Do you think you should have more followers on social media?
It can be frustrating to see others in your industry with more followers than you.
You might be publishing some great updates, but even still there can be good reasons that people aren’t following you. And it’s one of those things where you might be frustrated because your target followers really aren’t going to come out and tell you why they aren’t following you.
So we’re going to go over some of the main reasons why your target audience isn’t following your social accounts.
Reason #1. Not Enough Updates
This is #1 for a reason. You have to give people something to consume if they’re going to follow you. If you’re not getting the followers you want then the first thing to look at is the number of times you’re updating your profile with information.
If you’re only updating once in a while or even once a day it’s probably not going to be enough to build a following. It might work if you’re a celebrity or a big brand with name recognition, but if you’re not then it’s going to take tons of updates.
Reason #2. No Visuals
Social media has always been very visual. I remember when Facebook first started getting big on college campuses around 2005 or so. It quickly became the biggest photo sharing site on the Internet. I don’t know if that was the intention, but that’s how people used it. They wanted to post and look at each other’s photos.
Today it’s about all the visuals including photos, videos and GIFs. GIFs have really gotten big because they’re funny and entertaining if you’re good at using them.
Reason #3. No Entertainment Or Emotion
Speaking of GIFs and entertainment, using social media is a form of entertainment. When you’re posting something in public you’re entertaining people. It doesn’t always have to be funny although that’s a big part of it, but it has to entertain in some way. That’s what gets people to not only look at it, but comment and re-share it.
It comes down to emotion as well. If you show real emotion, which could be fun, happy, sad, upset, etc., then people will connect with what you’re saying.
Reason #4. No Interaction With Influencers
One good way to get more followers is to interact with people in your industry that already have followers. They have followers for a reason and one good reason is that they probably are good at interacting with people. So you can get in on the action by replying to them, leaving them comments, asking them questions.
Obviously you don’t want to be annoying, but if you can make them laugh and get them interested in engaging with you then their followers will discover what you’re all about.
Reason #5. No Interaction With Target Followers
Speaking of influencers and how they interact with people – they’re very good at interacting with their followers. There is this guy I follow on Twitter that is a fan of the Green Bay Packers. He was just a guy with a normal job that liked to chat about the Packers, but now he’s an NFL analyst. But anyway, he’ll take time to answer questions his followers have about the Packers or about anything. That’s one good way to interact with target followers.
But to get followers you can go to the conversations your target followers are having. There are conversations around hashtags and things like that. Get in on those and start answering questions.
Reason #6. No Mention Of Current Events
Speaking of hashtags and events – current events are big on social media. It’s really about all the big things on people’s minds right in the moment. So if you want to be relevant you have to be up on all the latest events and trends and things that people care about.
You still want to talk about things that are more timeless in nature, but to build a following it’s good to be current and in the moment.
Reason #7. No Insider Info
Insider information is not good on the stock exchange, but it’s really good on social media. If you have insider information, nothing too crazy, in your industry then people will have a really good reason to follow you. This happens all the time in sports where the people with the scoops on players and teams and things like that get tons of followers by sharing their little tidbits.
Reason #8. No Consistency
Reliability is important to people. I follow a couple Packers beat writers and they almost always tweet updates during the game. If one of them goes missing on Twitter for even a few minutes during a game their followers start to wonder what’s going on.
Build some consistency in scheduling when you provide updates on Twitter. Don’t go missing for a day or a few days at a time. Make sure you’re making an effort to stick with it so your followers know they can rely on you for information and entertainment.
Reason #9. No Optimization Or Promotion
By this I mean that you do need to promote your updates a little bit. Hashtags are a good way to do this. You have to kind of hijack some conversations to get your words in there. It can feel uncomfortable, but you have to do some hustling when you’re starting out and trying to get followers. Don’t be afraid to jump in on conversations.
Reason #10. No Controversy
You don’t have to get way over the top with things, but controversy is good. It’s good to have opinions. You’ll find that people appreciate that you’re saying what they are thinking. This will lead to some arguing sometimes, but that’s okay. Keep it civil, but don’t be afraid to take a stand on some things.
Conclusion
It’s no fun to invest some of your time in social media only to have things fall flat. The goal of social media is to build an audience so they can become part of your customer base. But it’s obviously not easy. Hopefully the items here can spark some ideas that will get your social game back on track.