In this day and age, social media is the key to get the word out about a product or service. “Building a brand” is the sentence you will hear in meeting rooms all over the country. When building a base of followers and/or customers, is it better to have 1,000 people or just half that number or even fewer? Does quantity take precedence over quality? Not necessarily, because not all connections on social media platforms are equal. In the ongoing debate about quality vs. quantity, it’s better to strive for quality. Here’s why.
Users of social media are realizing that larger networks are less valuable than smaller and more intimate circles. Take a look at your Facebook news feed. How many updates are truly inspiring and meaningful? Are postings from certain users frequently negative or hateful? When a company is using the number of Facebook likes and/or Twitter followers as a yardstick to measure the success of a promotional campaign, the numbers are verifiable at first sight. But, that doesn’t mean the campaign was successful because more isn’t always better. Why? People sometimes follow accounts with thousands of fans just to be part of the crowd.
It’s no longer necessary or logical to focus on the quantity of the audience for social media success. With a smaller audience, you can target the individuals who are genuinely interested in what you’re selling. Quality is always the right strategy. After all, you want to get people talking, sharing, and clicking.
Quality content builds a loyal and enthusiastic audience. It’s even better when they respond to your questions and ask a few of their own. The exchange of information is a two-way street – the business owner and the customers are learning from each other. Quality followers may not always buy your product or service, but they will support you in many other ways, such as attending your conferences, mentioning your name and sharing your content. Quantity is detrimental in this case. One thousand followers might seem great, but most of those people probably don’t know you or care about what you’re trying to promote.
How do you find quality followers? Connect with like-minded people in your industry. When it comes to posting content, choose what’s educational and useful to people in your network. Spice it up with entertaining posts too because every once in a while everyone needs to laugh. Try to master the 80/20 rule. Basically, eighty percent of the content you post should be helpful and the remaining twenty percent can be self-promotional. When it comes time to drive traffic to your website, you’ll be grateful for the loyal base of followers who will visit.
Social networks place emphasis on having conversations. Interact with those in your network. Ask and answer questions, and respond to comments even if they are negative.
So, there you have it. There can be no doubt that quality is vastly more important than quantity. It might be time to take another look at your Facebook account and purge those with whom you have little in common.