Is Bigger Really Better? Followers & False Engagement

By Sarah Beath,   Junior Social Media Designer

A slice of chocolate cake, a present under the Christmas tree or a fluffy blanket on a cold winter night...these are instances where bigger is always better. It is quite common for people to get an extra ‘pep in there step’ when they achieve a goal such as 1000 followers on Instagram. However, this achievement does not necessarily fall under bigger is better.

Gaining a high number of followers is a problematic myth constructed by social media companies, as it is the thought that having more followers on your social media platforms illustrates a better bond between your brand and your audience. But this deception is nothing but a cloak over the eyes brought on by the social media giants such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. This is primarily due to the economic benefit which follows the various platforms, as the more money and time your brand spends trying to build its followship, the more money they make at the end of the day.

Unfortunately, we have become a part of a society where Likes do not necessarily equal meaningful engagement, but more likely bought through paid advertising. If this weren’t true, we would experience the number of engagements equalling the number of potential leads. Yet this is not the case in most situations.

Social Media Today reported that a Facebook Page’s organic reach is roughly between 2% & 6.4%. Detailing that if your brand has 1000 followers, your audience dwindles down to between 20 to 64 people who may see your brand’s page and posts on a regular basis. Therefore, it is more beneficial to build up a smaller, hyper-focused audience that is willing and wanting to engage with your brand. This can then be identified as your viable market of customers.

There are 3 major questions you must consider when attempting to achieve your marketing objectives. These include, how do we engage 1000 true followers? How do we foster and build relationships with these followers to ensure we are the first point of contact when they are ready to buy? And lastly, how do we convert these true followers into our repeat customers.

By hyper-focusing your audience, you run less of a risk of wasting countless resources and time spent pursuing people who have no interest in becoming future customers to your brand. Therefore, you should strive to make your brand unforgettable to those who actually matter.
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