1  It’s FREE!
Many social media tools like Facebook, Blogger, Twitter and LinkedIn are free, but making them work for a brand takes a great deal of time and effort. Great content is key, so take some time to build a good content strategy. Here’s how: http://www.convinceandconvert.com/integrated-marketing-and-media/build-your-brand-a-social-content-ladder-in-5-steps/

2  Only kids use social media.
Actually, people 35-44 are the most dominant group on social media. You can learn more about who uses what here: http://royal.pingdom.com/2010/02/16/study-ages-of-social-network-users/

3  If we build it they will come.
Creating an active social community around your brand is an organic process – and nothing grows in a vacuum. Think of integration as fertilizer, and consider all these potential catalysts you may already have in place – offline media, email, newsletters, point-of-sale, promotions, partnerships and search.

4  It’s just a marketing initiative.
The transparency built into social media means it’s inevitably going to impact other areas of an organization. Corporate communications, public relations, sales, customer service, legal and even HR need to be part of your internal conversations – because, like it or not, they will become part of your social media conversations.

5  You can’t measure social media effectiveness.
Effective social media plans always include measurable goals. Conversion metrics should be part of any plan from day one. Here are some good case studies:

•    Staples, Steaz (organic tea), Toyota and restaurants: http://socialmediaatwork.com/category/case-studies/
•    Long list of case studies with ROI: http://www.seoptimise.com/blog/2010/05/30-seo-social-media-marketing-case-studies-that-prove-the-roi-of-it-all.html
•    Western footwear manufacturer example (Shameless plug alert, it’s a Balcom client.): http://www.socialmediaexplorer.com/2010/05/10/from-staid-to-social-a-social-media-case-study/

Any more social media myths we need to debunk?