Social media will continue to dominate our lives—for better or worse. Despite bias issues and trust issues, we will still post a status to Facebook or tweet our thoughts on the latest political issue.
Are you eager to start a social media account? Are you interested in growing your following? If yes, you can play a good part in enhancing dialogue online. There are shortcuts to follower growth that will appear VERY enticing; just don’t take the bite.
Here are three ways to avoid committing social media sins that will cost you followers:
Don’t Buy Your Followers. Period.
Buying followers is not acceptable anytime. If a prospective client employs this, I will not work with them. Period. I’ve previously discussed this here and here. In fact, social media platforms are actively penalizing accounts that engage in this fishy behavior.
If you plan to be active on social media, be authentically social. Engage with your followers. Reciprocate follows to like-minded accounts. Hit the like button on posts and add a comment. Share the love and do it as humanly as possible.
Inflating your follower numbers is what wannabe influencers do to clinch gigs, deals, and free gear from sponsors. It’s dishonest and can be easily spotted. How so? If your posts get low engagement (likes and comments) but your follower number is high, that’s how you know an account is fake. Even if they buy likes for an individual post, the low engagement evidence is clearly there.
Even the New York Times exposed so-called “follower factories” celebrities use to inflate their influence.
Companies are starting to closely watch for this scammy behavior. (Some are also starting to ban influencers who do this.) Don’t engage in this. Curate a quality Twitter or Instagram feed. It takes a lot of work, consistent with the expectations. Also automating your feed is a no-no. Keep it real!
Don’t Employ the Follow/Unfollow Method to Get Fast Followers
Have you noticed that one person who employs the follow / unfollow option on Instagram and Twitter?
You see that one wannabe influencer who appears to curate a neat feed, then notice they are following more people by the minute. You think, “Oh my goodness, this is super cool!” Sometimes even celebrities or well-known brands will follow you too. (I’ve been a recipient of that—who hasn’t?) But within an hour-to-24-hour span, that new follower — including that one cool celebrity or brand— is gone. Poof. They typically don’t follow again if they didn’t succeed in getting a follow from you. (Thank goodness. Bye!) A few days later, you may see that same person again. You think, What the heck?
This is very common on Twitter in Republican circles. (And likely Democrat circles too.) I see some young politicos elevated by the last election, who think they’re all that, employ this tactic as well. When I don’t reciprocate a follow, I see they have unfollowed. (I have the technology to spot these capricious followers. You know who you are.) It’s not cool, and I won’t take you seriously. You’ve lost me as a potential follower by engaging in this practice. Heck, I may even block you for spamming my notifications. See how this works?
Not all is lost though. When enough people notice this practice, they will unfollow these accounts. Their following numbers will take a hit, and rightly so. What gain in followers will you have when users spot the cheap tactics? Answer: nothing.
Here’s a tidbit from someone who used to do this, cautioning social media users to steer clear of it:
Follow 500 people and maybe 250 will follow you back. Then unfollow them and keep repeating until you reach your desired number of followers.This is the WORST advice. Here’s why : You’re sacrificing your morality for fame. Playing the follow-unfollow game is the quickest way to portray yourself as unreliable, pretentious and narcissistic. Even if you have a great feed, your lack of morality will douse any flame aroused in their mind. And the next time the come across your post, they’ll scroll past without even acknowledging it simply because they resent you as a person.
If you want to project authenticity on social media, avoid this practice or else you’ll be perceived as a narcissistic, vain person. Don’t be that guy or gal!
Don’t Follow / Unfollow, Then Block Someone Who Refuses to Follow Back
Going off of the last point, some people take not reciprocating a follow too personally to the point of blocking you. I’ve had three people do this to me in the last week. Three people.
Why would I or anyone who does social media consulting follow obscure or desperate Instagram and Twitter users / accounts who will immediately unfollow? Why would I give thought to that? I didn’t follow you back, big whoop.
Maybe you’re a spam account engaging in fishing behavior.
Perhaps you have inappropriate or sexually suggestive content on your timeline (yuck).
You could, in fact, you have a boring, uninspiring feed.
Users have free will to follow and not follow people on social media. If you didn’t get a follow-back, don’t take it personally. Go do something productive with your life—read a book, do your job, or spend time outdoors. Getting a follow on social media should be the least of your worries….
If you avoid these three social media sins, people’s perception of your social media presence won’t be negative. Curating an authentic, interesting feed will eventually help you attract the quality followers you want. It takes time, patience, and a great deal of strategy. Read the industry blogs to know about updates to user experience. See what successful brands or personalities are doing and replicate their efforts without copying them or stealing their content. Use social media for good, not for instant fame or sponsorship.
If you are interested in learning how to launch your online branding efforts, need help curating your social media feed, or want to better manage your social media posts, let’s get in touch. I can help you build up an organic following with users who actively engage with your account.
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What did you think of this piece? Am I on-target or off-mark?
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