Changes in algorithms, improvements in the focus of advertising campaigns, development of the app’s usability for users and brands … The social networks universe evolves every day at full speed and, both from the point of view of the user and of the company, we must be continually adapting to their changes so as not to fall behind and lose our influence.
But, here comes the big question … When we talk about followers, what is more important: quality or quantity?
Until a while ago, before the most successful marketers brought out the famous engagement formula, getting more and more followers was the main objective of the brands and, at the same time, the most reliable way to measure the results. In the reports, the agencies boasted graphics that, month after month, showed outstanding growth in the form of hundreds of followers.
“The engagement allows us to assess the degree of affinity, loyalty and commitment of the users with the brand”
That’s when the followers’ buying and selling companies appeared, thanks to which thousands of brands and individuals’ profiles, hitherto pure and white, who suddenly became influencers, grew up as the foam. Of course, by cheating.
There were even examples of agencies that set out to create influencers from scratch with the help of buying followers, who when they reached a consistent figure they saw how the brands proposed collaborations, invited them to post events and sent them their best products. All with the aim of demonstrating that, in the social media sector, everything that glitters are not gold.
For this reason, and although cheating is increasingly easy to identify, today we should not only look at the number of followers to know how we are doing, but there are more indicators -engagement, likes, feedbacks, saved content…-, showing us the affinity degree, loyalty and commitment of our followers what, in our opinion, is more relevant than the total calculation of these.
Tips to gain followers in social networks
If you want to gain followers in social networks and, in addition, to have a higher engagement percentage every time, this is what you should keep in mind:
1. Know well your followers and their needs. If you want to address your audience effectively, with the right messages and images, you should know what interests them and offer quality content, avoiding that the information is too focused on the sale. In this way, in addition to being attracted by the information you provide, you will get your followers to consider you next time and, at the time of purchase, when they are making the decision between one or other products services, choose your brand as the first option.
2. Select properly the channels you must be in. It is not worth anything that you have a presence on all social networks -Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Linkedin, YouTube, Bing, Vero, etc.- if your audience is not there. It is better little and good than much and bad. Therefore, you must know in depth the possibilities offered by each of the channels, knowing in which your target audience can be, be constant in your publications and nurture the profiles with quality content, always listening to your community.
3. Follow the people you are interested in impacting (potential audience) and give them love. Do not follow and then stop following as standard: It is a strategy that does not work and therefore only make you waste time. The matter is to follow the key people and humanize your brand by “liking” the users you follow, as well as putting meaningful comments (not just emoticons) in their publications. Congratulate them on their birthday and join them at good times and bad times, and it will take effect. And, of course, always reply or comment on all those other users’ publications about your brand, in which your hashtag is used or mentioned. If they are positive messages you will be emphasizing how important that brand is for that user and, if it is a criticism or negative message, reacts on time and tries to solve the user problem or discontent before the topic has greater importance in the network.
4. Collaborate with influencers and micro-influencers. Make a list of the most relevant profiles for your brand, observing the influence level they have on their users (if they have likes and comments or if they are accounts passing without trouble or fanfare). Select those that best suit your objective and whose followers correspond to your target audience, propose a different way to collaborate and measure the results that the action has generated on your brand.
5. Reward your followers and future followers with contests, raffles and special promotions. A simple way to get more followers is by launching a promotion, sweepstakes or contest on your social networks. Offer a desired product, an experience or an entry for a special event and, if you want to promote participation, promote the publication to have greater reach. Your number of followers will grow like foam and, if your content is interesting, they will not stop following your account when the action ends.
6. Publish contents in different formats. Although video is the king today, other creative and very visual contents such as infographics, GIFs and real photos (professional, but closer) also attract a lot of attention. Never forget that what you publish is the reflection of your brand and, therefore, the higher quality, the better.
7. Advertise your brand and your content. During the last year Facebook has introduced some changes in their algorithm that prioritize user timelines news related to their family and friends over the brands, no matter how they are followers of the same. To maximize the impact that our brand has on social networks, we must invest constantly in them. There are even campaigns to attract new users, which can be interesting for those brands that have just started and need to be known by their target audience.
8. Use hashtags. Identify your brand with your own customized hashtag, study and use those used by users in your community and invite your followers to use your hashtag when they consume your products or enjoy your services.
9. Label influencers and relevant users in your publications. Do not be too insistent with this, but, if you want a certain profile to see a specific publication of yours, label it in it and, at least, you will ensure its visualization.
10. Invite to follow you the users that interact with your publications. Since relatively recently, Facebook offers the possibility to send follow-up invitations to users who interact with their content. Take advantage of this functionality, you’ll be surprised how well it works!
11. If you do not have time and you need to gain quality followers in a fast and reliable way, there are companies that, for a small fee, promise to create a substantial community of real followers of your brand, of potential public interested in your products or services. Of course, you should keep in mind that they are only available for Instagram.
