campaign” then don’t even bother getting started because you will fail. Social media takes time, it’s not something you can flip on and off, if it’s on, it’s on forever. Social media is a never ending relationship building mechanism it doesn’t work on a schedule so don’t try. Just remember, every day that goes by is another day that you could have been engaging with your users and building up your community.
Social media is free
False. Now, there are free social media platforms out there such as facebook, wordpress, etc. but social media is far from free. Social media requires a lot of time and commitment for it to succeed. While you may not be paying directly for the tools (some you will pay for) you can bet that you will be paying for the time (or using your own) which in a lot of cases is more valuable then paying for a product.
Social media will make everything ok
False. Social media is one component of a marketing strategy. Sure, social media is the best way to build relationships with your users but you also have to think about SEO, PPC, offline events, print advertising, radio, television, email marketing, etc. (whichever apply to you). Social media is one way to reach people it’s not the only way. Make sure you are reaching out to your users via multiple channels to capture a broader and more targeted audience.
It’s too late to use social media
False. If you think that it’s too late to use social media then you are probably a pessimist. It’s not too late to use social media. Your users and customers are always going to be out there talking about you and the sooner you begin talking to them the better off you are. Every day you wait is another day that you could have been interacting with your customers. Social media is still a baby but it’s taking off quickly. Get involved ASAP.
I can think of several others but I wanted to hear from all of you. What are some of the other social media myths out there and why are they myths?
Thanks for reading everyone!
A great list Jacob, glad someone is being the voice of reason.
You missed one: don't believe a social media “expert.” — We're all still learning this game every day … try specialist, evangelist, consultant … not expert.
I posted about this a few weeks ago: http://blogs.gcigroup.com/fineprint/2008/10/08/…
Cheers,
JC.
This is important information for anyone interested in using social media for marketing purposes. It's not a sprint. It's a marathon and requires patience. I'm not sure how many people understand this including the people working in the industries we serve (real estate and construction).
How many people set up a blog and give up six weeks later because they perceive that nobody is reading it? Anything worhwhile takes a commitment of time and effort.
John P. Kreiss
MorganSullivan, Inc.
http://www.morgansullivan.com
Great article again Jacob. Many in my company (marketing) are very into the social media realm, and as a company we are working on moving more towards it as a whole. I have been developing a weekly Social Media reading list for everyone, and many of your articles have been included. Your writing provides insight for someone like me, who reads blogs and social media articles daily, but also are extremely helpful for beginners to start thinking about these things differently (or correctly). Keep up the good work.
Great post Jacob
another great myth is “you can be cool by association”, conversation takes work whether face to face or online. You cant just come along and cherry pick who you want to pitch to.
Another myth: Social media is all about the technology. The technology is the vehicle, but it's the conversation that counts. Most people who try to master every new social media platform as it's introduced will become overwhelmed and give up. It's not about the technology, it's about the talk.
I tell everyone who asks me how to start in social media to treat like any other human interaction.
thanks john,
ah great extra myth to add in there, and that is very true (i mean false?) saying you're a social media expert is like saying you “know” people, well nobody is right 100% of the time 🙂
thanks for reading and commenting John
howdy john,
it's definitely a marathon, a never ending marathon that build up the longer you are in it. i have seen a lot of blogs that have just been abandoned because they aren't getting the traffic levels they desire, it's ok, i don't feel bad for them, let them die off. if you aren't willing to work hard (like yours truly) then you don't deserve an audience!
thanks for reading and commenting john.
by the way my last name morgan and my gf's last name is sullivan….interesting 🙂
thanks drew,
which company are you working for? im very flattered and humbled that you have been including my articles in your reading list. i have a lot of other previous articles involving social media that you may find interesting. if i can help you or your company out just let me know.
im definitely striving to provide insight and ideas for folks involved in the marketing and social media space.
thanks for the kind words drew! and thanks for reading and commenting!
ah yes very good point indeed and something i think a lot of marketers and social media “experts” need to pay attention to. if you are out to build relationships you don't have the luxury of only trying to become friends with the “cool kids,” hmm that may be an idea for a post there 🙂
thanks for reading and commenting mr wine!
hi lisa,
another great myth and yes of course you are correct. the conversation is where the real meat is. i know of several folks who tried to join every social network out there only to become overwhelmed and then quit all together.
the people matter, the technology just provides for a way to connect with them.
thanks for reading and commenting Lisa!
