I remember making a fuss with my two best friends over Instagram followers. We tried many methods of gaining followers and even competed with each other. At that time, we had so much fun because we just knew back then that gaining followers could take forms in many ways, starting from natural ways (posting photos and videos, using proper hashtags, updating on schedule in accordance with our country’s prime time and many more) even to the ‘cheat sheet’ methods (using certain types of hashtag cheats, following and unfollowing famous people’s Instagram accounts, following and unfollowing Instagram newbies and many more). Yes, for us who only cared about numbers back then, it was fun and games – until one of us, which is me, became a digital marketer. As someone who provides social media services for business, I used to think numbers were important, which is partially true, but not always and I found the truth during my work for the clients; if you are focusing on gaining followers on social media for your business, you are definitely barking up the wrong tree. Why? Keep reading to learn more!

Many people may follow you but not many of them will care

You can have 10,000 followers but only 600 people might show up on your live streaming. You may have 100,000 followers but only 300 people might leave a comment on your posts and maybe 2,000 people might like the posts but not even all of those people who leave a comment and like your posts will buy your products. Do you realise what this means? Numbers are not important. The most important part of a business is your engagement and interaction with your target audience. While this is not everything, this has great impacts on purchase decision because not only your audience will get to know you better from that interaction and engagement, but they will also get a better understanding of your products or services and this will then increase their interest in your products or services.

Not all of your followers are real

With the increase of technology improvement, almost everything is made possible nowadays. You can even get as many followers on social media as you wish…only this time, your followers are not real. On Instagram, manufacturing fake followers is a ubiquitous tactic, one that is churned out at least 95 million near-perfect human forgeries for you to brush past in the digital hallways, unaware. You can buy them in droves from dozens of services online, but what does that mean for your business then? Yes, you only post for robots to see and you only talk with robots, which means, no sales will ever be made. However, the problem is; you can even get fake followers even though you don’t buy them. Why do I address is as a problem? That’s because this can be bad for your business reputation and future interaction. Bot followers exist for some reasons, such as increasing the number of followers, spamming for shout outs or following for a follow back. If your business social media profile has bots spamming your posts instead of your real audience, you will also lose credibility and authenticity.

Interactive content is a must

Content is king. No matter how many followers you have gained on your business social media account, your engagement with your audience is what encourages them to finally buy what you offer (your products or services). For that reason, interactive content such as quizzes, giveaway events, fun facts, QOTDs and QnA sessions can help you increase your brand awareness, boost your sales and improve your business credibility.

Are you familiar with the saying; “age is just a number”? Yes, just like the saying; a number is just a number. While the number of your social media followers may add some values in certain aspects, it doesn’t mean much for your entire sales. You need content to make your social media campaign work. You need more than just a number. You need consistency, the willingness to take risks and make investment in important areas, the creativity to create content, the ability to read the market and target market, and the strategic plans. Without the things I have mentioned above, your followers are only followers, not your real fans.