Social Media Is NOT Your Marketing Savior

One of the fastest ways to tell your customers you don’t care about them is to not be on social media. In 2023, being on at least one social platform is a marketing must. Not only does a social media presence improve your SEO and provide a superb place to test out messaging, it’s also the go-to way to build relationships with your audience. And marketing is all about building relationships.

Whether you’re a B2C or B2B brand, you probably already know that social media is a non-negotiable part of your strategy. But what you may not know is that it can’t be your only marketing tool. Social media is amazing but it is absolutely not your marketing savior for many reasons.

You can’t rely only on social media.

Social media is a tool, not a strategy.

It takes a lot of tools to build a brand. (Your business is not an IKEA bookcase.) Relying on only one tool severely limits what you can build. Surely, you wouldn’t rely only on email marketing to scale your company, right? Social media may provide access to tens of thousands of users, but it doesn’t guarantee that those users are interested in your product or service. A strategy that doesn't require multiple tools is probably too simple to work. Make sure that your social profiles are part of a greater customer journey—alongside other tools such as email marketing and your website—to get audiences invested in your brand.

Social media is not made for conversions.

Social media is made to facilitate connection. It ain’t called “social” media for nothin’. Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter want you to stick around and continue to engage with other users and pages. In other words, they have their own agenda: get you to engage on their own platform. Social media networks are great at connecting you to your audience, but at their core they are not made for conversions. In recent years, several platforms have worked to remedy this somewhat by creating “shops” (think TikTok and Instagram) so B2C brands can meet sales goals without their audience having to go to their site, but make no mistake; social networks’ primary motive is to keep users on their turf and not yours.

Social media takes time and effort.

While it can’t be the only tool in your marketing strategy, social media itself requires a strategy. You can’t simply post content willy-nilly and hope that it works. Brands need social goals and to know what kind of content, served to the right people at the right times, will meet those goals. Content needs to be constructed, published and maintained to fit within the overall marketing strategy. In short, even though social media is a must-have marketing tool, it’s damn time-intensive. You can generally get more results and more bang for your buck with tools such as email marketing or search advertising.

You can rely on EMB, though!

Brands absolutely need to be on social media to connect with their audiences, but it can be overwhelming. You’ve got to check the metrics and carefully plan posts and engage with your community and… well, it’s a lot. And it’s only one marketing tool among many!

As a full-service marketing agency with expertise in organic and paid social media management, Elevate My Brand knows how social media fits into the bigger picture. It may be complicated, but we love social media! Get in touch with our experts today, and you’ll be well on your way to elevating your brand tomorrow.