Many believe that social media is fast, cheap and easy. Social Media Marketing is the new frontier that businesses want to be a part of. With new frontiers comes misunderstandings and theories… many of which are just plain wrong.

Myth #1 Social media is free or at least cheap. Although the tools are free to use it is expensive to integrate these tools into an effective corporate Internet marketing campaign that gets real results. An effective campaign requires a team of professionals with skill and experience.

Myth #2 Social Media Marketing is easy. No, it takes lots of time and commitment. It takes a strategic plan to be successful. It takes work each day to make slow gains on many different social media platforms. Results need to be tracked and measured.

Myth #3 Content should all be charged for. No, the goal of social media marketing is to brand you as the expert, the go-to company when someone needs something done right. In the social media arena, “The more you give, the more you get.” It is about building your reputation and your brand as the authority.

Myth #4 Social media is for young people. No, young people may have been the original early adopters, but now social media is being used by all ages. Each Social media website develops its own community and its own demographic profile. A good tool for looking up these demographics is quantcast.com.

Myth #5 Blogging and social media are too risky. Many companies are afraid to blog or participate in social media for fear of a negative reaction or messing up. Online conversations will take place about your company or your brand with or without you. It is more risky to not be a part of this social media world.

Myth #6 Social Media Marketing is placing ads on Facebook. No, this is paid advertising. Social Media Marketing is interacting and engaging with your audience. Placing banner ads does not do this. The goal in social media is to inspire trust and show your business is credible and trustworthy.

Myth #7 Social Media Marketing gives nothing measurable. Although it may be tough to measure the intangibles such as reputation and brand awareness, social media is very effective in improving search engine optimization. Better organic search results bring more traffic, more leads and more sales.

Myth #8 There are no measurable statistics for Social Media. There are many good monitoring tools and methods to measure the impact of your campaign. This includes the number of mentions for your company name, comments on blog posts, number of friends or fans, followers on Twitter, trackbacks or the number of visitors to your website referred from social media sites.

Related posts:

1. Social Media Has Changed Everything in Marketing
2. Social Media Marketing
3. Social Media Marketing Boosts Traditional Campaigns
4. 5 Steps in Launching Your Social Media Marketing Campaign
5. 8 Popular Pay-Per-Click Myths