In Part 1 we covered a few misconceptions of social media, especially when used in a professional context. But, we have so many points, we had to continue. Let’s see how many we end up with!
#1: All platforms are the same
If you’re someone who thinks this way, I would assume you may only be utilizing Facebook or Twitter. Now, I say only 1 or the other because these are still vastly different from each other, although they both receive similar engagement on content.
If you’re on LinkedIn you should even know that these platforms are different. But how? Even people on LinkedIn will call out users for posting a “Facebook post” on LinkedIn. This is mainly when people post something more personal or go on a long rant. Which technically they aren’t wrong when it comes from traditional content. However, we have even noticed how LinkedIn is beginning to evolve and even starting to invite a similar type of content to the platform.
We all know that there will always be people stuck in the same old, same old, and not accepting of change. But when you work in social media, you have to accept that things will change. If you’ve been working with social media for a long time, you already know those who succeed on their platforms are the ones who evolve with the channels. Otherwise, you’re left behind, just like past trends.
You shouldn’t look at social media platform evolution as a bad thing though. When changes happen, think of it as an opportunity to evolve yourself, adjust your outreach, update your strategy, and get creative with your content.
#2 Not worth it because you have to be on every channel
This might be interesting to hear, but we actually never recommend being on every channel. At least not until you have the content prepared and you’re ready for the dedication.
If you think you have the content or dedication, that’s great! But also consider and ask yourself, is your audience or target audience on that platform? You could have all the content you want and be extremely dedicated to creating and interacting on those platforms. But even with all of that you may not be reaching who you want to be.
For example, a B2B stem company could do very well on Twitter, but will retail or travel? Probably not. Now why is that? Because of the difference in audiences.
The audience on Twitter is looking for content types like news, research, press release articles, discovery, and more in that realm. Twitter is not where you go for Holiday shopping or to pick your next destination. You don’t need to overwhelm yourself trying to be on every channel. You also shouldn’t write-off every channel altogether. What you want is to research and find your audience.
#3 More followers is always better
The last point we’ll cover in this article. You might see or hear people talking about getting followers and needing more followers, even spending money on gaining followers. Of course, followers and growing your audience is important, however be wary of those who are so focused on their follower count.
Of course, you want to grow your channels. Growth means a larger audience, which means more potential customers, clients, and referrals. But, how you gain that audience is extremely important to understand.
Here’s an example of what we mean:
If you see a page that has a HUGE amount of followers and seems to continue growing significantly over shorter periods of time, you may ask why? Are they a celebrity or large brand that just blew up? Or are you not quite sure why or who they are?
Now, look at the engagement their content is receiving. Does the engagement ratio look correct compared to the amount of followers? If this is the case, then you probably answered yes to the question about them being a large brand or celebrity. If the answer was no, this is a big tell tale sign. What does that tell you? Most likely, the page bought followers.
Let’s break that down. How do you buy followers and is that something you should do? There are a few ways of buying followers, BUT you SHOULDN’T buy followers, ever. You may like seeing a larger number faster, but this isn’t going to benefit you in any way.
1 way of buying followers is spending ad spend money on running ads called Like Ads. Like Ads are simply a way of enticing a random audience to like your page. Though you may gain followers this way, and some may be people who you want to follow you, and some may be people who will like your content, more often than not, you’ll lose more of these followers over time then you gain or retain. This is because they didn’t follow you for the content and as soon as they get your content regularly the switch will flip and you’ll start seeing more unlikes than likes.
A second way, of course, is bots. You may not even realize that’s what you’re getting, but yes, they are spam bots.
Our biggest point with this is to find the value in your own content. Creative content that you value, aligns with your brand, aligns with the audience you are trying to reach, and aligns with the channel you’re posting on. Additionally, when your content is getting attention, BOOST! Reach more people similar to those who are engaging! There are plenty of people out there that don’t know about you yet and that is a way to reach followers who will stay.
Core lesson here: Don’t pay for your audience. Pay to REACH your audience.
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