Social Media Followers: Why More Followers Don’t Always Mean More Business Growth
Why Social Media Followers Are Not Enough to Grow Your Business?
Having lots of social media followers can show success in the business world, however, just having those followers does not necessarily translate into business growth. A company may have 50,000 followers and fail to bring in leads, sales, traffic on their website or loyal customers. In contrast, a company with several thousand very engaged followers can create income as the audience trusts the company and acts accordingly.
Social media has become a crucial aspect in marketing today. Companies use Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and other social platforms to reach out to potential customers. Since the number of followers is visible, many companies rely on this metric when gauging success.
However, being a follower is just the first step towards the customer journey.
The person who pressed the "Follow" button does not mean that he or she will buy the product. They may follow the company because they liked one video, participated in some giveaway, found the company entertaining or simply wanted to learn something.
Engagement Matters More Than the Number of Followers
Consider two companies.
Company A has 100,000 followers, but its posts generate just 100 likes, some comments, and hardly any inquiries.
Company B has 10,000 followers, but each post generates hundreds of comments, saves, shares, direct messages, and website traffic.
Which company has the better social media presence?
For the most part, Company B.
Engagement proves that people care about your content.
Companies need to develop the content that promotes engagement instead of scrolling through.
Instead of always promoting their offer in terms of Buy our product, for instance, a skincare company may post educational information about common mistakes when it comes to skin care, product use, user experience, and FAQ.
This content provides a certain reason for people to follow and interact with the company.
Another thing companies need to do is to pay attention to comments and messages from their users. In case the users often ask about price, features, products, services or delivery, it will become evident what kind of information they need.
It also humanizes the company.
Social media should be used as an interactive tool instead of a digital billboard.
The point of social media should not be getting followers but creating an engaged community.
Followers Do Not Automatically Become Paying Customers
One of the greatest myths that surrounds the world of social media marketing is that having a huge following will ensure you make good money.
That is not the case.
Your follower could like your content while still not needing your products or services.
For instance, you could have many followers on Instagram after publishing funny marketing memes. Your posts will be highly engaging, but your followers could be students or other marketers rather than entrepreneurs searching for marketing services.
Your followers are increasing, yet your business might not get any quality leads.
This is the reason why you need high-quality followers.
Your business must attract people who need your products or services.
Your content needs to solve the problems that your target customers would love to have solved.
For example, a digital marketing agency targeting entrepreneurs could come up with content like:
Why are your Google Ads bringing clicks but no leads
Tips for helping local businesses to rank well on Google
Why is your website traffic not converting into sales?
How much should an entrepreneur spend on digital marketing?
Such topics are likely to attract individuals who could really use digital marketing services.
Companies should create a solid conversion path too.
A viewer of your social media post should be aware of their next steps.
They could:
Visit your website, download a guide, book a consultation, ask for a quote, sign up for a newsletter, start a trial period, or purchase your product.
Otherwise, even your follower who is interested in your brand will never convert into a customer.
Thus, social media marketing should be linked to your overall marketing and sales strategy.
The followers generate attention. The conversion strategy helps you to convert it into customers.
Build Trust Before Trying to Sell
The customers seldom buy from the business just because they have seen the promotional post once.
They generally require some time to learn about the business, compare it with other options, read reviews, evaluate its credibility, and then judge whether it is worth spending money on that business.
Hence, trust becomes one of the most essential aspects in social media marketing.
Rather than making all the posts promotional, the business needs to exhibit their expertise and credibility.
Sharing educational content becomes quite simple way to achieve the same purpose.
If you are a fitness trainer, share the useful fitness tips.
If you operate an SEO firm, highlight some of the common SEO issues.
If you have a financial consulting firm, make the complicated financial matters understandable to your customers.
Once your customers keep learning something useful through your posts, they start considering you as credible source of information.
Instead of just stating, we deliver top-notch services, show evidence of what has been done.
Like this:
Helped our client boost the number of qualified leads using landing page optimization and Google Ads targeting.
