Building a Social Media Community Not a Population

“Hey bro, I have 200,000 followers…how many do you have?”

Yes, 200,000 followers on social media is very impressive, but it’s not necessarily the most important thing.

Brands get so focused on how many followers they have on their social media accounts that they end up missing out on its purpose. I always say think big and start small. You’re building your social community the same way you build a house – you need a foundation before you can start inviting people in and taking care of their needs. When starting social media for a brand, rather than asking, ‘How can I get thousands of followers’ you should be asking, “how can I get quality followers who love my brand and want to engage with us so we can help them feel connected to us?“

You can buy your followers to compete with the same number your competitor your has (and risk having your account removed), or you can one-up them by have fewer followers but more QUALITY followers. To me, that’s a bigger win.

Reasons for NOT focusing on how many followers you have.

1. Quality over Quantity

So 20,000 followers looks pretty cool, but are all 20,000 of those follower liking and engaging with your posts? Are they all real accounts, or are they spammers? Having a smaller community of QUALITY followers (meaning followers who are truly engaged with what your brand is doing online). Is better than having thousands of followers who never look at your posts. It’s the quality followers who are going to spread awareness about your brand. If you take the time to appreciate them.

2. You are building a COMMUNITY, not a population

Social media marketing is all about building a community around your brand. Communities work together, they talk to each other. They engage with each and they acknowledge each other. A population is just a number to define how many people are in your community. So rather than focusing on your population. Focus on your community, they can tell you more than the population.

3. Let your social media serve a purpose and not just a presence

When you decide to take on social media marketing. Don’t do it for the sole purpose of having a presence. Simply having a presence isn’t enough to make an impact on your business. You need to show that you are willing to be there for your followers. That you appreciate them and that you want to engage with them.

4. A mass amount of followers doesn’t mean authenticity

People are starting to catch onto the fake followers, spam account etc. When you see an account with thousands of followers but hardly any interaction on their posts, it’s very likely they’ve bought their followers. It can be tempting to go out and purchase your followers based on how many followers your competitor has compared to your own following – but always choose not to go with this option. Focus on the REAL followers you have, and find a way to make them happy.

When you are working on social media marketing. It’s easy to lose sight of what the purpose of social is and the strategy you should want to work on. It’s important to know what your competitors are doing. You should want to compete with them. But in the midst of the competition don’t forget about your followers, because they are the ones who will help your brands community grow organically.