Why Quality Over Quantity Matters in Social Followers

We can’t deny how great it feels when your business receives new followers on its social media pages. All businesses want to see their followers skyrocket, because we want to reach as many of our ideal customers as possible. However, using follower stats as your sole key performance indicator is a limited way to assess your success on social media, and having more followers does not always equate to new business or an increased return on investment (ROI).

The truth is, quality is so much more valuable than quantity when it comes to social followers. Think about it: would you rather have 100,000 followers from all over the world who don’t care about your business and rarely like, comment, or share your posts, OR 1,000 followers from your local area who are interested in your products or services and actively engaged with your posts?

• Followers who don’t care about your business or content are pointless (same goes for fake accounts and bots).
• How your community responds to and interacts with your content is what really matters.
• Focus less on follower count and more on engagement.

It’s not that hard to get a ton of new followers (heck, you can buy them these days), but it can definitely be challenging to grow an engaged community of fans. We won’t sugarcoat it; it takes a good amount of time and effort, and for businesses, it often requires a digital marketing budget. But once you start building a quality fan base and having meaningful conversations with your followers, it’s possible to not only grow your business but to also become the go-to source in your niche.

How to Build an Engaged Community of Social Followers

You don’t need to go into content overload to succeed on social media. Focus on creating quality content that aligns with your brand and offers value to your potential and existing customers.

• Know Your Target Audience | How can you get your ideal customers interested in your content if you don’t understand who they are? When you’re planning your business’s Social Media Marketing strategy, it can be tempting to focus on reaching as many people as possible. However, going after an incredibly broad audience can result in generic content that tends to fall flat. If you want to drive tangible results, you must create highly targeted content that resonates with the audience that matters most to your business.
• Post with Purpose | Whether you’re planning your posts well in advance, sharing timely updates, or doing a mix of both, you’ll want to ensure that each of your posts has a purpose. Don’t post just for the sake of posting. Make sure your content is genuine and reflects who you are in an authentic, relatable way. It’s easier to turn a follower into a customer when they truly trust and like your brand.
• Provide Valuable Information | Your industry certainly has tips and tricks you can share with the public without giving away all your trade secrets. People who find your posts useful are more likely to follow your business page, engage with your posts, share your posts with others, and visit your website to inquire further about your products or services.
• Pick the Right Platform | While there are a variety of social networks that offer benefits for businesses, you don’t need to have a presence on all of them to grow an engaged following—especially if that means the quality of your content will suffer.

In general, it’s good advice to stick with the most popular platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, Pinterest, and Twitter. Choose the network(s) that makes the most sense for your business based on the type of content you plan to publish. For example, if your employees capture a lot of eye-catching images on the job, you should consider Instagram. If you want to share mostly blog posts or articles, Facebook or Linkedin is better suited to that.

At the end of the day, social media was created to connect real people and build communities. Presenting an overly formal image of your business can make it hard for customers to truly connect and relate. Avoid these social media mistakes, and remember to let your social media content show your true personality so your followers get a more authentic view of your brand.

Want more help with your social media strategy? Contact us at Triton Commerce! Our team can manage your social media marketing so you can focus on running your business.