9 Social Media Myths that can Hurt your Business

Social Media Myths can hurt a business
All Entrepreneurs, whether social starters or smart on social, need to know what how some social media myths or mis-steps can hurt your business.
If you're not talking about your business or brand, someone else is! Why not use #socialmedia to share your skills and message - used wisely, it can be your biggest asset.

Your business is a part of the connected generation today!

Social Media lies at the core of Gen C – the generation of connectivity. And that’s where your audience is – it’s not about age, it’s about preferences. And most of us are digital, social and mobile. What you do on social media and importantly, what you don’t, goes a long way in shaping your brand’s perceptions.

Are you letting any of the following social media myths impact your small business?

Social media is a separate strategy

“I need to make time for social media,” is a common refrain from many entrepreneurs. Rethink this one! Unless your business needs no marketing, advertising or endorsements, social media has to be an integral part of your overall plan.

Start with the basics – who you sell to and how. When you identify your customers, assess their social habits. There is plenty of data on social media preferences by gender, age and lifestyle choices.

Similarly, when you plan your content or promotions – sales, newsletters, workshops, free trials etc. – use social not just to spread the word, but also build leads and customers.

I need to promote only my business all the time.

Promotion helps your business. But quality content is what matters to your audience. So guess what will keep them coming back to your platform.

Thumb rule – follow the 80/20 rule of sharing, with only a fifth of your shares being promotional. In the long run, this is not only a smart strategy to keep them coming back, but also strengthens your brand value.

Share quality content - Article on Social media Myths

A snapshot of a week of Maroon Oak’s Instagram feed. The focus – share info, tips and inspirational messages for #WomeninCareers.

No use connecting If she can’t be a customer!

Not true! Most entrepreneurs garner new business through referrals.

Relationships based on connects take on many forms – customers, influencers, mentors, the press and even people you can help. Don’t forget the connectors like intermediaries, brokers, incubators – they are the ones who help businesses grow in different directions.

So I need to invest my social media time on prospects only is a shortsighted view that comes with an opportunity cost.

On social media, see and interact with everyone as a recommender rather than a customer.

Posting and Sharing is important – doesn’t matter what I say

Yes, it matters. Relevance counts most of all. If yours is a landscaping business, I want to find stories on seasonal shrubs on your Facebook Page or your designs on Instagram. The picture of your kitten no matter how cute, might be out of place unless you are making a compelling case of killing field mice.

As an entrepreneur wearing multiple hats, the time spent creating and distributing irrelevant content is better served elsewhere. So it’s in your best interest to stay on and around the topic.

Social media is too high-tech for me

New technologies take time to figure out, yes, but most social media are designed to be user friendly with loads of easy directions. To get started, you can always ask a friend, watch a video or find helpful articles like this one on smart Instagram Tips.

It’s free so why not.

They say that in business there are no free lunches. Ditto for social media. But this outgo isn’t always monetary – the price of a mis-step can be costly for your business.

Social media is both visible and permanent – those very same advantages can also hurt an incautious sharer.

There are plenty of instances of twitter rants causing lost jobs, negative publicity or PR debacles. Using licensed images in your media without credit or payment can lead to legal hassles. Similarly, certain social and political ideas might be seen as potentially controversial, so think through your content before you post.

Even if it’s your personal account, share wisely, especially on public forums like Twitter or Pinterest. Bottomline, go with the premise that your audience is reading everything!

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And it’s FREE too!

You can’t reach customers unless you advertise

Sure, social media companies want to make money. In 2017, be prepared to see your free reach becoming lesser, as they entice you to advertise. That said, there’s plenty of free tools and guides you can use to connect with your audience before you bite the bullet and fork out the spends.

If you choose paid promotions, social media analytics and insights make it very easy to track the outcomes of your spends. You can track your ROIs, cost of reach, clicks, engagement by type and even what a conversion costs you.

Likes and comments are what count, mostly

Most entrepreneurs have loyal friends and supporters who dutifully like and comment on posts to bump them up – everyone knows the game by now. There are also plenty of You like my page and I will like back your feed options on social. Likes help your visibility but really, these are often vanity metrics with no real impact on your business growth.

Engagement – real and systematic – will help your brand more. Always.

Get testimonials, conduct polls, ask questions where readers can share their experiences, concerns or wins. Posts that are shared, retweeted and re-pinned count high on the feed hierarchy.

At Maroon Oak, our social team regularly connects with women professionals on their platforms. Not just likes and comments, we also actively share others’ content as well as add insights, answers and links where we can.

Social media is a good tool for my business

Correction – social media is a great tool! Provided you pick the right channel to reach your audience and importantly, manage your bandwidth well.

Posting regularly and consistently is the key, else, it’s probably better to maintain fewer accounts with quality posts and strong engagement.

If people like you, they will listen to you, but they will do business with you only if they trust you. And see you often on their social feeds.

Are you Smart on Social?

Evaluate yourself on this 7 point checklist below to find out how you stack up. Have you?

Identified your customer base

Understand how the major social media channels work

Know where your audience is

Share regular & relevant content

Explore free and paid social media features

Create engagement opportunities

Engage on other pages and feeds of your audience.

So (depending on your score) whether you are a Social Starter or making great Social Strides, keeping these goals in sight can boost your business hugely.

As Facebook becomes the next big search engine, Pinterest a visual powerhouse and Instagram the quick visibility platform, make sure you’re right there, doing the right things on this fast moving social train.

