8 THINGS PEOPLE DON’T TELL YOU ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
By: Dhariana Lozano, Supremacy Marketing + DOYO Live Featured Presenter
1. There Are No Shortcuts
Period. The main thing people don’t tell you about social media is that there really are no shortcuts or “hacks”. I’m sure you’ve heard me say “social media is a marathon, not a sprint” a lot. Growing an authentic, engaged following relies on research, analyzing, getting to know your audience and testing. None of this happens overnight. The only way to guarantee success is a strong social media strategy and consistency.
2. This Is Very Tedious Work
To those of you who think social media marketing is just about throwing a picture with a cute caption online is the extent of the work – you’re in for a rude awakening. A good social media marketer is constantly analyzing, adjusting, learning, re-configuring and more. Now throw in creating content, working out when to post, what to post, if it makes sense and if its working. This really is a job with many facets – and it’s the furthest thing from simply posting a photo.
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3. A Big Or Fast Growing Following Isn’t Always A Measure Of Success
I’ve gotten those calls from my clients “Our competitors just got an Instagram account and they have more followers than us already, why have we not grown like that?”. The answer is usually that they have dumped a bunch of money into ads – or a bunch of money into fake followers and engagements. This is why you can’t compare your brand to others all the time. Remember you’re only seeing the outermost shell of what’s actually happening behind the scenes. Success lies in many different factors, and is defined differently for each brand out there. Be clear on your short and long term goals. Do you want just 50,000 followers or 5,000 followers that actually engage with you and can actually purchase your products or services?
4. A Lot Of Time Goes Into Engagement
In 2018, with all the accounts our there, social media is not just about pretty pictures. You have to actually set time aside to engage with your following. Like photos, leave comments, take part of conversations. This all takes a lot of time and energy, but is the best way to really beat algorithms.
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5. Not Everything Can Be Directly Tracked
I’d love to sit here and say that I can guarantee that if you have X,Y and Z elements that your post will go viral – but that’s not the case. Sure there are best practices, strategies and tactics that will help your accounts perform the best they can – but you have to remember that social media is based on people – and people change. People are unpredictable and therefore certain things cannot be boiled down to specific outcomes. Everything is dependent on many factors which are completely different from brand to brand. Another side to this is tracking – social media isn’t always “see-click-purchase”. A follower may not come into your establishment directly after seeing a post. They have to see you several times, be familiar with your offerings and then happen to think of you in a specific circumstance.
6. Things Change In A New York Minute
It’s no secret but some people don’t realize how quickly social media changes. Beyond new tool updates there are a lot of things that change in the back end that you may not necessarily be aware of. Algorithms change, functionalities change, product offerings change – and we social media marketers have to keep up with all the things.
7. Your Social Media Marketer Will Need Creative Help
Some social media campaigns require more creative than your social media manager has the know how to create – and that’s okay! Just make sure you give them a budget that allows for hiring the right creatives to help the overall vision.
8. The Industry Is Saturated
This one is mostly for my social media marketers, but also applies to business owners, CMO’s or anyone trying to hire a social media role. Please be aware that this industry is saturated. Some individuals or businesses will claim they can “do social media” and they’re just full of one off tactics that don’t deliver consistent results. Also, with the rise of the social media influencers some have come to believe that because they have grown their own following they can do the same for others – which is not always the case. What bothers me is that this can stain the reputation of the many very talented and creative social media marketers out there, and hurt the businesses hiring the not-so-great ones. So my advice to you social media marketers out there is to keep doing great work, continue to learn and grow our craft and please recognize and uphold your value. To those hiring, don’t be fooled by a low price. Make sure you interview, review work and hire someone who makes sense for your needs and business.
Social media marketing is so much more than just posting a picture and matching it with a few hashtags. A serious social media marketing professional will have a lot more to offer than that and I wanted to bring a few social media misconceptions to light.