Who You Follow on Social Media Matters

Half the battle of growing your social media account is attracting new followers, but the other half is just as important and often overlooked. Choosing who YOU follow on social media can make the difference between a great social media account and a poor one.

Build a community

First, let’s start by talking about the value of following other people on social media. You might be thinking to yourself that it doesn’t matter who you follow because you are only focused on attracting new followers to your account. This approach is detrimental to the overall community experience needed for a successful account. You need to stop focusing on your own account and start focusing on building a community. The number one way to build a community is to follow other accounts that bring value to your brand, niche, or your life in general. Once you start engaging with new pages other people will begin to notice that you are an active member of the community. This will bring attention to your page and will certainly attract new followers.

Follow with intent

An important thing to keep in mind is that the number of people you follow is not nearly as important as the type of people you follow. You need to be following accounts that would actually benefit your social media community. For example: If you are a realtor and trying to build your brand, you should follow home improvement pages, interior design accounts or other realtors in your area. A realtor shouldn’t be concerned about following Donald Trump, The New York Yankees or an account that specializes in funny memes. The goal is to stay in your niche and build from those pre-existing communities.

Follow the competition

Don’t be afraid to follow your competitors. Your competitors are a direct part of your community and even though they are competing for the same customers or viewers they can still bring value to your page. Leave a comment on one of their posts and I guarantee they will notice. Showing support for your competitors on social media is a great way to attract new followers and even make new allies. A new relationship can start with just one comment. It’s better for your company to have allies rather than competitors. More importantly, people will take notice of your interactions and this will encourage them to take a look at your page. See what works for your competitors and what doesn’t. Take this information and implement it in your future posts.

How can you find accounts to follow?

Start by searching for keywords that pertain to your brand. For example, if you run a clothing store in Denver, look for terms like #DenverFashion, #ColoradoBoutique or #ShopColorado. There, you should be able to find accounts within your niche. Take the time to find the right accounts and do your research. Make sure you are following beneficial accounts that are active in the community!

Furthermore, each social media platform will have different ways to find followers. On Instagram, the explore page is a great way to look for accounts that are tailored to your interests. On Twitter, pay attention to who your followers are re-tweeting and search for specific hashtags. On Facebook, you can search for exact names and accounts to follow in the search bar.

Also, pay attention to your followers. See who your followers are following. This will give you even more ideas of potential accounts to follow.

grow Grow GROW!

Build relationships with as many people, brands, and companies as possible (without straying too far from your niche). Make yourself visible on social media by constantly commenting and interacting with other accounts. This will increase traffic to your own page! Don’t hold back from hitting that like button and leaving a comment on their post. Be as social as possible and you will start to see tremendous growth in your online community.

So get out there and start following people on social media! Be deliberate about who you follow and create conversation within your community!