What do marketing and Mount Olympus have in common? They are both surrounded by myths. In fact, there are so many marketing fallacies that we can’t fit them all into one article. Instead, allow us to clear up some of the most popular social media marketing misconceptions so you can get your SMM campaigns up and running right away.
First, let’s get the basics straight.
What’s SMM, and what are its benefits?
If you’re reading this article, you probably know what SMM is and why it’s important for any business. So, we won’t dig deep; we’ll just recall the basics to check we’re on the same page.
SMM is a subset of marketing that uses social media like Facebook, Twitter, and others to reach an audience , communicate brand values, and boost sales.
This definition highlights all the benefits of social media marketing for both small and big iGaming businesses, including:
Space for market research
Since most people can’t help telling others their opinion on everything (especially anonymously), including your brand. Social media marketing tools are pretty good at collecting your follower or visitor data points to analyse your target audience demographics.
The opportunity to reach millions
Because social media platforms are widely used, and the variety of formats allows you to find suitable content to engage diverse groups and communicate your brand’s values.
Improved SEO ranking
When people actively engage with your social media account by liking, commenting, and sharing posts that include links to your iGaming website, search engines see your business as relevant and promote your other content to the top of search results. This means higher traffic on your site and more leads.
Cost-effective brand and product promotion
Since you can invest time and a little money to get great results — social media platforms are mostly free to use, as well as some tools helping manage them.
Are you ready to take your social media marketing game to the next level? SMM allows you to attract your audience at a low cost and enjoy close interactions with them. But to use SMM marketing like a pro, you need to know its principles and prevent the myths from affecting your strategy. Unfortunately, there are too many misconceptions to discuss them all, but we’ll bust the most popular ones for you.
Busting the Top SMM Myths
Let’s dive into the most prevalent social media marketing myths and uncover the reality that iGaming marketers need to know?
It’s very simple to figure out why this idea is wrong. An estimated 94% of internet users use social media every month. What are the chances that your target audience isn’t on social media? Even senior people use social media nowadays, and their carers can buy things for them. So, the chances are pretty low unless your audience is spies or secret agents.
“I should be omnipresent to reach every person.”
We’re moving from one extreme to another to deal with this myth. No, you don’t have to employ all the social media platforms because your target audience won’t use them. For example, zoomers believe that Facebook is a social network for “grandmas.” So, if your target audience is young adults, TikTok is your go-to choice, while Facebook marketing is better saved for the older demographic.
Utilise an omnichannel engagement tool like VeliEDGE to create captivating interactions with your audience across various platforms.
“I should care only about my end users.”
Narrow marketing that exclusively targets the audience that the product is used for is also a dubious idea.
Although focused marketing wastes fewer resources and sends clear messages, you shouldn’t limit it too much and simply ignore users that don’t match the buyer persona. People you don’t consider your target audience may be interested in your product in an unexpected way. And never underestimate the power of word-of-mouth, people can be your most valuable advocates, recommending and sharing about your iGaming brand with others that fit the bill.
“My posts only work during the workweek when everyone is online.”
Yes, some people spend less time on social media on the weekends as they’re doing something more exciting than scrolling through their feed instead of working. Other people, on the contrary, devote more time to social media in their downtime. So, it’s best to use tools to track when you have the most traffic and plan your posting times accordingly, including on the weekends.
If you simply go to Instagram Insights in your business profile, you can see why this idea is wrong. Even though the data is pretty limited, Instagram Insights can show you how many people followed or unfollowed your account, reached your content, and engaged in conversation. Meanwhile, by using social media management tools, you can collect even more data, including demographics, across your different accounts. Advanced tools even present this data to you with visuals and AI-based suggestions, but even simple apps usually include all the necessary analytics to provide valuable insights.
To debunk this myth, just think of posts like “#Best #weekend at the #beach by the #beautiful #sea.” Annoying, right? Moreover, the post is simply lost among popular hashtags like #sea or #weekend. Should you avoid them totally? No, but use them like perfume — just a dab with good taste, for example, if you are starting a trend or a company, like #GamingCommunity, to help the audience follow the thread.
Yes, algorithms play a significant role in boosting your posts if they have many likes. No, it won’t help if your friends and family like every post unless you have hundreds of devoted cousins and friends. Why? Because algorithms aren’t that stupid, and they require different people to interact with your content in different ways. Moreover, what’s the use of your friends liking posts if they don’t buy anything?
“If I don’t respond to everyone immediately, I’ll lose the audience.”
If you don’t target a demanding person, your followers understand that answering hundreds of comments requires time, and they won’t unfollow if you don’t reply immediately. In many cases, they don’t even expect a reply, or they forget about their comments as soon as they press send. Of course, this isn’t the case if you use social media as a customer support channel, but that’s a whole other story. So, don’t torture your SMM managers, stuffing caffeine into them and forcing them to work all night. Followers can wait a bit.
Debunk this notion by simply checking out the social media profiles of giants like Apple or Nike. Sure, social media is an amazing way to engage people in conversation, but they love to learn about your brand as well. In fact, according to Marketing Charts, 42% of consumers use social media to learn about brands and their products. And guess what? An impressive 43% are on the hunt for fresh and exciting brands. So, here’s the no-fail strategy: as long as you mix branded content with engaging posts and valuable information, you’re good.
“Social media content marketing is entirely free.”
Too many people fall for this misconception because access to social media platforms is free. But think about what it takes to create and manage truly high-quality, diverse content. This part isn’t free and involves several aspects. What are they? It depends on your marketing strategy and plan.
How to come up with an SMM strategy
Bonus Tips: For marketers looking to create iGaming social media marketing strategy:
- Learn everything you can about your target audience — their interests, needs, the social media they prefer, etc.
- Study your competitors to determine their strong and weak posts, get inspired, and improve your SMM.
- Set long-term and short-term SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound) goals — number of followers, conversion rate, etc.
- Create a content plan for one or more months that includes educational, promotional, and entertaining content.
- Set your budget (we’ll talk about what it includes in a moment).
- Blog and measure the results.
- Adjust your content plan as needed to reflect current trends and strategies.
We could write a whole article about each of these steps, but today we don’t want to overwhelm you with information. Remember, this guide provides a foundation for your iGaming marketing journey, but there’s always more to learn and explore. Stay curious, adapt to change, and watch your iGaming brand thrive in the ever-evolving landscape of social media marketing.
How to create a social media budget
Your social media budget is simple to calculate if you have a social media marketing strategy and content plan, and almost impossible if you don’t have these. Why almost? Because you can always use an average number based on statistics.
But the chances that everything will go to hell are pretty high in this case, as these numbers don’t consider your specific needs. So, start with strategic planning and creating a social media marketing plan. When you have it all planned out, add the following to your budget:
- Cost of content creation, including props, services of copywriters, photographers, and videographers, and influencer fees.
- Cost of social media marketing services and management tools.
- Cost of paid social media campaigns (ads).
- Salary of SMM managers.
- Reserve budget for unforeseen risks or opportunities.
Add all these costs to your planning software (or at least a spreadsheet by category), and ta-da! — your SMM budget is ready. Now go get that budget approved and get to work.
So we dispelled some misconceptions. What about the others?
Social media marketing comes along with dozens of misconceptions that hinder its effective use. Fortunately, with thorough research, a few expert social media marketing tips, and a bit of common sense, you can easily dispel them and create an effective social media budget that aligns with your iGaming marketing objectives. One piece of advice that sums up this article: Study your target audience and track metrics to choose the most appropriate methods and forms of customer acquisition for your brand. Then, no silly ideas will affect the success of your iGaming business.
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