The Deadly Social Media Mistake: Why Your Follower Count Doesn't Matter

In social media's early days, users received content based on whom they followed. Today, these platforms are more intuitive and tailored to individual preferences rather than follower counts.

The Perception of Popularity?

Follower counts may impress others and quickly appraise your social media standing, but a deeper analysis can reveal a different story. The crucial element is the engagement rate. Some accounts have a modest follower base, yet their content consistently reaches their audience through feed recommendations. This is due to the platform recognizing content users engage with for extended periods.?

Conversely, some accounts with numerous followers suffer from low engagement. Users might have hit the "follow" button at some point but now routinely overlook new content. Consequently, the platform ceases to prioritize this content in their feeds.?

Social media platforms gauge user interaction through likes, comments, shares, and time spent engaging. The platforms will cease promoting your content if followers are inactive or unresponsive. The aim isn't just to amass followers but to create a loyal and interactive audience.?

Key Metrics: A Closer Look

Are engagement rates the be-all and end-all? Not necessarily. While views, likes, comments, and shares indicate a level of interaction, they don't guarantee sales. Would you prefer a million views without sales or a thousand views that convert into sales? The answer is clear. Sales are the ultimate goal and the lifeblood of effective marketing.

The overarching goal for any business is to increase sales. To do this, your marketing efforts must be focused and efficient. Take a page from Arnold Schwarzenegger's book - he attributes his success in sports, film, and politics to setting clear goals and being undeterred by others' opinions. Marketers should similarly focus on quality over quantity rather than chasing vanity metrics like traffic, comments, and likes.

Quality Traffic vs. Quantity

A webmaster once told me he lost 400,000 traffic when Google downgraded his ranking, yet his sales remained unchanged. Why? The lost traffic was irrelevant to his sales funnel and buyer's journey.?

For instance, if I try to rank my website unmiss.com for the keyword "SEO," I would compete with authoritative sites like Google's Starter Guide, Search Engine Land, Moz, Wikipedia, Wordstream, Hubspot, and more. Investing heavily in top-tier content and backlinks doesn't guarantee a high rank due to factors like authority, trust, brand recognition, etc. Besides, SEO isn't directly related to the sales funnel.

Instead, focus on areas that big competitors may overlook. Seek opportunities in:

• PPC traffic value and low SEO competition
• Explore new keywords
• Trending topics
• Long-tail keywords
• Lower-volume searches.

These tactics may bring less traffic but of a higher quality.

In Conclusion

Effective marketing begins with understanding your customers, crafting a sales funnel, and assisting them throughout their journey. Remember, customers typically purchase from familiar brands. When you provide value, they feel obligated to reciprocate, and that's when your sales can truly soar.