So you have a Facebook account with a healthy blend of about 328 family members, real friends, odd friends, acquaintances, and “I can’t remember where I know them from” friends. You update your status with snapshots of your exciting lunch, cute toddler’s outfit, killer Friday night outfit, or your most recent selfie with the perfect pout that made you look oh, so hot, right? Well, believe it or not, there is more to social media than that. Especially as an integrated approach marketing your start-up business - a digital marketing strategy is non-negotiable.

To offer a dollop of guidance in this regard, below are three tried and tested misconceptions that may surprise you:

Social media isn’t important

Unless you intend on living off the grid in a treehouse, foraging around for sustenance by picking berries all day – most people need to be connected to social media whether they like it or not. If that was me, I would probably update my status with photos of my daily pickings and promote guided tours to my little piece of heaven – at a fee, of course. Social media is important as part of an integrated approached to stay connected, informed, increase online visibility, brand awareness and more. If anyone tells you anything different, throw a handful of berries at them.

A RSVP on Facebook is 100% confirmation

Believe it or not, it is not. Allow me to elaborate; so I set up an events page through Facebook to invite all 328 of my Facebook friends to attend a forest guided tour. Nineteen have confirmed, 52 are interested and 16 declined. With great excitement, I assume my tour will be a sell-out. The day arrives, and only my mom and 3 cousins show up … to “help out with the catering”. My event lacked the integrated approach.

Content is irrelevant

Oh, my absolute favourite. My forest guided tours have evolved into a Facebook fan page (as part of the integrated approach to my digital marketing strategy – high five to me). The people who like my page are interested in guided forest tours, therefore my posts and content should absolutely be directed at what my audience (fans) want to read about; Forest guided tours and all things related. The end.

Social media is an incredibly powerful tool – use it wisely, my friends.

For more information, connect with Earth Life Media on Facebook, or with Lopes on Twitter.