Don’t Fall for These Common Social Media Marketing Myths

Written by: Shelby Andrews, Marketing Manager, Atlas Communications

There’s no denying that social media has taken the digital marketing world by storm. It’s become not only a daily part of our lives, but an integral piece of any marketing plan. The problem is that many businesses don’t know how to best utilize their social media pages—in fact, approximately 14 per cent of start ups fail because they lack a strong social media marketing strategy.

1) Social media is only for young people

It’s common for businesses to skip out on social media marketing all together because they feel like their target audience is too old to respond to any social platforms.

Do not – we repeat – do NOT fall for this myth! Making this assumption could lose you tons of potential business. For example, did you know that 40% of Facebook users are over the age of 35?

2) No post engagement = nobody cares

Are you having trouble getting your audience to engage with posts? Having a post with a low number of likes, shares or comments doesn’t necessarily define it’s marketing success. Whether they engage or not, by following the account your audience is still seeing (and probably clicking on) your content.

Try focusing less on post engagement, and more on metrics such as clicks to website or page followers.

3) You should be on as many social media platforms as possible

This might be the most common mistake of them all. We can’t stress this enough—your business should only be on the social media platforms that will resonate with your target audience. Wasting time and resources on social networks that aren’t helping you achieve your goals isn’t beneficial for your customers, or your business.

Rather than trying to be active on every platform, focus on an in-depth strategy for the platforms that matter most.

4) You always get the most clicks in the morning

Many businesses believe that social media users are only active in the morning. While these platforms generally tend to be popular in the morning (many people take their morning commute to catch up on their feeds), the most popular time to post will all depend on your specific target audience.

If you’re trying to target post-secondary students, chances are they aren’t running on the same schedule as middle aged businesspeople. Therefore, they probably don’t have the same peak posting time.

Social media marketing is an essential tool for businesses. Before you develop your strategy, make sure you do your research! If you’re unsure of how to best utilize social media, it might be best to outsource to an agency or inquire about social media consulting.

About Atlas:
Atlas Communications is a Toronto social media marketing company specializing in social media branding, lead-generation, and results-driven campaigns for companies of all sizes. Contact our agency today for all of your social media marketing needs!