Connect, Follow, Like, Share, Tweet And Hashtag Me!

One of today’s vainest of guilty pleasures is our follower count or the number of likes we get on social media.

Don’t pretend a chill doesn’t run down your spine when your “likes” reaches a new high or someone new follows you. We can’t help it, it’s just the times we’re in.

While it’s often seen as shallow or self-indulgent to chase followers and likes—as a modern business or brand—there is value in follower count. In the age of the Internet, followership impacts how expansive your reach is and how far your message spreads.

The main reason a brand is followed is because people like the brand and also wish to keep abreast with the latest updates on the brand and its promotions, products and services.

So simply, a brand needs to be likeable and attractive to consumers in order to amass a large follower count. The question, as always, is: How?

The science of social media

Here are a few research-backed ways according to Rutgers University, Nielsen Researchers, and Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) researchers, and social media analytics company, Beevolve:

1. Keep it upbeat

Users respond to positivity and are more likely to follow an account that is uplifting and gives out good vibes.

2. Stay connected

Create a consistent, dependable strategy so you stay fresh in people’s newsfeed and the “explore” section. Users appreciate when you maintain a flow as it makes them feel more familiar and connected to the brand.

Conversely, be mindful to not spam with multiple posts, consecutively. Schedulers like Buffer can make managing posts easier.

3. Be an expert

Your social media platforms are reflective of you as a brand and your posts and strategies reflect how good you are as a company.

So be authentically great at what you do. Being top of your industry means people will be inclined to keep up with your company and lifestyle. Keywords like author, expert, founder and official are powerful tools for growing followership.

4. Informers vs ‘Meformers’

Meformers: Users who post social media updates, predominantly self-related.
Informers: Users who post updates that predominantly share pertinent updates and information.

When it comes to brands and follower counts, informers > meformers. So, keep your posts relevant to your brand and align yourself as an informer to users.

5. We all get freebies!

Who doesn’t love free stuff? Add giveaways, discounts and freebies as a compliment to your content strategy and branding. Users follow brands for their goods and services.