• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Before Header

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

The Social Media Hat

Always On Top Of Social

  • Home
  • Social Media Articles
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • Social Media Resources
  • Social Media Tools
  • GET HELP
  • Search
  • Home
  • Social Media Articles
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • Social Media Resources
  • Social Media Tools
  • GET HELP
  • Search

7 Ways You Can Effectively Lose Social Media Followers

You are here: Home / Social Media Articles / 7 Ways You Can Effectively Lose Social Media Followers

May 22, 2013 //  by Mike Allton

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Establishing a social media presence is important for almost any brand nowadays. A recent infographic by MBA Online encourages CEOs to use social media because of some compelling statistics. For instance, data shows that 8 in 10 social media users in the U.S. would rather connect with companies on social media sites rather than on their company websites. The infographic also shows that social media campaigns are more effective in generating quality leads.

Knowing how important social media is would naturally motivate you to keep your audience engaged. However, there are some mistakes you can commit that can make you lose followers on social media. If you want to keep your social media followers, steer clear of these practices:

  1. Using too many social networks. Unless you have the money to have a fully functioning staff to keep all your social networks updated, then don’t sign up for all the existing social networks out there. Remember that creating meaningful and engaging content takes time and people. Spreading yourself too thin may lead to mediocre posts that would make you irrelevant to subscribers.
  2. Focusing on the number of subscribers. Some brands go as far as paying people to subscribe to them. However, the number of followers you have doesn’t determine the quality of their engagement. Building an audience is important. But if the existing audience only serves to exist and not actively engage, it’s going to be hard to keep your future subscribers engaged as well. Remember that social media users thrive on meaningful online relationships. Make this the focus of your social media efforts.
  3. Posting all at once. Avoid spamming your followers’ feeds by churning out post after post with little interval in between. Instead, spread out your posts at strategic times of the day. You can also use time-saving tools like Hootsuite or Buffer to help you pre-program your future posts and schedule them more effectively each day.
  4. Failing to respond to comments. This isn’t hard to do on some platforms like Facebook where most comments can be visibly seen on the post itself. However, mentions of your brand can be harder to track on forums you’re not a part of or on social networks like Twitter where you get a steady stream of content on your feed. To help you monitor mentions of your brand, you can use a tool like Mentions to track your name and get real-time alerts anywhere on the web, including social networks, blogs, news sites, and forums.
  5. Posting irrelevant content. Sharing interesting or entertaining posts is a great way to engage your audience. However, if all you do is share content that’s not relevant to your brand, then what’s the point of people following you? Instead, aim to be helpful to your target audience and use your own unique voice.
  6. Being a social media jerk. Remember that you have a brand to protect. Even if you come across trolls and negative commenters on social media, it still pays to be the better person and respond tactfully to all comments, positive or otherwise.
  7. Making social media all about you. Yes, it’s your page, but remember that whatever you share also goes to your audience’s stream.

In general, creating social media goals and hiring a competent social media team will help you steer clear of most of these mistakes. Is your brand active on social media? What other practices would you suggest to avoid? Sound off in the comments.

Image courtesy of lanier67, Flickr.

YOU MIGHT WANT TO READ:

Category: Social Media ArticlesTag: Facebook, Twitter

About Mike Allton

Mike Allton is a Content Marketing Practitioner – a title he invented to represent his holistic approach to content marketing that leverages blogging, social media, email marketing and SEO to drive traffic, generate leads, and convert those leads into sales. He is an award-winning Blogger, Speaker, and Author, and Brand Evangelist at Agorapulse.

Mike has partnered with Jenn Herman, Stephanie Liu, Amanda Robinson and Eric Butow to write Ultimate Guide to Social Media Marketing published by Entrepreneur Press.

Join The Community!

Thousands of other businesses and bloggers get the latest social media insights and ideas.


Previous Post: « Using Surveys to Identify Opportunities for your Small Business
Next Post: Understand and Monitor your Google+ Followers with CircleCount »

Primary Sidebar

Mike Allton is a Content Marketing Practitioner – a title he invented to represent his holistic approach to content marketing that leverages blogging, social media, email marketing and SEO to drive traffic, generate leads, and convert those leads into sales. He is an award-winning Blogger, Speaker, and Author, and Brand Evangelist at Agorapulse.

Reserve Your Copy

Reserve your copy of Ultimate Guide to Social Media Marketing by Eric Butow, Jenn Herman, Stephanie Liu, Amanda Robinson and Mike Allton. Available here.

Plan To Succeed

Social Media Planner for Social Media Success

Grab your copy of the Social Media Planner, today!

Join The Mastermind

Want access to experts and live video training for just a few bucks a month?

The 360 Marketing Squad is a private Facebook Group featuring 4 of the industry’s top minds, covering every aspect of online marketing, and costs just $5/month to join. Learn more.

Footer

Recent Posts

  • Top 10 Reasons Not To Miss This Summit
  • Instagram Trust Score: What It Is and How to Improve It
  • Agorapulse To Host Premiere Online Marketing Event
  • 10 Light Years Ago
  • We Whisper Too Quietly on Social Media
  • The Social Media Job Hazard No One Is Talking About
  • 15 Newsletters To Level Up Your Marketing, And You!
  • 8 of the Most Effective Ways to Approach Twitter Influencers to Grow Your Brand

Key Topics

Agorapulse Apps Bing Blab Blogging Buffer Business Canva Content Marketing Easil Email Marketing Evernote Facebook Facebook Groups Gmail Google+ Holidays Hootsuite Influencer Marketing Infograph Instagram Klout Link Building LinkedIn Live Video Marketing Meerkat Mobile MySpace Pinterest ROI SEO SnapChat Social Media Marketing Social Media Planner Strategy Tailwind Triberr Tumblr Twitter Video Vine Yahoo Yelp YouTube
  • Home
  • Subscribe
  • About The Social Media Hat
  • Social Media Planner
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclosure

Site Footer

  • Social Media Articles
  • Digital Marketing
  • Social Media Tools
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2021 The Social Media Hat · All Rights Reserved