Welcome to Social Media Management!
If you are relatively new to social media management, welcome!
We love this industry and certainly wish you much success.
Many of our Social Media Pro students will start their career as social media managers by implementing what they've learned in our courses. We strive to prepare social media managers to do a fine job of managing all aspect of social media.
What happens to those who want a career in social media yet don't take the time to learn from the pros?
In this article, we will alert you to misguided social media advice any social media manager should ignore.
Social Media Advice You Can Sink Your Teeth Into
Before we list the most misguided advice social media managers receive, let us explore how you can get the best advice as a new social media manager.
The answer is quite simple: ask the right people!
Here are some ways you can get good, solid advice when you are first starting out as a social media manager.
- Take social media related courses
- Find a MasterMind group
- Join the largest Social Media Manager Facebook group
- Follow industry influencers on social media
- Connect with speakers at Social Media conferences
- Read blogs by trusted sources
- Attend webinars
- Surround yourself with professionals in your industry
- Ask for and check sources when hearing ‘facts'
In other words, never stop learning and surround yourself with industry leaders and teachers.
Continue your social media education every day, as our industry changes so quickly. Build up a network of colleagues and friends who also stay up on industry news and whom you can spar with. Whatever worked last year, last month or even last week, might not work today as a strategy. Ask, implement and ask again. Lastly, don't ever forget that each new social media project is unique. Copy, and then pasting a ‘proven' strategy most likely won't work without adjusting for target audience and budget, just to name two variables.
What About Misguided Social Media Advice?
There is plenty of it!
We've heard some whoppers, doozies, untruths, falsehoods, lies, tales… ?
We won't be surprised if with some of these you'll nod your head because you've heard this misguided advice before and with others, you just shake your head because you can't believe this ‘advice' is still making the rounds!
Here are the biggest, most-often quoted untruths of social media management!
➡️ ‘Everyone loves self-promotion'
Go ahead and try it. You won't get very far with your social media marketing efforts if all you do is self-promote 24/7 on all your channels.
➡️ ‘There is no need to create content'
Unless you create content strategically and consistently, you are not building a brand. This content you create can be any mix of video, graphics, photographs and written content. Sharing only curated content is nothing more than driving traffic to other people's websites.
➡️ ‘Everyone is your target market'
No, not everyone is going to love your service or product. You will have to create an avatar for your brand and target those specific people with your ads, and posts, to take action. If you are targeting everyone, you are broadcasting on social media which is not an effective strategy.
➡️ ‘Use all the hashtags all of the time'
No. That does not work. You have to do hashtag research, and only use those hashtags that are relevant to that specific post. Also, hashtags do not work the same on all social media platforms. Be sure to know what works where.
➡️ ‘On Instagram, follow/unfollow as many people as you can every day'
If this is your only strategy to grow your account(s), you are nothing more than a well-paid bot. Instead, make meaningful connections, engage and get to know those you follow and who follow you. It goes without saying you also need to create great content people will want to see more of!
➡️ ‘Post twice per day on Facebook and 20 times per day on Twitter'
There is no ‘perfect amount of times to post' on social media. When to post, what to post and the frequency of posting depends on your target audience, your message, and your platforms. Don't fall for this advice that one-size-fits-all.
➡️ ‘Post something every single day!'
These days, quality over quantity is rewarded, especially on Facebook. Posting every single day just for the heck of it is going to do you more harm than good. If there is no engagement on posts, your reach will go down because the Facebook algorithm is programmed to stop showing posts from sources with disinterested viewers.
➡️ ‘You can't measure ROI on social media'
Yes, you can! In order to do so, you will need a social media strategic plan. You need this plan to create the right content, set your social media goals and KPIs as well as your budget. Don't let anyone tell you that ROI on social media is ‘brand awareness'.
➡️ ‘Automate everything'
Heck no, please don't! You can automate some of your postings, and to a degree following, even automate a chatbot to engage visitors to your Facebook page, but please, do not automate commenting! That needs to be done manually to be authentic.
➡️ ‘Buy followers!'
Did you know you can buy followers on just about any social media platform? Unfortunately, that does nothing but boost your vanity numbers and yet greatly harm your reach and engagement numbers.
➡️ ‘Use a second, fake profile to manage your Facebook accounts'
It is against Facebook ToS (Terms of Service) to create a second Facebook profile. If you manage many pages, set up Facebook business manager. Facebook has been cracking down on fake profiles. You run the risk of losing access to your page(s) altogether if Facebook decides to delete your second (or even both!) profile.
➡️ ‘Post the most viral memes'
If the meme is not related, or relevant, to your target audience, don't fall for this! Just because it went viral for someone else, doesn't mean your audience wants to see it.
➡️ ‘Use pictures from Google'
It is mindboggling how many business owners expect their social media manager to grab pictures from Google. Whoever gives you this advice should be ignored, stat. This is a ‘you might get sued and owe thousands of dollars' no-no.
➡️ ‘Automate crossposting your content'
This is a sure way to get people to unfollow and disconnect with you. Instead, adapt your content for each specific platform you are posting to and take care to post similar content at different times.
➡️ ‘Pick one platform to use'
Don't put all your eggs in one basket! Yes; you need a website, and yes you need to diversify meaning be active on several (read: not all!) platforms. Select those social media platforms your target audience is active on to start. Whatever you do, do not think that being active on one platform will do it as far as social media marketing.
➡️ ‘Use engagement pods'
If using engagement pods is your social media strategy, you've been led astray. Pods aren't going to get you the audience you need or want in the long run; they serve only to inflate your vanity metrics. If you are tempted, don't. Don't start! There might be dire consequences to using pods and when you do eventually stop, your reach and engagement will tank anyway.
➡️ ‘Keep your content short and to the point'
Never take that sort of advice for face value! What works for one business, might not work for another. Experiment with different lengths of content that allow it; blog-length Facebook posts can work.
Do You Have Social Media Advice For a New Social Media Manager?
We would love to know what piece of advice you wish you'd had when you first started out as a social media manager. If you could go back in time and tell yourself something about our industry, what would it be?
Also, if you have any additional misguided social media advice that should have made the list, let's hear it; let us know in the comments!
I am a Certified Social Media Manager, Strategist, International Keynote Speaker, Organic Specialist and Agile marketer! Blogging is my creative outlet. Running, hiking and skiing are how I recharge. You'll recognize me on stage and online by my always present orange glasses, a nod to my Dutch heritage.
