Why It’s Not Just About Followers Anymore on Instagram

The number of followers used to be one of the main metrics of your account’s popularity and growth but is it still the same these days? Definitely not! People go after an engagement, building meaningful relationships, and creating conversations. I’m thrilled about this shift because it makes sense. Social media calls social for a reason and why would it be important to have 10k followers if they are not engaging with your content and not leaving any feedback with likes and comments under your posts? Here are a few reasons why it’s not just about followers anymore.

 

 

Too many followers can slow you down

There is a high tendency that if you have a lot of followers, there will be some ghost followers in between. That could be fake accounts or just automated accounts. They don’t engage with your content, they are just there although this can slow down the rate that people see your content. What do I mean by that? Ghost followers who don’t engage with you can slow your viewing down, meaning that the people who really do follow and engage with you may miss your content. You see, your posts are never seen by all of your followers simply because people see all the newest content on the top of their feed and if some of these follow thousand of people, it’s a lot of content to go through! Focus on building an engaged community instead of a higher number of followers. 

 

Engagement is better than any following

This is a FACT! Many of you might think about how fewer people can make a difference, but it really can. Let’s say you have 200k followers but your posts get only hundreds of likes, few comments, and almost no other engagement. Although if you have less than 2000 followers but you are consistently engaging and talking to them and they are doing the same thing, your content will have much better numbers and there is a higher chance to turn potential dream clients into paying clients. Sales are easier to do if you have a community that exactly knows who you are, what you do, and how you can help them. They trust you and continuous value that you bring through the conversations you have with them and showing you care about their opinion gives them an extra reason why to buy from you.

 

Commenting and building relationships

Do you sometimes find yourself scrolling your feed and loving all the pictures and captions that someone that inspires you posted but you just continue scrolling after you double-tapped to give it a love heart? Write a comment, let them know why you love their post or how you can relate to it. Commenting on your ideal client/customer posts can help you build relationships and put yourself out there in front of other similar accounts. 

 

Engaging with other people’s stories

Let’s be honest, we watch other people’s stories all the time. We might as well just take advantage of watching our ideal client’s IG stories and comment on their stories, making further communication or engaging with their interactive polls. It’s so easy to start the conversation simply by asking a question or sharing your experience on the same topic. Show people you love their content and that you resonate with the message they share. This way you are creating a meaningful connection and the conversation can pick up quickly.

 

Getting to know people

Have you ever had an experience that after you followed someone, they sent you a thank you message to show their appreciation? Learning more about your audience and people that show an interest in your content is great for creating connections through DMs. Nurture your growing community and show that you care about them. Keep in touch with people but also engage with new followers because they will see that you took time and gave them a warm welcome to your community.

To conclude, the number of followers is out of fashion and it’s far less important than building an engaged community that you’re consistently talking to and showing your appreciation for. Start the conversation with people in your community but even the ones you are looking up to or who your ideal clients are. You will be rewarded with an amazing, engaged community.