100 or 1,000: The art of the ACTIONABLE follower

Today it is becoming something like a badge of honor to have an abundance of Facebook or Twitter followers.

It looks good, but what is it really saying?

You can get 1,000 people to follow your page, but how many of them are actually engaged enough that they ended up as customers, clients, or referral sources?  Here in lies the ART OF THE ACTIONABLE FOLLOWER.

Appearances can be deceiving.  Just because you have 1,000 fans does not mean you have 1,000 clients, 1,000 referral services, or even 1,000 sets of eyes who really pay attention.

Maybe you only have a 100 followers, but if they actually respond to your call to action, then who is really ahead of the game?

A well-planned strategy for how you will use social media is essential to gaining actionable followers.  There are a lot of “plug and play” strategies available, but working within the frame work of BRAND, IMAGE, CONCEPT and DELIVERY you can easily produce a plan that gains the attention of the actionable follower.

Working within this framework will yield an entirely different “how-to plan” for each company.   That being said there are four major factors that every company should NOT be doing.

Common mistakes in gaining followers:

1. Being all things to all people.  We ask you is that what your company does?  Everything for everybody?  Our guess is no.  So why is your social media strategy doing that.  Remember social media is an extension of your brand.
2. Post it and Re-post it.  You should not be posting anything that is not directly related to your brand, industry or company!  If you happen to run an eye care center then don’t post things about a restaurant special going on in town.
3. Seek “For-the-Sake-of-Quantity” Likes. Don’t share your page with friends or ask for likes just for the sake of upping your like count. Having the wrong target of followers reflects on your brand as well.
4. Commenting and posting on as many other pages as possible.  There is some strategy in this, but the common mistake is that people will go overboard.  We have all seen them, the ones who post on so many pages that it almost leaves a bad taste in your mouth.  Make sure that you are making thoughtful choices and alliances regarding when and where to comment and post on others’ walls.

The art of the post is not about finding things to post, rather to create posts relating to your strategy and brand in an effort to gain brand loyalty. Become the go-to source for information on what it is you do by thoughtful posting.

Category: Blog