Who cares that you had pancakes for breakfast? Who wants to see an Instagram picture of your kids? Who even wants to know that you checked in at the local bar? Well, I’d like to argue that a LOT of people do and, in fact, I’m making a living off of the relationships that I have made by sharing these things (and more) online. I think there is always a group of people who don’t see the “light” and like to poopoo on anything that others are doing that they don’t “get”, but there are a lot of lies you’re being told about the effects of social media. As someone who LOVES the technology, I think it’s high time I shared the truth with you. Here are just some of the lies you’ve been told about social media.
No One Cares What You Eat
This is simply not true. I’ve had lots of great conversations about delicious restaurants, favorite foods, ethnic backgrounds – all stemming from someone sharing about what they ate on Twitter or Instagram or Foursquare. What people don’t care about is what you eat for every single meal of your life without any story. That’s just selfish, but the idea that there is nothing good that can come from sharing such things is a lie. Social media is SOCIAL and just like you would tell your friend about a fabulous culinary experience over the phone, it’s okay to tweet about it too.
You Can’t Measure ROI
First of all, when was the last time people actually cared about ROI? Can you really justify spending $10,000 on a print ad when you have no way of tracking it’s success? The truth is that people don’t understand social media and so they fear it. They fear what it empowers their employees to do and they make up excuses about why it doesn’t work. In fact, you can track social media activity and it’s effect on your business. The catch is setting up goals, creating a strategy and measuring against that strategy.
It’s Just a Fad
Again, people are still coming around to the powers that these tools offer. The way that Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and other social networks connect people is attractive and fun and wonderful. And it’s not going away. It may shift. The players may change, but the idea of people sharing, connecting and doing business online is here to stay. That’s why every time someone says they are leaving Facebook, we all know they will be back!
Everything Online Is Smaller and Less Glamorous Than It Seems
Now this lie I can understand. Because there is a lot of truth to it. What is not true is that you can’t trust information from the web. There is a lot that you can’t trust, but the way that the mass consumers edit and share information actually has a pretty good filter. Want to know the name of a movie that an actor was in? The internet can tell you. Social media has a way of branding businesses and it can make small businesses (like mine) look bigger. But it also gives really talented people a chance. And who cares if a business is small anyway? If you’re looking for good service and high quality products, social media has a way of letting them shine. Mess with your customers and you bet they will mess right back with you on the interwebs. And you better bet your potential business will see it. So yes – some businesses aren’t as great as they appear online. But many are even better!
These are just a few of the lies you’ve been told about social media. What else do you hear that you think may not be true? Leave a note in the comments, and I will gladly bust the myths!
Related articles
Pingback: BizSugar.com