The follower count obsession: Shifting from follower counts to social media marketing conversions.

‘We need to hit 10k followers on social media to meet our business KPIs’

‘Your engagement rates are good, but we asked for an increase in followers’

If you’re a social media marketer, this is just a ‘day in the life’ of encounters with clients. With experience in navigating the ever-evolving landscape of social media, both locally and globally, I’ve witnessed its growth up close. It has now become an important component of broader marketing strategies aimed at achieving business goals. However, a persistent trend I’ve noticed is an excessive fixation on follower counts as the primary measure of success in social media marketing.

How do we get clients to think bigger and focus on how we can effectively use social media to drive measurable conversions?

Getting to the root of this fixation

It’s no secret that many businesses and influencers are locked in a race to achieve the highest follower count. This fixation often stems from the idea that a large following equals credibility and influence, fueled by the simplicity of comparing numbers. Influencer culture further feeds into this fixation by placing follower counts on a pedestal. Additionally, misconceptions about followers generating good engagement and social media unintentionally favouring content with a large following contribute to this obsession.

Whilst having a substantial following can boost your online presence, it often turns into a vanity metric that doesn’t translate to meaningful results. Engagements, conversions and relationships are equally, if not more, significant metrics to consider.

Leading the change in perspective

Quality over quantity – a simple yet universally applicable solution to most problems. It begins by accepting that having a large following doesn’t necessarily guarantee the right interactions with your posts or products. Many accounts resort to unethical tactics, such as buying fake followers, to inflate their numbers, ultimately turning back to agencies to clean up the mess due to damage to the brand’s credibility.

This brings us to the next topic: engagement. We should understand that engagement metrics such as likes, comments, clicks to site etc. provide us with a better understanding of our content’s impact. A smaller but highly engaged audience is more likely to convert into paying customers or loyal brand advocates. Genuine engagement fosters trust and loyalty, which are invaluable assets that lead to conversions.

Shifting to conversion-orientated marketing

To successfully lead this shift, we must harness the true power of social media and champion conversion-oriented strategies. Here’s how we can do this:

  • Define clear goals at the start of your strategy
    • Before launching any campaign, establishing specific measurable objectives aligned with your business goals is crucial. Are we aiming to drive website traffic, generate leads or increase sales? The list is endless. 
  • Create compelling content
    • High-quality and relevant content is so important. Content should resonate with your target demographic, provide value and encourage action. Utilising various formats to do this is key, ensuring that we cater to diverse preferences and keep audiences engaged.
  • Leverage data and analytics
    • Often overlooked but a personal favourite – Data-driven content should be at the heart of all marketing efforts. Fortunately, many platforms offer valuable insights into behaviour, content performance, audience breakdowns and conversions. We must ensure we translate this data into actionable strategies that lead to measurable results.
  • Paid advertising
    • Paid advertising allows us to reach an ideal audience beyond our following. With compelling content and precise targeting capabilities that enable us to reach users based on interests, behaviours and demographics, we can generate a positive ROI and boost conversions on social media platforms.
  • Communicate with your audience
    • Being responsive, transparent, and personable with your audience in your social media efforts are vital components of building lasting relationships that ultimately lead to sales.

Overall, we have a unique opportunity to drive change and innovation in how we position social media marketing in our landscape. While a large following can be impressive, it’s the quality of engagement that truly matters. By adopting a conversion-oriented approach we can really work to drive sustainable business growth for our clients.

 

 

Words By: Sanya Ijaz, Account Director at Atteline