SMADCON | Growing Your Followership

Most of you all know I took some time off last week to head to Charleston, South Carolina to speak on a panel for SMADCON, a social media conference. It was something I had been wanting to do more of so I didn’t hesitate when they reached out to me. The panel I spoke on was “Growing Followership” with Lexie, Emily of EmpireStyleofMind and Jakob, the owner of MusiciansDaily.com – all some really fun and talented people! Being the only person of color on the panel, it was so important for me to represent for the few women in the audience, and even my readers here. If you haven’t read my recent Instagram post, it’s because of all of your support that opportunities like this are even made available for me and I’m so thankful for each and every one of you!

Blazer in XXS | Shorts in XS | Bodysuit

For those of you who couldn’t attend or watch the live, I wanted to answer a few of the questions we discussed that I feel will be beneficial to all of you!

If I could only invest the time into one social media outlet, which one should I choose?

That’s for YOU to test out and determine. You have to really think about who your target audience is and where they’re spending their time, making their purchases and getting their news. If you have a “Do It Yourself” blog, you have to know that Pinterest is a never ending platform for DIY ideas – so you need to focus on promoting content there in order to lead readers back to your website. If you’re into fashion in your 20’s, you know that Instagram is the perfect place for that. If your content is more conversational or political, Twitter would be your best bet. Think about what you’re putting out along with who you’re trying to reach and that’ll make it a lot easier. Make sure you’re figuring out the best way to navigate one platform at a time before you move on to juggling multiple.

Quality or Quantity? Which is most important when creating content?

Both are good, both are necessary but in an ideal world – you’d create content using both. One without the other has the potential to do well, but likely won’t breed the results you’re hoping for which is growth. Posting amazing photos every now and then is great, but won’t be enough. The thing about social media is that new information is fed to us by the second and our attention span is so short. If you don’t stay in front of your audience, they’ll forget you and even worse, won’t anticipate your posts. Quantity is something you’ll need. As far as quality, your iPhone is only going to cut it for so long before you’ll have to invest in aesthetically pleasing photos. Pretty pictures aren’t the only way to provide quality. Quality is found in what you feed your audience. What’s the purpose of your post? What is it leaving readers with? What kind of value are you adding to their lives? A picture with an avocado emoji as the caption is good every now and then – but if you combine quality posts with frequency, you’ll have the recipe for success.

Are captions significant to engagement?

They absolutely can be. Captions are really a way to get transparent with your audience, tell a story or even ask a questions to really get interaction going. Some photos will be so good a caption won’t even be necessary, but good captions ALWAYS help.

When just starting out, how do I figure out what my audience wants to see from me?

Trial and error, unfortunately. The best way to learn what your audience wants to see from you is to post and see how they respond. When I first started out, my outfit posts would do the best so I knew that my followers like to see me dressed up. Then I started The B Werd and started posting photos with more depth that would resonate with who I wanted my blog audience to be and the interaction on my photos doubled. Now I’m a few years in and know what you guys do and don’t want to see. Before I post anything, I know what’s going to do well and won’t, even though few posts surprise me every now and then. Start posting consistently and gauge your feedback on what posts perform better than others. Also, it never hurts to ask! “What do you guys want to see from me?” is the easiest way to know.

Do hashtags really matter? How do I find the best ones for me?

You should absolutely be using hashtags. They make you easier to find and automatically attract people who are interested in what you’re talking about. Where it gets tricky is… being strategic about whatever hashtags you’re using because while everyone is sharing their outfit of the day, the actual hashtag is going to have a couple million tags – making it more difficult for you to appear with those. Use hashtags that have to specifically do with your post like, #chickfila #chickensandwich #houstontx #ilovefrenchfries. It may seem corny, but it’s likely those hashtags will make you more discoverable than to use something like #ootd. Also, keep in mind that brands specifically hire individuals to weed through hashtags to find potential collaborations. So don’t just tag brands, use their designated hashtags as well!

How important is a large following? Is it just a numbers game?

Essentially, followers are what make influencers successful – but it’s not the end all. I’ve seen bloggers with a few thousand followers get amazing opportunities too! It’s all about how you can leverage what you’re working with. It boils down to ratios. If you pitch to a brand saying I have 6000 followers but average 44% interaction on my posts (likes and comments combined), that means a lot more to the brand than someone with 50,000 followers only getting 600 likes. Numbers look great, but what matters most is how many of those numbers you’re actually reaching. Focus on building relationships with the followers you have now, whatever that number may be, and your count will grow organically.

What ways can you interact with followers to create a more loyal followership?

It’s easier than you think. Take the time out to reply to their comments, or at least acknowledge them. Like their posts and answer their questions. Ask them questions! Lots of questions that allows them the chance to express their thoughts on a certain topic so you get a better feel for the type of audience you have. Ask them what they want to see from you so it’s clear and not a guessing game and be selfless with them. Provide them a lot without requiring much.

Does working with other bloggers help drive followers to my page?

For sure, but don’t focus on attracting the attention of well known bloggers just for that reason. Relationships, even on the internet, are those that blossom organically. Find other bloggers similar to you that do good work and that you genuinely admire and do what you would do on one of your friends pages – like their photos, comment and reply to their Instastories when a response is necessary. That face time in front of another blogger can easily bloom into a friendship. It has for me many times. Bloggers often work together to cross market one another. You being in front of their audience and them being in front of yours is exposure for both of you and beneficial all the way around.

Buying your followers vs. Earning your audience?

Unfortunately, this is a question that requires an answer. Do yourself a favor and make sure you’re gaining your followers authentically. In the long run, buying followers is going to hurt you because the interaction you’re receiving on your posts won’t reflect your follower count. Real people are the ones you’re trying to connect with, so earn your reputation and relationship with them.

How do I grow a following with today’s algorithm?

The algorithm can be really discouraging, especially because it’s so ever changing. As soon as you think you’ve caught on and you’re gaining traction, it changes and you’re being seen by less than half of your follower count. The best way to keep up with algorithms is to research them. Here’s an article with information about the latest Instagram algorithm, so that you can use it to your advantage. Don’t be afraid to remind your followers to interact! Reminding them that liking, commenting, and reposting if they want to share is all realistic.

There was so much other value that came out of this discussion, but this was the best I could do to recap the gems I remembered. If you have any other questions you need clarification on, leave them below and I will get them answered!