Social Media is the end-all-be-all marketing tool for many businesses these days.
So, is your business seriously considering the use of social media as a lead generation tool or are you blinded by a bunch full of lies that are making it difficult for you to use this tool seriously?
No matter what, if you are not taking social media seriously, you are leaving a lot of money on the table.
Here I walk you through 4 big social media lies that could be affecting your business growth prospects:
Lie #1. Social Media Platforms are nothing but Cheerleading Squads
If you think social media platforms are nothing but cheerleading squads, I dare say, you’ve got it completely wrong my friend.
Just like you are hell-bent on measuring the return on investment for PPC ads, it goes without saying that you should be equally keen on figuring out the ROI for the precious time, energy and money you spend on different social media networks.
To quote a cliche: Time is money.
In short, you shouldn’t just discard your social media activities as a sideline thing. On the contrary, social media platforms should be used as a solid a lead generation tool to drive your business forward.
So, no matter what, make sure to measure your ROI on social media postings as well.
Action Item: Use VOAL to Measure your Social Media ROI
The marketing team at HubSpot has figured out a formula to calculate the ROI for Social media posts. The metric is called VOAL (Value Of A like).
You can read more about this on the HBR blog. Once you have nailed down your VOAL, you can plan out your social media efforts with confidence to generate positive ROI. For more information on how to accurately measure your social media ROI, you can consult some top social media marketing companies.
Lie #2. Influencers are free to Post Content without the #ad Hashtag
If you have roped in influencers to promote your products and services, then it becomes mandatory for them to use the #ad hashtag. Why? Because the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has mandated it.
In other words, FTC wants brands to tell customers that what they are seeing is a paid ad.
I know what you are thinking now! Won’t customers be discouraged seeing the #ad hashtag on your post?
According to Activate’s 2018 State of Influencer Marketing Study, Consumers are not discouraged by sponsored content, provided they are coming from influencers with whom they share a close bond.
So, the only thing that marketers need to care about is to be doubly sure of the influencers they are roping in for promoting their brand. Simply put, they need to hire only those whose values are in keeping with the brand’s values.
This way disclosing about sponsorship won’t hurt customer sentiments.
For the uninitiated, the FTC has cracked down on more than 90 Instagram celebrities, athletes, and other influencers and marketers who failed to clearly disclose their relationships with brands while promoting their products through social media.
To cut to the chase, transparency is the need of the hour when it comes to influencer marketing on social media.
Action Item: Use Social Media’s Built-In disclosure tools for Influencer Marketing.
- Social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube have built-in disclosure tools. Influencers can use them to tag brands to signal that a given post is sponsored.
- As per FTC guidelines, ambiguous disclosures, like “Thanks,” “#sp,” “#spon,” “#ambassador,” and “#collab;” should be avoided. Posts should clearly state “#ad” at the beginning or somewhere where it’s easily noticeable.
- Products sent in exchange for coverage (where money isn’t involved) should also be tagged as #ad.
Lie #3. Social Media Marketing Should be Free
Nothing could be further from the truth! If anything, the majority of online businesses’ have succeeded because of their paid ad strategies and not because of free social media postings. Posting on social media every day and thinking that algorithms will work their magic is asking for too much.
Sure, some companies base their success on different free social media marketing strategies. However, the same doesn’t hold for all companies. Successful companies have always invested in their growth.
Never mind big businesses. Even small businesses should think about investing in social media.
Action item: Learn how Buffer benefitted by investing a meager $5 in Facebook Ads
With just a $5 investment in Facebook ads, Buffer achieved the following results:
- Page Likes – $0.57 per like
- Clicks to the Buffer for Business landing page – $4.01 per click
- Boosted post – $6.35 per additional 1,000 people reached
From a broader perspective, an investment worth $5 per day might well fetch you these numbers:
- Page Likes – 9 likes per day
- Clicks to the Buffer homepage – 1 per day
- Boosted post – 787 new people reached
Lie #4. 1000 Social Media Fans is Next to Nothing
In the social media universe, a few hundred thousand followers is practically considered nothing.
But the reality is that even 1000 followers are enough to make a living.
Action item: First things first. You need to produce enough that each of your 1000 followers agrees to pay you $100.
Second, you need to establish a one-on-one relationship with these followers, so that they pay you directly, and not through intermediaries. Now, imagine if each one of those 1000 fans pays you $100, you would make $100,000 per year. Isn’t that enough to make a living folks?
Wrapping Up
There you go! 4 social media lies that could be ruining your business prospects. Just follow the corrective actions mentioned above, and your business is sure to witness some good returns on your social media initiatives.
Are you aware of any more social media lies? Share them in the comments below.