It works better because potential clients will be able to see how you can help them.
Businesses can also post testimonials, reviews, behind-the-scenes material, introduce their teams, share case studies, and project experience.
They want to know who they will be dealing with.
Consistency counts as well.
Publishing interesting content and being absent for three months will make it hard to establish good connections with your target audience.
It’s not necessary to publish every day. Usually, consistency is much more important than daily posts.
The goal is to stay active and useful.
With time, consistent valuable content becomes familiar. And familiarity may become trust.
Track Business Metrics Instead of Vanity Metrics
Follower count can be termed as a vanity metric because it can appear impressive but will not give an account of how the marketing efforts are impacting the business.
It is essential for the business to monitor metrics that align with its goals.
Awareness-related goals may lead to monitoring metrics like:
Reach
Impressions
Videos
Brands mentioned
Profile visits
Goals revolving around engagement may result in monitoring metrics like:
Comments
Saves
Shares
Engagement rate
Direct messages
Lead generation goals may require monitoring metrics like:
Website clicks
From files
Phone calls
WhatsApp queries
Demos
Consultation booking
In e-commerce businesses, metrics to monitor can include:
Purchases
Conversion rate
Revenue
Average order value
Customer acquisition cost
Return on advertising spending
For instance, let us consider your Instagram profile gaining 5,000 followers this month. It looks great.
However, what if website visits stayed at the same level and there were no new inquiries or sales?
In this case, follower gain does not mean business growth yet.
Compared to the following month: you have 500 new followers and 100 new qualified website visits, 25 new leads, and five new clients.
The latter result would be much more valuable for your business.
Therefore, it is necessary to link the statistics from social media, websites, CRM, and sales wherever it is possible.
Another key metric to monitor is conversion rate.
When there are lots of visits from social networks but very few conversions, it means that the problem is not in social media marketing. It can lie in your website, offer, price, landing page, or checkout process.
With the help of monitoring the whole customer journey, it will be easier to detect the problem spot.
Turn Your Social Media Audience into Real Business Growth
Increasing your followers is not pointless. More followers mean more exposure for the brand and more opportunities.
But the issue arises where the sole focus shifts to acquiring more followers.
A good social media marketing plan is one that takes people through various levels.
The first thing is to gain their attention.
Produce content that is informative, interesting, entertaining, or inspirational to your targeted audience.
Second, engage them.
Motivate them to leave comments, share, save, ask questions, and participate in discussions.
Third, build trust.
Prove your credibility by producing educational content, customer outcomes, testimonials, case studies, and regular communication.
Fourth, motivate them to act.
Provide a reason why they should come to your site, contact you, download something helpful, sign up for a mailing list, schedule a consultation, or make a purchase.
Fifth, keep up the relationship.
Marketing shouldn’t end right after the initial purchase. The existing clients can become returning clients, as well as brand advocates.
Email marketing can also allow businesses to lower their reliance on social media networks.
The networks run their own algorithms and therefore businesses cannot be sure that each and every follower will get each post.
Creating an email list is going to provide another direct communication channel with interested clients.
Likewise, SEO investments may help prospective clients find you in Google when looking for a solution.
The most effective digital marketing strategy is going to include many different channels rather than focusing just on one of them.
Social media may generate awareness and relationships. SEO may generate search visibility. Email marketing may cultivate prospects. Your website may convert visitors. Paid advertising may speed up the process.
All these strategies should function together.
In the end, companies should quit considering followers as their goal.
Having 100,000 followers that never interact, visit your site or buy anything from you gives little business benefit. However, having 10,000 followers that are interested in you, trust you and are regular customers can give you even greater benefits.
Concentrate on the proper audience rather than on the large one.
Create valuable content. Engage people in meaningful dialogues. Develop trust. Bring your followers to the next stage and constantly evaluate your efforts.
Once your social media followers transform into active prospects and loyal customers, social media stops being a game of numbers and becomes a powerful business channel.
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