Social media has recently gained a strong reputation, indicating that if you don’t have thousands upon thousands of followers you haven’t “made it.” It’s easy to get obsessed with that number that shows up on the top of all our social media feeds: our follower count.
Yes, there are times when you should worry about your follower count. It is one of the ways you can measure whether your content is resonating with people or not. Just remember, it does not equal your worth and there are other ways of measuring success.
Many of us connect this number with our value as a business owner or directly link it to our success. When we look at our follower count, we often say, “People are not following me because …” This statement highlights everything we are doing wrong, and we start to scour the Internet for tips and take courses on how to double our Instagram following. We start looking at other people’s accounts and compare ourselves to them. This is why it’s really important to start rewriting those stories we tell ourselves. We need to look at our follower count with a grain of salt and put our best foot forward. So here are some tips on how to manage your follower count, and avoid obsessing over it:
Starting out
When you first start creating your social media account, growing a following will take both time and persistence. It’s a process of building, iterating, and then building on top of that. For most people, getting a huge following is not going to happen overnight. For the first couple of months, put a variety of content out there, see what people like, and then review it. Do not spend the first couple of months agonizing over your follower count.
Growth spurt
The growth spurt is the time in our business where we stop and evaluate what’s working and what’s not. Sometimes when we evaluate our business we find we need to change direction. I talk with a lot of creative entrepreneurs who go through this period and they end up losing a lot of followers. Reframe this situation in your mind from “losing followers” to making room for people who are interested in your new direction. As our businesses change and evolve our target audience will change and evolve. When people unfollow you don’t want to be a part of this evolution, therefore they are no longer a potential client or brand advocate. They really are doing you a favor and creating more space for your “new” ideal client or audience.
Losing followers
Many people worry about losing followers on Instagram. It’s totally normal to lose a couple of followers each time you post. There are a lot of spam accounts or people who follow people so they will follow them back. When you post, it reminds them that you are there and that you didn’t follow them back, so they unfollow you. Don’t stress! Remember what I said about making room. If your content is working, you will gain new, more fitting, followers that will replace those lost followers and then some.
If you have a small following but you are selling your product or services, then don’t worry about it. The growth will come and you are connecting with the right people in the right way at this moment.
When to worry
Followings often have a snowball effect. Once you get some, you are more likely to get some more, etc. If you go back and look at your follower growth from month to month you should see growth. Every month you should slowly see an increase in growth rate.
For example: Let’s say I gained 150 Instagram followers in January. When I look at February’s growth rate I should see an increase of 150, plus some. This is the snowball effect. More followers bring more followers, so every month your rate of followers should increase from the previous months number and then some.
There are situations when this may not apply. If you have something like a program launch, speaking engagement, or guest posts going live this can increase your following above your average rate. Don’t worry if you don’t see the same growth rate the following month.
Many of us connect this number with our value as a business owner or directly link it to our success. When we look at our follower count, we often say, “People are not following me because …” This statement highlights everything we are doing wrong, and we start to scour the Internet for tips and take courses on how to double our Instagram following. We start looking at other people’s accounts and compare ourselves to them. This is why it’s really important to start rewriting those stories we tell ourselves. We need to look at our follower count with a grain of salt and put our best foot forward.
Unhappy with content
If you are not gaining followers and you are unhappy with your content, make a change. Look at your content through your ideal clients eyes and jot down what you notice. It’s not a matter of not being creative or talented enough, but that there is a disconnect between your brand and your clients. Perhaps you are a writer, but you leave your captions blank. I have found that it is easier to avoid this disconnect when you write the captions first and then find images. Make sure the connection stays strong and true to your brand.
Side note: I work with entrepreneurs to focus and align their social media presence with their aspirations. My Instagram account has been live for six months, and I just went through this process for myself. I was so worried about how my pictures looked that I was forgetting to present myself as a social media expert. Sometimes it’s hard to see it for yourself, so step back and look at it from afar. Don’t get wrapped up in the best time to post or the perfect image that you forget to look at what you are passionate about, what you are good at, what your expertise is, and why you are on social media. There is a larger purpose for being on social media and that purpose needs to be reflected.
Yes, there are times when you should worry about your follower count. It is one of the ways you can measure whether your content is resonating with people or not. Just remember, it does not equal your worth and there are other ways of measuring success. A wise friend said to me that social media followings are like lungs; they expand and contract. As long as you are full of breath, it doesn’t matter what part of the process you are in. Begin by rewriting those stories that you are telling yourself with things that are true and easily changed.
Photo by Mattia Pelizzari