With the advent of Twitter, Facebook and similar sites, it seems that “social media” is the new buzzword for today’s media professionals. That being said, social media is not some magic wand that casts a spell over unassuming audiences (then it would be called propaganda). Likewise, many new to the field think that if they start up a “social media” company they will be marketing geniuses and multimillionaires overnight.
News flash – that simply isn’t true.
Yes, social media is a powerful tool to get messages out to vast audiences. However, the way that said messages are framed and communicated makes a big difference in overall effectiveness. Not all communication works, but in the case of social media, your best bet is making sure that any and all communication is strategic in nature.
Here are some of the top social media myths that plague this growing industry:
- If I ‘Tweet’ something, everyone will see it.
- It doesn’t matter if it seems inappropriate or out of place, I can always delete it later (remember: once it’s online, there it will stay).
- Facebook / Twitter / Linkedin accounts are seperate (this might be true, but the site will often automatically link them based on names and interests).
- If I’m hosting a large event, all I need to do is make a Facebook event and everyone will come.
- Social media is a one-way conversation.
All of the above are untrue the majority of the time. Check out www.zombiejournalism.com for more insight on how to properly network using social media tools.
