Written by AlphaPixel Reach team member Mikayla Dudek.
In today’s world, one that seems to revolve more and more around social media as time goes on, it’s easy to get caught up in what our social media says about us online- and more often than not this means focusing heavily on the number of followers we have. While it’s important to utilize social media in order to keep your business relevant in the minds of consumers and tell your business’s brand story, your follower count isn’t everything. In fact, for a business’s social media account to be successful, it’s more important to think about the quality of your followers, as opposed to the quantity. Ask yourself…
Are your followers engaging with your business?
At the end of the day, your social media accounts are intended for one thing, to promote your business, and to aid in achieving your business goals. While a growing number of followers can be an indication that your business is thriving, it’s more important to consider whether or not these followers are actually engaging with your business. Are your followers liking your posts? Are they swiping up on links that you share in captions or stories? Are they “reading more” when you give them the option to? How about sharing your content with others? It’s the followers that are engaging that are the ones who are more likely to buy a product, or give to a cause, so don’t lose sight of the impact they have. Having thousands of followers may as well be worth nothing if they’re not engaging with your business and helping you to achieve your goals.
Are your followers local?
While this may not apply to every business, it can make worlds of difference for small businesses. Are you an owner of a small business? Perhaps one that doesn’t have the capacity to ship nationwide, but still wants to generate awareness of your offerings to the community via social media? For you, focusing on attracting locals in your community to your social media accounts is no doubt invaluable. What good are a ton of followers if they’re not the ones who will be potential customers of yours? Sure, an outstanding campaign could attract customers from outside the community, but local followers should not be overlooked.
Are your followers loyal?
Think for a minute about how much you appreciate loyal customers as a business owner. They’re the ones who took a chance on your business in the beginning, and the ones who continued to come back afterwards. When you really think about it, where would your business really be without them? In a way, your original followers, the small group of users who started following along with your business’s journey and story, are like these original, loyal customers. Loyal followers are the followers who have followed you for an extended period of time, and who will continue to do so. They’re the ones who come back to your business even when they see another account that may offer the same service or product. They’re the followers that followed along because they believe in your business’s purpose, not just because “a bunch of other people follow them.” Loyal followers often equate to loyal customers, so one loyal follower is better than a hundred random followers any day.
Are your followers a good investment?
Promoting your business via social media means that you also have the option to create paid advertisements in the hopes of targeting potential customers. Here is the thing though, if your followers aren’t the correct audience for your business, aren’t engaging, and or aren’t loyal, then you are literally wasting your time and money investing in social media ads because they won’t be consumed by potential customers. So the next time you start to think about the number of followers your business has, remember that a smaller number of followers that are likely to invest in your business will always be a better investment than tons of followers who never will.