I don’t think there’s ever been a marketing strategy as wrought with misconceptions as social media marketing. Part of the problem is that social media exploded onto the scene so quickly, which meant that not only were people unprepared for its arrival, they also doubted its legitimacy, labeling it a fad.
Another part of the problem is continual reinforcement—you might be implementing a strategy incorrectly or inefficiently, but don’t know it because it works decently for you. You might also be reading content that reinforces a false belief.
In any case, there are seven major social media strategies I see misrepresented on a regular basis, and I jumped at the chance to clear them up. These seven social media tactics simply don’t work the way you think they do:
1. Social syndication.
I’m a big proponent of social syndication for your content strategy. It’s an easy way to get more eyes on your best content, and it’s even easier thanks to all the advancements in automated posting technology. However, too many business owners have taken a shortcut for this strategy, fundamentally misinterpreting its purpose. They spam links to their blog articles almost randomly, churning out posts for the sake of churning them out. Instead, all your posts and links should be customized for your target audience, and posted with forethought and direction. Otherwise, your followers will lose interest quickly.
2. Influencer marketing.
Influencer marketing is still one of the most powerful ways to build visibility and authority quickly on social media. All you have to do is find a willing participant, and bribe them to mention you in a comment or engage with you in a discussion, right? Wrong. If you think about influencer marketing as a form of bribery, you’ll instantly turn people away—the very people you’re trying to woo. Instead, think of influencer marketing as a partnership. You’ll be offering them something, and they’ll be offering you something in return. You are peers, working together for mutual gain.
3. Social listening.
Some marketers take social listening as simply and as literally as possible, scanning the web for what their customers are talking about, and then parroting those topics back to them in posts and content. This isn’t the worst way to fish for content ideas, but if you don’t add your own spin on things, you’ll easily oversimplify a strategy that demands subtlety and attention to detail. Learn what your customers are thinking—don’t just mimic what they’re saying.
4. Hashtags.
While hashtags are a good way to get some extra visibility, they aren’t a shortcut. In fact, if you try to use them as a gimmick, not only will you clearly look like a hashtag spammer and turn your audience off, you run the risk of making a dire mistake that could crash your brand’s reputation. Play it safe and only use hashtags when you’re absolutely sure what they mean, and when they actively add value to your post.
5. Follower cultivation.
On some level, getting more social media followers is a good thing. However, follower cultivation isn’t just a strategy to earn higher numbers on all your accounts. If all the followers you’re attracting are inactive, empty accounts, it won’t make much of a difference if you have 100,000 followers instead of 10,000. When scouting for new followers, your first goal needs to be relevance, not quantity; one solid follower who enjoys what you post will boost your reputation more than 100 followers who don’t care about your brand in the slightest. Keep this in mind when trying to build your follower base.
6. Engagement.
When most social media marketers see the word engagement, they translate it to mean one thing: response. Engaging a social media follower is the same as responding to them, so to boost engagement all you have to do is reply to everyone who sends you a message or posts on your page. Unfortunately, it’s just not this simple. If you want your followers to feel engaged, you have to make sure they feel heard, seen, and recognized. It’s not about sending a token response as fast as possible; it’s about making your followers feel like they’re a real part of your community. To accomplish this, you need to understand the psychology and makeup of your demographics, and customize your posting and messaging approaches accordingly.
7. Cross-platforming.
It’s beneficial for most businesses to get involved with multiple social media platforms simultaneously. However, there’s a misconception that getting your business on yet another social media app is a shortcut to earning wider visibility. Cross-platforming, like follower cultivation, shouldn’t be a raw numbers game; instead, it should be about finding just the right platforms for your specific target users. Sometimes, that means leveraging fewer platforms and spending more time on them. In other cases, it means leveraging your separate platforms in different ways.
How many of these strategies did you understand perfectly when you started reading this article? What about now? Unfortunately, social media is still a new medium. Because of that, and the fact that different strategies will work differently for different brands, it’s impossible to learn any social media strategy “perfectly.”
Rather than attempting to master the art, work on remaining open and adaptive, learning as much as you can and always experimenting with new angles. Only with this approach will you eventually find the right balance for your company.
