Followers, some businesses actively seek them with every post, others obsess over losing a few. Let me just tell you neither is a good use of your time. This metric is often the only thing people look at, but it is by no means the ONLY metric you should be tracking as a business.
Followers choose you. They connect with the content you share, and they follow because they want to continue that connection. Gaining followers has a lot to do with their behavior and even more to do with your actions.
Keeping followers is intentional and requires attention, also who you follow can make your time online helpful or harmful. Give me a minute to walk you through the follower funnel to help guide your energy.
Be Active Online
If your goal is to gain followers, the only way to do so is to be active on a social media platform. By active, I mean producing content of value consistently. I am often quoted telling my clients Facebook is a reunion and Instagram is a coffee shop, LinkedIn is a networking event, and TikTok is a slumber party. Social media is all about sharing your moments and connecting with people. People follow your page; each number is a person, and they matter.
Pro Tip: Clean out your account. Every month or so when you sit down to review your insights, look over your followers' list. Be sure to remove obvious bots and inactive accounts. I try to message the accounts I am unsure of and give them a chance to respond. If your account is full of fake followers or inactive accounts, it will affect your engagement rate and post reach.
Be Clear About Who You Are and Who You Serve
Every follow is not a good follow, you want your followers to be supporters, potential customers, or clients. You want your audience to care about what you are saying and have an interest in your product or service. For this reason, it is important to be clear about your content pillars and the things you will share online. If your last 20 followers are not your ideal clients, then you want to pause and take a look at your social media content, hashtag, or advertising strategies.
Every time you post, ask yourself, why am I posting this? What do I want my audience to do with it? Does it bring value to my ideal client?
Actively Engage Your Existing Audience
Once someone follows me, I have a routine.
First, I go to their page and check out their content, I usually like and comment on their most recent shares. I then engage with their stories if they have posted any that day and finally, I will message them and introduce myself.
Think of social media as a party and try not to be awkward. But seriously it is just best practice. People want to know that you are real and that they have access to you, social media platforms want to see how connected you are to your followers, so sending a quick message can only help strengthen that connection in the eyes of the algorithm.
Maintaining interaction with your existing audience should be a part of your content strategy. Your stories on Facebook and Instagram are a great place to put the type of content that will accomplish this goal. Consider playing games, asking questions, or even a quick poll to survey your next decision. Involve your existing audience in as much as you can, including sharing their content every once in a while. If it is relevant to you, your audience will find value in it as well.
If you want to dive deeper into your audience through analytics and make content decisions based on their particular behavior, then we can set up some time to chat and see how I can help. Click Here to schedule a free chat with me. B.Y.O.G. (Bring Your Own Goals)😉
Who You Follow Matters
Often overlooked is your feed. Who you follow from your page is extremely important! Not only will it be the input that you receive every day as you scroll, but it is also the opportunity to gain knowledge and connect for collaboration. Your daily time on each platform can be distracting and time-sucking or it can help you collect and prime shareable content.
My suggestion is to follow larger accounts in your niche with goals you aspire to reach. Follow similar accounts for competitive analysis and follow a few helpful content creation accounts to help you create trendy content.
Followers Matter
Gaining them, losing them, tracking them, and engaging with them all serves a purpose and will help you use social media to achieve your business goals. I hope that this was helpful and that you have found a takeaway or two. I will be watching on the internet to see how it's going for you. All the best!
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