It’s a challenge that’s more common for businesses than you might think. You may have set up a Twitter profile, have been posting for some time (or even a long time) and, despite your best efforts, are failing to gain followers. In fact, you may even see your follower count gradually decline. Why is this happening?
On a social network through which un-following another person is as easy as a single click, users don’t need much of a reason to stop following a particular individual or brand. The following are some of the most common reasons social media writers give for why businesses lose—or fail to gain—Twitter followers:
- Posting too often: People who follow you do so because they are interested in what you have to say. However, there is such a thing as saying too much. The last thing you want is to dominate your follower’s news feeds. By posting too much, social media writers run the risk of annoying their followers to the point where they will either tune them out or remove them from their lists.
- Being overly promotional: Sure, Twitter is a great marketing tool. But first, you should consider it a resource to develop relationships with your customers. Social media is not the place to slam people with advertisements. Instead, try to engage people in conversations about your brand, a process that will build trust and loyalty over time. The best social media writers focus on this more than anything else.
- Failing to interact: Twitter was built to foster interaction. When people reach out to you, respond to them! If you don’t engage, you’re missing the point of the entire platform, and users will quickly lose interest in your brand. Answer questions, thank users for compliments and address any negative feedback that may arise. This will show your followers you care about them.
- Being too boring: Don’t be afraid to show some personality and humor in your posts. There is no social media crime worse than that of being terribly, irrefutably boring. You can avoid this by targeting all your messaging specifically to your audience and by posting interesting and valuable social media content.
- Declining quality: You may have started out really strong with your Twitter game, but the quality of your posts declined over time. To keep things fresh, constantly look for new strategies and find any points of weakness in your social media marketing campaign so you can keep your content interesting to your target audience.
While you can never completely avoid losing a follower here and there, you can maintain and build upon your base of followers by keeping these tips in mind. When you think of social media as a conversation rather than a megaphone, you’re sure to see improved results.
ProPRcopy staffs dozens of skilled social media writers who create high-quality content for Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ and various other platforms.