subject: Myths About Businesses And Social Media [print this page] Some say that social media is only for small companies. Others say it makes no difference to hard sales. Some say its influence is on the slide, others point to social network horror stories to justify why they won't get involved.
While these tales persist in floating around, it's worth pointing out a few enduring social media business myths:
It's a fad
Face it: Social media exists and that cat is not going to be forced back into the bag any time soon.
Yet, there are still countless companies who think that this fad will pass. That the negative comments building up on Twitter about your company have no affect on the bottom line. The fad won't pass, and the comments do matter.
It's controllable
It can be a frightening prospect to relinquish control. But the important thing to remember is that the control is already gone. Your job now is to start conversations with your customers.
But, some businesses still think that they can control opinion on the internet using old PR and marketing techniques. That's what leads to social media horror stories. Things won't always go the way you want them to but that's okay. It's all in how you react.
It's a one-time setup
Got a blog and added nothing to it? Set up a Facebook Group and left it to lie dormant? What about the company Twitter account?
Web conversations are ongoing. Unlike advertising of 30 years ago, when you could simply send out your latest TV ad and wait for the money to roll in, marketing online generally requires a rolling strategy.
For example, if someone's unhappy about your company on Twitter, they might choose to share that with their followers. But, if you're regularly checking Twitter mentions and interacting with your customers, you might be able to offer a remedy to that customer's problem. That negative report quickly turns into a positive story.
If you're not there, you can't do anything (until it's too late).
It's an unmeasurable mess
Sure, it's hard to quantify good reputation and interaction.
However, social media channels actually provide more measurable metrics than often assumed. For example, you can track which sites send traffic to your homepage and when. You can see how many people arrive at your latest blog post from Twitter.
Most importantly, it can have a measurable effect on your bottom line. Just look at Dell who claim that Twitter accounted directly for $6.5 million in sales.
Our type of customer doesn't use social networks
Some businesses seem to think that it's either geeks or kids who are on social networks. But the demographics are far wider. Consider LinkedIn. This is a social network yet it's predominantly used by professionals and businesspeople. Social media is a term that encompasses a huge variety of customer types.
People will find us regardless
Marketing is essential whatever the medium. You can't rely on word of mouth alone. Social media helps you use free and effective channels to promote your content and company. Of course, having a usable, well-coded site helps. If you want to make your site more search and social friendly, speak to social media developers.
Not all forms of social networking on the web will be right for your company. However, it's important to cut through the myths and figure out which channels work for you. Because the chances are that at least some of the recent online social innovations could improve your sales.
