Social Media Myths, Debunked

If you’ve stopped believing in ogres, orcs, and kissing frogs, maybe it’s also time to stop believing the social media myths that run rampant online. Given the stock many people place in these widespread social media misconceptions, we figured it’s time to showcase a few of our (least) favorites and bring you the truth. It’s time to show the following myths to the door and rid them from your social strategies for good.

You need a presence on every social media site.

What? Who told you that? It’s absolutely not true and, if implemented, could be a total waste of your time. Just because it’s easy to jump onto the plethora of social networks out there doesn’t mean your brand should do that.

By all means, research the various social networks. Look at the content you’re offering and pick the platforms that are best suited for engaging with your audience. If you’re not convinced, try an A/B test: Set up a page on various networks and give it a shot. But you may find that some of them really aren’t worth your time.

Hashtags are essential for every post.

No, no, and no again. Hashtags were always used to help expand reach. These days, reach is more a story of searchable keywords than hashtags. Sure, there are still popular hashtags which have a purpose within discoverability and community connectivity (we see you sports, the Bachelor franchise, and Tiktok). 

The reality is, search filtering and the power of social listening have replaced the need for most hashtags. Instead of adding an array of pound signs, do your research and be clever with the words you use in your copy and content captions. And if you decide that a hashtag is RIGHT for your content? Cool, just make sure to do your research and use an active hashtag that people seem to appropriately engage with.

It’s okay to publish the same post across all your accounts.

This might be true if social media networks weren’t so different from one another. While consistency in messaging and style are crucial for building a strong brand identity, it’s equally important to tailor your content to the unique culture and community, features, and limitations of each platform. And of course, your target audience on each platform might differ. 

Now, don’t take that to mean that we’re suggesting different overall messaging for different social networks. Know your strategy and the culture for each channel, adjust voice and tone as appropriate, and gently tap into the phrasing, vernacular, and colloquialisms of that specific channel for your audience. Don’t change your direction, just know and respect your surroundings.  

And you’ll want to consider the limitations and built-in features of each platform. Links aren’t clickable on Instagram posts. Square images won’t display appropriately on Pinterest. You’ll attract more eyeballs using Instagram’s Link stickers to share an article or blog post rather than the old “Link in Bio” trick.

Only young people use social media.

If you buy into the idea that Gen Z and millennials are the only active ones in social media, you’d better sit down. Here are the facts:

• As of 2022, 54% of U.S internet users age 30 and up were on LinkedIn. 
• More than one thirds of entire internet users watch videos on YouTube.
• Roughly 54% of U.S. Facebook users are 35 or older. 
• 35% of TikTok users are over 30.

More than likely, your audience (no matter what their age) is on social media — the key is figuring out which platform(s) they prefer most. 

Success is directly correlated with the number of followers.

This is one of the most dangerous social media myths that newbies (and those who should know better) continue to believe. How many accounts have you seen with hundreds of thousands of followers and little to no engagement? That’s usually the sad result of “quick fix” tactics, like buying followers. For example, according to Social Insider, Instagram accounts with fewer followers have a larger average reach. Just because you have a larger follower count doesn’t mean you can actually reach them. 

Repeat after us: Quality trumps quantity. It’s true today, it’ll be true tomorrow. Stick to this hard and fast rule and boot out the bots!

Stick faithfully to the strategies that have worked in the past. 

If you subscribe to this theory, we’ve got some bad news for you. Yesterday’s social strategies may not be effective today. As technology innovates, strategy and tactics should evolve. Social media teams that remain agile and ready to pivot may be in a better position to succeed in the ever changing social landscape. Even as recently as a few years ago, if you didn’t include Reels, TikToks, or any other short form videos in your strategy, you were likely missing out on a good opportunity to get your content seen by a wider audience.

Summing up!

Don’t let social myths slow you down. Disregard these common social media misconceptions and tap into the power of social media. It will benefit you, your team, your organization, and your audience. Now that’s an idea worth pinning to the top of your feed.

And if you don’t have the time and resources to navigate the constantly evolving social media seas, good news – we can help. We’ve been helping great brands like yours find success on social media since, well, since the beginning of social media. Contact us today!