Social Media Myths and Facts for Small Business ~ Social Media Business Blog

Social media is an unqualified subject. There is no degree associated with it (yet), and every expert you speak with differs in opinion as to the 'right' way to use social media to one's advantage.

The bottom line is, no one person can possibly tell you all you need to know about social media, nor can they tell you the right way to use social media to benefit your business. However, there are certain Myths and Facts that are now being taken as the social media standards. Here they are for you to take on board for your small business.

FACEBOOK
MYTH #1 : Facebook is no good for small business
MYTH #2 : Facebook is only good for personal connections
MYTH #3: Facebook connections are superficial
MYTH #4: Facebook advertising does not work

FACTS: Ask yourself this question. Would you go to a department store to find a mechanic to fix your car? No. Facebook does not perfectly suit every business type. However, if you are someone who can connect well with others, are happy to offer free advice and helpful tips, can dedicate 30 minutes a day to your fans and understand how to market your business, Facebook WILL work for you. Our business has over 100 clients who agree (they didn't before). Not one advertising campaign we have created has been unsuccessful, and 40% of our business comes via Facebook. Nothing worthless or superficial about that! For Facebook to work for your small business mix it up, make it funny at times, keep fans updated with breaking news and help out for free at times just because you can. Word gets around.

TWITTER
MYTH #1: You must have as many fans as possible
MYTH #2: You need to tweet at least 8 times a day
MYTH #3: Twitter is all about getting retweets and mentions
MYTH #4: You don't need a bio or profile picture

FACTS: Some of the best connections small business make are via Twitter. You may have recently read that half of Justin Biebers followers on Twitter were fake? That is at least 500,000. I guarantee this is not isolated to Justin. There are hundreds of business people on Twitter (and Facebook) with fake fans or followers. It is the old psychology of follow the leader. Yet nothing could be further from the truth. You will benefit far more from 100 active followers than a million who don't give a toss. Care about your Tweets. Think Quality over Quantity. If it's helpful to others tweet it. Share knowledge because this method works for building your brand.

Keep comprehensive categorised lists in Twitter. Then you can immediately read tweets on subjects you and your followers are interested in. I personally have lists on web designers, social media, SEO, psychology - and this is a great way to educate yourself , connect with those in your industry and retweet great info.

Twitter gives us the option of having a profile pic and biography. If you do not have an image of yourself/your log and no description of what you do , how will anyone know you are worth connecting with? People also search for profiles by keyword. My speciality is small business so my profile displays in searches when people search for small business. Keywords matter everywhere.

LINKEDIN
MYTH #1 : Linkedin is only for corporate people
MYTH #2: You need lots of connections to grab opportunities
MYTH #3: People who accept your invite to connect want to do business with you
MYTH #4: Once you have a profile the connections will start coming

FACTS : Linkedin suits all industries. No matter what your field there is a group for it. You will find business people from every industry on Linkedin. I personally have under 100 connections and this past financial year managed to gain over $70,000 worth of business from Linkedin. How? By connecting with people who can compliment my services and I theirs. We work together and our connections then expand. However, there are millions of people only interested in themselves. They will tell you how great you are then try and sell to you. There are also those people wanting thousands of connections with the goal of being the popular kid in the playground, those people will accept most invites. It is up to you to become active, participate in discussions and connect with others. Simply creating a profile and waiting will not cut the mustard. Be you and do not be scared to demonstrate your expertise, this is when Linkedin will work for you.

BLOGGING
MYTH #1: You should blog daily
MYTH #2: If no-one likes your blogs no-one is reading them
MYTH #3: Keywords and SEO knowledge are not important for blogging
MYTH #4: My blog must have it's own URL

FACTS: Blogging is not easy. If it were there would not be a multi million dollar ghost writing industry boom at present. Something we do at Small Business Gurus is monitor the traffic of ours and clients blogs closely. Sometimes these blogs will get 100 views in 24 hours with not one retweet or like; and the only place they have been shared is Twitter and Facebook. But you do not need to blog daily. If you have something to write , write.

A key to having your blogs rank on Goggle and shared on social networks is implementing SEO within your blogs. Keyword savvy titles and keywords within your content, make a mountain of difference. You can easily get plugins to assist with improving SEO whilst you write. Try Yoast SEO for Wordpress Blogs and Wordtracker for Blogger and Wordpress blogs.

Also, something we see a lot of is being told you must have your own blog url. Yes, this is the preference. However, do not let this stop you. We get 1000 or more views a week per blog and our blog has a blogger URL. Free blogs are available at wordpress.org and blogger.com. If you can afford it though get you blog it's own domain.

VIDEO SOCIAL MEDIA
MYTH#1: Video is a waste of time for small business
MYTH#2: Nobody will watch my video
MYTH#3: It is too expensive to create a video
MYTH#4: You Tubers only watch funny stuff and music videos

FACTS: Video social media is starting to take over the world. Psychologists will tell you it is human nature to crave personal human contact, and video delivers that better than content. You don't need anything fancy, it does not need to be a long video either. Most smartphones take video footage these days. Perhaps you have a snippet of info people could use in their business? Get a friend to film you explaining it. Use keyword titles and share the video on other social networks. People are interested and do watch if the video is short and sweet. For example, I wanted to know how to repair my laundry sink washer. I found a video of it on You Tube thanks to Jake in Texas and it saved me $120!

PERSONAL BRANDING

MYTH #1: Only my business brand matters

MYTH #2: People are interested in my business not in me

MYTH #3: I should share my personal pages with everyone

MYTH #4: It is important to self promote at every opportunity

FACTS: Let me explain something called Goodwill. Goodwill in a business refers to the value of your business reputation. For example, if you purchase a business with an excellent reputation and local standing, the Goodwill component value can be quite substantial. The problem is, should you personally be the reason for high Goodwill value in your business, and you depart the business, how much is the Goodwill worth then? In fact, if you are the Goodwill in your business then without you your business may cease to exist. It is therefore important you create a strong business brand but also a strong personal brand.

Your business did not succeed without your input. People will want to connect with you as a person. It is near impossible to have a relationship with a brand. What are your skills? Why should people connect with you? What unique characteristics can you offer? An excellent place to start is creating a personal profile on Aboutme.com and demonstrate what makes you an industry leader as well as successful business owner.

However, although it is important for you to personally connect, there is such a thing as too much information. Don't accept business invites on those personal pages reserved for family and friends. Drunken postings and family photos are personal, keep it that way.

In addition, if you are someone who is all about personal branding, take a step back and think about how your constant self promotion affects others. Bragging rights are fine, however hourly me me me talk is annoying, off putting and shallow. Personal branding will grow as long as you think how you can help others without strings attached.

What works for you and your business may not work for others. However, there are industry standards that work across the board. What can you learn from the above facts and use to improve your social media game today?