As people surf through Instagram, Facebook, and other social media platforms, the number of followers or subscribers each account has doesn’t go unnoticed. Even if it’s subconscious, that count is one of the first things you’re likely to notice about a page. But does that have a positive correlation with how successful that page is, or even how profitable? The answer might surprise you.
Any good branding agency will tell you follower count doesn’t matter, if not only to show a bit more credibility to your account. For example, if you’re looking at two similar companies – one with 50 followers and one with 500 followers (or 5,000…or 50,000) – you’re probably more likely to trust the latter.
And herein lies the problem: lots of other companies are acting on that assumption in their social media strategy… which is why their followers could be purchased, or just a small group of employees and their friends trying to fudge the count.
That’s called the “money-in-the-tip-jar” strategy: just like patrons will apparently tip more if there’s already money in the tip jar, users are also more likely to follow a page with more followers. As a former server, I can tell you this assumption is simply (and unfortunately) not true, and that’s exactly why you should never be fooled by the follower count alone.
You might be sitting here thinking that’s a sneaky strategy, but you should be asking yourself if that even works for them. The answer is…probably not. Here’s why.
The goal in getting so many people to follow and share your page is to engage with the people behind these pages, because if no one’s engaging with your social media, then your follower count are just a fancy number at the top of your page. And no one wants to be treated like a number.
So back to the previous example: if that company bought or fudged their followers, then it’s doubtful they’re receiving likes, shares, or any engagement in return, let alone any sales. What’s worse is that their numbers will stay stagnant after their strategy is over, until they start a new one just like it, which will see the same ineffective outcome.
To see any return on investment from social media strategy, you have to earn quality, organic followers by attracting your target audience.
Followers must engage with your page to benefit your brand, and those in your target audience are most likely to engage. After all, what’s the point of having a cool social media account with lots of followers if they are not leading to the growth of your brand?
To start, find the group of people most responsive to your kind of brand. Once you’ve zeroed in on them, try earning their shares and follows with quality posts tailored to their interests. The best way to do this? Be a leader and a follower: produce captivating content and follow back! Don’t forget to respond to comments and like your followers’ posts, as well!
You’ll want to also pay attention to complementary brands and boost posts that you find will expand your target market. And be sure to use common hashtags for your brand and tag the location of your company (for example, we’re a South Florida branding agency, so we drop #brandingagency and tag ourselves in Delray Beach for most posts). These small details will increase the likelihood of people stumbling across your profiles.
The long and short of it is that high followers do not necessarily translate to high profits, especially for smaller brands/companies. What’s most important here is just what your mama always told you: quality always beats quantity. So, you should be focusing on building relationships, not getting the highest count you can.
If your pages aren’t growing as fast as you would like, don’t stress. Just find new tactics to reach people more likely to engage with your brand. Sometimes it’s not a bad idea to take a step back, rethink what the purpose of your account is, and readjust your strategy from there. Just remember to always track the engagement rate! And, of course, if you get lost in the sauce, call the best little branding agency in Palm Beach County: your friends at Sack Lunch!
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