Sometimes out of sheer curiosity, I visit some brands’ social media pages to see what they’re doing.
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Some of these accounts pride themselves on having a large following on social media.
But on careful inspection, you’ll find out that although they have several thousands of so-called ‘followers’, there is little to no engagement on their brand’s social media pages.
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While we may be quick to want to place the blame on the social media platform ‘hating their brand’, this is not always the case.
Yes, I agree that on some social media platforms like Facebook, their algorithm has affected the engagement on a lot of business pages – ours inclusive. So we’ve seen a drastic reduction in the reach and engagement in our posts.
But at times, the problem is not with the social media platform or their algorithm. The problem sometimes lies in the quality of followers you have in your social media community.
It is unfortunate that with some brands that have a large following on social media, a lot of their so-called followers are fake accounts.
Yes, fake accounts created by dubious persons who claim they can help you or your brand get thousands of followers on social media for a ridiculous amount of money.
But you would only pay so ‘bots’ or robots, i.e. fake automated accounts on social media platforms created by unscrupulous persons for deceiving advertisers.
I have formed the habit of reviewing the accounts I follow, or that follow me on my personal or business pages on social media to find and get rid of any fake account.
Yes, I have found and deleted a few, especially on my Facebook and Twitter.
So how can you find and weed out these bots? Here are my top five tips on how to target genuine followers on social media.
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Please use these tips with some personal discretion because you will not hold me responsible for you removing a sizeable chunk of your followers on social media.
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Users Who Don’t Have a Profile Picture!
Although there are some exceptions, for me, this is one of the first signs that the account is fake!
During the sign-up process on any social media platform, one of the first things you’re encouraged to do is to set your profile picture.
And some of us have a picture or two of ourselves on our phone or laptop that we can use to sign up.
Your profile picture is meant to serve the purpose of making you likeable, trustworthy and competent.
It’s not meant to make you look appealing. So don’t use any weird, full-body photos. A simple portrait photo is fine.
So I see no reason someone’s profile on social media should not have a picture!
But there are some exceptions. For instance, there are some platforms like WhatsApp that I’m not fond of myself. So I’ve not bothered to put up a profile picture.
Maybe now that I’m on the subject, I should probably do it now… I will, but then again, I may not!
Sometimes if the profile picture of the account looks too ‘polished’, then it can be a sign that that account is a bot.
And some tools place a generic banner or profile picture on the user’s profile promoting some sort of followers growth scheme, e.g. “Get 5000 follower, etc.” avoid them. They could get your account suspended.
Users Who Don’t Have a Proper Bio
Okay, this is another telltale sign that the account is a bot! Whenever I get followers who don’t have a proper bio, I cut them.
I don’t follow such accounts too! Since most bots are not smart enough to create different bios for each account, this is one unique way I use to discover them.
Inactive Users
These days several important activities can take up our time and prevent us from being active on social media.
So you need to take caution before you label an account as inactive. But from my experience, if an account has not made a post/tweet in the several months/years, it’s a clear sign that it’s inactive.
It’s best to unfollow or block the account if they are the ones following you. Social media is for active engagement and interaction between users. There is no room for being inactive.
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Users Not Speaking The Language of Your Country/Region
If you don’t speak Chinese or some other language, then why follow someone who tweets in Chinese, etc.?
In the same vein, why have followers who don’t understand your primary language? The best thing is to get rid of them! Sometimes, the account is a bot too! But not always. Either way, it’s better safe than sorry.
Irrelevant Content
Time is a precious commodity. There’s no need to waste it scrolling through several pieces of irrelevant content.
That’s why I always tell my clients to pick a handful of topics they have a passion for and stick to those.
Let all your posts stay on topic, and people interested in your subject will find and follow you.
You likewise will follow those whose topics of interest to you. All others are time wasters.
Conclusion
So there you have it my Top 5 Tips on How To Target Genuine Followers On Social Media.
We can automate this entire process using some specialised social media tools. But I would not urge you to go this route.
I prefer to grow my followings on social media naturally. Yes, it takes a lot of time and patience to do it the natural way, but it’s safer in the long-term.
If you automate the process, be careful of the automation tool you use. Because some of these tools can get your account banned or deleted by the social network, many of these tools go against the terms and conditions of service of lots of social networks.
So I have warned you. Automate at your own risk!
If you need help to grow a community around your brand on social media, contact us. I’ll be glad to help you improve your business online and make you more successful.