Pooja Krishna

Don’t wait for Serendipity, Drive your Success!

Pooja Krishna is an Entrepreneur, Consultant and Mom. She has worked both in large corporates and managed startups over the last 20+ years. She Blogs and teaches Workshops on Social Media, Professional Brand Building and Future Ready Career Solutions.

A co-founder of Maroon Oak, she’s also founded Win Thinks, a small business consulting company, and Trading Paces, which educates amateur and pro stock traders. 

A trivia buff and yoga & hula hoop enthusiast, Pooja loves spending time with her family playing board games and watching documentaries. 

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37 Comments
  1. […] Pooja Krishna, co-founder of Maroon Oak, shares shares her thoughts on effectively using social media for small businesses in 9 Social Media Myths Hurting Your Business. […]

  2. Enricoh 8 years ago

    These are such brilliant and impressive tips to share! Especially the social media point, i;ve seen many make this mistake. Now i know better

  3. angela milnes 8 years ago

    Such a good tips, Glad that you share this with us I love the good points.

  4. CourtneyLynne 8 years ago

    Omg so true!!!! Just because someone might not be your target customer doesn’t mean they don’t have a bestie that is!

  5. Hey Sharonoox 8 years ago

    You gave very good pointers! I need this today. Have been looking into how how social media channel works. Thanks!

  6. Ana 8 years ago

    I was just explaining this to a company who only focuses on marketing the business but does not utilize their social media channels. I told them that the only way they are going to prevent their bad sales is by interacting with the public and finding out what they want x

  7. Megan 8 years ago

    These are really good points. Especially about posting consistently and regularly!

  8. David Elliott 8 years ago

    Great checklist! I know I am still trying to figure it all out but I know that I need to cross promote in order to grow my blog and brand. Thanks for the good advice here.

  9. Blair villanueva 8 years ago

    Reading social media related posts online helps me to gather ideas to kncorporate to my website. Better to learn it by myself and discover, than hiring someone to do the work.

  10. Carol Cassara 8 years ago

    Although social media sites often change their analytics, I think they’re very good for our business. Thanks for busting these myths and explaining furthermore what social media can do and how you can use it.

  11. Elizabeth O. 8 years ago

    It’s good to study and research about it. I think social media websites are great and they have their own set of benefits for your business, you just have to try and see which one works best for you.

  12. These are great tips, and I’ve made the mistake of falling into the traps of a few of these myths myself! It’s good to know I’m not the only one – and that there’s a way to come back from mistakes.

  13. Jessi 8 years ago

    I have been trying to up my social media game lately, so this is helpful. I have found that sharing others relevant content really does help, and it is a great way to make connections.

  14. Amber 8 years ago

    These are great tips! I happen to love my social media accounts.

  15. Amy & Tots 8 years ago

    Great, informative post. I love posting both business and personal on social media and that works well for my audience.

    • 7 years ago

      Nice to hear that. Good social media users have a strong sense of what their audience prefers.

  16. Great informations! Good to know what’s behind for who is not so pratical!

    • 7 years ago

      Thank you!

  17. Raine C.S. 8 years ago

    This is really great. There are lots of really good tips here. Some of the stuff you pointed out, I wouldn’t have even thought about. Thanks so much. Excellent!

    • 7 years ago

      Thanks, Raine. Glad that you found them useful.

  18. KATHY MYERS 8 years ago

    These are good tips. It is hard to explain that clicks and comments don’t help like people think!

    • 7 years ago

      Agree, Kathy. Clicks and comments count but social media channels also look at the quality of the interaction – time spent on a post, quality of comments etc.

  19. Jessica Taylor 8 years ago

    These are great tips! Some of them I really need to work on!

    • 7 years ago

      Glad you found them useful, Jessica!

  20. robin Rue 8 years ago

    This is going to help so many people that are doing things wrong. What great info this is – esp for people just starting out.

  21. Vladimir Covic 8 years ago

    Great tips, thank you Pooja. Many businesses use social media as a megaphone to shout how they’re great, but that way they only drive people away. Social media should be about connecting with your audience in a meaningful way and not making a quick sale.

    • 8 years ago

      Thanks, Vladimir. Very well said – completely agree with you!

  22. Sarah-Louise Bailey 8 years ago

    What a great point. Those were very useful tips and these ideas might change the entrepreneurs, bloggers belief which can lead to their success in business.

    • 8 years ago

      Thank you, Sarah Louise. Glad you found them useful.

  23. stacey 8 years ago

    Very true. Some people think if they get a lot of likes they are doing well. But I look at comments, sharing, questions/ interaction.

    • 8 years ago

      That makes more sense, Stacey. Most social media channels also prefer deeper engagement.

  24. 8 years ago

    Thanks for the checklist. You have given some great points. The real problem is the time needed to do everything.

    • 7 years ago

      Thank you, Michele.

  25. Tandy R Elisala
    Tandy R Elisala 8 years ago

    I really appreciate these social media tips and how to really integrate social media with everything I do. I am becoming more visible (my word/theme for 2017) and being authentic, sharing value, and being myself is the best way to truly connect with others.

    • 7 years ago

      Well said, Tandy and great sentiments! In the final analysis, these criteria will lead to genuine relationships.

  26. 8 years ago

    Fantastic tips! So much of what you wrote is now making sense. I love your advice-” On social media, see and interact with everyone as a recommender rather than a customer.” Great perspective!

    • 7 years ago

      Thank you, Brandie. Most people will end up being connectors or influencers for us.

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