Did you know that 71 percent of consumers who have a positive experience with a brand on social media are likely to recommend that brand to their friends and family members? With 3.5 billion social media users worldwide, social media is a great way to build your brand. 

However, many myths surrounding social media branding exist. Today, I will be talking about five common myths about social media branding that you should know about. Believing these myths can negatively impact your social media success, so it is essential to clear them up. 

Let us get into it. 

Myth #1. Social Media Is All About Brand Awareness

Some social media marketers are too focused on building their brand and trying to create brand awareness. The reality is that social media is not all about brand awareness. Sure, brand awareness is a big part of social media, and social media is one of the best tools to create brand awareness. 

However, social media is a lot more than that. Social media is about connection; it is about a community. Think about it: Do most people start a Facebook or Instagram account in an effort to discover brands, or do they start their social media accounts so they can keep up with their friends and follow their interests? 

If you want to increase brand awareness on social media, you need to focus first on connecting with people. Social media is about being social, after all. Focus on building a community, connect with people, and engage with your followers. Respond to their comments and hold live Q&A sessions. Retweet their tweets and like their posts. Show that you care and are listening to them. 

Myth #2. Social Media Can Make Your Brand Popular Overnight

Social media is not a quick fix, although some people might think it is. You can’t go on social media and expect to go viral overnight. It takes time to build up your audience to the point that people respect you and you are popular. 

Consistency is key here. You have to be consistent with your message on social media, as well as your branding. Going viral is not guaranteed, as that is often up to luck. You may post for a long time until one post goes viral. 

However, you do not need to have a post go viral to become famous on social media. By slowly but surely growing your audience day after day, you will eventually create a group of admiring fans who will keep buying from you. Once that happens, your social media following will only continue to grow, as people will share your content with their family and friends. 

Don’t give up if you do not see any success on social media right away. Social media is a long-term game plan. It can take months before you have a thriving following. For some businesses, it can take years. However, the wait is worth it, as the traffic and sales you can get from social media for free are enormous and can help you diversify your traffic sources beyond SEO. 

There’s no such thing as a quick fix. Don’t even bother buying followers, as the followers you can buy are usually fake. Even if they are real, they are not targeted, as I will explain below. 

Myth #3. You Need a Consistent Flow of Fresh Content to Thrive

You don’t need a consistent flow of fresh content to thrive on social media. You can be successful on social media even if you share content that you created long ago. 

Not only that, but you can share other people’s content on social media and still be successful. The most important thing is that your content needs to be relevant to your audience. It also has to be interesting, easy to read, and informative. 

You should be posting on a consistent basis, however. Don’t post a few times one week and then go a few weeks without posting, as people might forget about you. By posting consistently, you will keep showing up in people’s newsfeeds. However, it doesn’t always have to be fresh content. 

In addition to blog posts, you can post other things on social media, including polls, questions, memes, and whitepapers. You can retweet or share other people’s posts. 

I suggest scheduling your posts in advance so that you don’t have to spend time every day searching for and posting content. Sites like Hootsuite allows you to schedule posts for the entire week or month so that you get that out of the way and can focus on other aspects of your business. However, don’t forget to continue engaging with your followers and responding to their questions on your posts or in your DMs. 

Myth #4. More Followers Mean More Conversions and Engagement

More followers does not mean you will get more engagement or more sales. Too many social media marketers focus exclusively on growing their following without putting too much thought into who is following them. 

You have to focus on acquiring followers who are targeted to your business. For example, if you run a travel agency, you need to get followers who have traveled before or who are interested in traveling. If you run a pet grooming business, you need to acquire followers who own pets. 

It seems all too easy to buy followers online, but they are often fake. Fake followers are accounts created by bots. Usually, it is easy to spot fake accounts, as they typically have zero to little content and weird usernames. More often than not, they are following a lot of people but have nobody, or almost nobody, following them. 

However, it should go without saying that you shouldn’t buy fake followers. Even though it will make your account look more authoritative at first glance, when people see how little engagement your posts are getting, it will be apparent that you just bought fake followers. In addition, these fake accounts usually get deleted by Instagram sometime down the line, so you will lose a large percentage of them anyway. 

However, I’m here to say that you shouldn’t even buy real followers because they will not be targeted to your niche. 

The same goes for acquiring followers via the follow/unfollow method. If you follow other people, some of them will follow you back. That’s a legitimate way of acquiring followers, but you must follow people who are interested in your niche. You can’t just follow anyone because then you will get a lot of followers who won’t engage with your content. Even if they do engage, they may not be interested enough to make a purchase. 

When you are engaging with content on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, make sure to target content that is relevant to your niche. For example, like posts on Instagram that have hashtags that are relevant to your niche. 

Quality really is better than quantity when it comes to social media. While it might look great to have hundreds of thousands of followers, it won’t do anything for your bottom line if they are not targeted. It is better to have fewer followers who are targeted. 

Not only do your followers have to be targeted, but they also have to be engaged with your brand. Focus on building a connection with your followers instead of always trying to get new followers. Build a relationship with them so that they know you well. It’s better to have 1,000 followers who engage with your brand on a daily basis than 5,000 followers who barely even look at your posts. 

You might feel the temptation to “keep up with the Jones” and get thousands of followers like other accounts in your niche, but know that many accounts, including those of famous celebrities, are highly inflated with fake followers. 

Myth #5. Anyone In the Office Can Handle the Company’s Social Media Accounts

This myth may be the biggest mistake of all. All too often, businesses try to save money by handling their social media marketing campaigns in-house. That’s all fine and dandy, but not everyone in the office can manage the company’s social media accounts. 

The person handling the social media accounts needs to be a marketing expert. They need to know what kind of content will convert and what type of content is better not to be posted. They need to know when to post, how to engage with your following, and how to grow your following. They need to post content that is interesting and which will lead to conversions. You also need someone who has enough time to dedicate themselves to growing your social media campaigns. 

That’s why it is sometimes better to let a social media marketing agency handle your social media campaigns. A social media marketing agency has experience growing accounts and knows what works. An agency will be able to work with you to help you reach your social media growth goals. 

Conclusion

Social media can be one of your most important sources of traffic. However, it is crucial to take your time with it. Have patience and be consistent. By continually posting valuable and informative content, you will slowly grow your audience.