Engagement should be the focus, not followers

Engagement should be the focus, not followers

Whether you are a brand or an influencer, it feels good every time you someone follows you on social media. The allure of having thousands upon thousands of followers is understandable. Consider this, your social media account is a community you have created for yourself. Would you like that community to be a silent spectator or a true advocate for your brand who engages with your content regularly. The question you have to ask yourself is, which is more important? Number of Followers or Engagement?

Let’s be clear, number of followers are important, but engagement is better. Here’s why:

Reason 1: You know the audience is real

Seeing a high number of followers, one wonders if that following is real. This thought stems from the rise in the number of fake accounts and bots on social media. Purchasing followers as a practice is not common among social media account holders, especially since the prices are not that high. It’s the equivalent of cooking up your books, pumping these numbers only gives an illusion of popularity. These fake accounts will never engage with your brand and never be an advocate for it.

When your followers engage with you on social media, it is proof that they love your brand. Word of mouth is still the most powerful marketing technique because people trust other people. Social media is word of mouth on steroids and an engaged community will take you a long way in terms of earning goodwill.

Reason 2: Your community creates content for you

If your audience is engaged, you can create tons of quality content by running campaign, aksing your audience to send in their photos, or videos. When potential followers/customers see this happening, they see thousands upon thousands of people interacting with you and using your product, earning you massive goodwill. This is 21st century word of mouth marketing at its absolute best. You get mentions, trending hashtags and you give your community the chance to experience your brand, tell their story and show them you really care.

Reason 3: It is all about conversations

Conversations are the name of the game when it comes to social media. It is what everyone wants, to connect with people. A large number of followers doesn’t guarantee conversation. An engaged community of followers is scalable and improves the chances of landing a paying customer. It makes sense, if they are not engaging with you, it is highly unlikely they will buy from you. Having a large number of followers doesn’t mean the brand doesn’t engage its community, it means that without a large of followers, the up and coming account holders have a shot to compete with the best and hold their ground.

Reason 4: You earn trust

More number of followers means more and more people are seeing your content, that’s as far as it goes without engagement. But an engaged community of followers is a sign that people trust your brand. When you engage with your audience, it sends them a message that someone is listening and cares about what they have to say. It gives your customers peace of mind and inspires non-followers to become avid fans.

Reason 5: Engagement builds lasting relationships

Finally, it is important to shift your focus from the numbers to the engagement because it ultimately helps build relationships that last. A big part of sales is retaining your customers and have them buy again from you. Social media is as good a place to build those relationships. It is imperative you start from your top performing social media platforms and build a strong community.

Remember, social media is all about conversation, connecting with people & businesses, building lasting relationships. Engagement within and outside of your community is at heart of doing that. It is essential that engagement be at the core of your social media marketing strategy.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Until next time!