Axiom Marketing Communications (Minneapolis)
We write a social media blog as well at http://www.dailyaxioms.com, which is fairly new and a work in progress, but we are working hard to bring new things everyday. In the future, I would love to get your help at Axiom, but let's connect more first. I'll be reading your blog and offering comments, so let's keep talking and interacting, and when the time comes, I'll be sure to ask for some more help.
just checked out the site and the blog, hope things are going well. im sure the blog will kick off, takes time and hard work.
you know where to find me so if you need something feel free to ask 🙂
This is a fantastic list, Jacob. I think using social media vehicles is just one tool in the marketing strategy bucket. Do you have a post about Social Media Truths? That would be equally interesting to read, I'm sure.
thanks for the kind words. social media is just one part of a marketing strategy and not a means to an end; you are absolutely correct. i like the idea of a social media truths post, i might have to create that 🙂
glad you found the information valuable.
thanks for reading and commenting hope to hear more from you in the future!
Thanks for the list
Let me try a “positive demythification” 😉
“Social Media doesn't scale”: false, any sizable company has 1000's of people engaged in blogs, forums, social groups with work related conversations.
The challenge for companies is to leverage this time already spent and make its people productive.
I like the “everyone loves my brand”. As a matter of fact, unless you're a really big name, people don't talk much about your brand or even don't talk about it at all. What discussions are about is “customer challenges” that you may solve, issues that are waiting for you to provide an answer to !
Thanks for the list
Let me try a “positive demythification” 😉
“Social Media doesn't scale”: false, any sizable company has 1000's of people engaged in blogs, forums, social groups with work related conversations.
The challenge for companies is to leverage this time already spent and make its people productive.
I like the “everyone loves my brand”. As a matter of fact, unless you're a really big name, people don't talk much about your brand or even don't talk about it at all. What discussions are about is “customer challenges” that you may solve, issues that are waiting for you to provide an answer to !
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you are very welcome dominic. hehe positive demythifcation, i like that. good point about social media scaling, im actually going to write a follow post called “social media truths” that should be interesting, scaling is a topic i will include.
thanks for reading and commenting!
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Jacob: Excellent article. And of course, I found it via FriendFeed.
Here is an idea which is perhaps mythic: Is then social media a personal crusade of sorts? Hate to bring in something with religious overtones (unlike “evangelists”, which has become secular) – but it goes far beyond personal branding – your company or yourself becomes bigger than the individual or that one company/corporation.
Your company/personal brand becomes part of the conversation – and history (since the Internet memory is eternal).
Conversations, while fueled by content, actually trump the individual content submitted. The whole is bigger than the parts.
The myth is, then: Companies remain unchanged from social media “marketing”. Those which remain unchanged and continue “business as usual” actually cease doing business in this venue.
In order to claim ROI, the company will change it's product and/or way of servicing it's clientele. Has to. It's part of a conversation now, not just standing on a stump with a bullhorn, saying: “Buy my stuff NOW.” The days of broadcast one-way flow marketing were over years ago – and that they ever existed in fact is yet another myth…
howdy robert,
yep social media is a bit like a personal crusade, it's about people trying to leave their mark. the whole is definitely bigger than the parts and in fact the conversation is more important than the post itself.
“companies remain unchanged from social media marketing” is definitely a great myth to add to the mix, your company does change, and quite a lot.
very well said, thanks for reading and commenting, hope to hear more of your thoughts and ideas on here.
Thank you for clearing up all these misunderstood myths. Basically what I get from this is that you need to be authentic and add value, otherwise all the time you spend online is a waste if you are trying to build a brand or SEO anything. Being a thought leader and actually interacting with other people is where you strike gold.
hey trace, great takeaway points there. if you're going to build a brand online, you might as well do it right!
thanks for the comment
Agree with your first point . Most followers doesn't mean a good relationship, it's about how we interact with all of them. Because of we are in the social world we should do social. Talk to each other and share experiment with them.
Agree with your first point . Most followers doesn't mean a good relationship, it's about how we interact with all of them. Because of we are in the social world we should do social. Talk to each other and share experiment with them.