When I first take on a new social media client and ask them what their social media goals are, they often say, “We want to hit 10k followers." When I ask them why, their answers have been some version of “I don't know, for clout, I guess.”
First of all, I totally get it. Those vanity metrics (follows, likes, comments, etc) give us a hit of dopamine that those of us with ADHD absolutely crave. Plus, these numbers are really one of the only ways to measure “success” on social media.
However, I'm here to tell you that just because someone has a ton of followers, that doesn't mean they are making beaucoup bucks.
So today, let's talk about why you may want to focus on retaining and serving your current followers FIRST (because, spoiler alert, that's where the money's at):
Many of your audience members on social media are past or current customers--meaning that these people are extremely valuable to you. How valuable, you might ask?
Repeat customers spend, on average, 67% more than new customers.
Repeat customers are also easier (and cheaper) to sell to than new customers.
Repeat customers refer 50% more potential buyers than one-time buyers.
Similarly, your current audience is more likely to see and engage with your content repeatedly (and are more likely to take action on content aimed to sell) than non-followers. So, it would benefit you to put more effort into serving your current audience than into only trying to reach new audience members.
And before you misunderstand me, gaining followers and retaining followers are NOT mutually exclusive concepts.
In fact, by focusing most of your attention on retaining your current audience, you will still grow steadily because birds of a feather flock together! Remember point 3 above? Empower your current audience to become your champions, and they'll reward you with more engagement and will be more likely to share your profile with their friends.
Moreover, the Instagram algorithm will also reward you for having a high engagement by sharing your content with more people. Let’s not forget that Instagram (and all social media platforms) are only successful if they can keep people on the platform as long as possible—so if you are helping them do that with great content your audience loves, they will help you out.
I will defer to the Pareto Principle (aka the 80/20 rule) regarding how much you should focus on retaining followers vs. gaining new followers: Focus your attention on retaining your audience 80% of the time and gaining new followers 20% of the time.
Since this email is long enough as it is, we will talk about HOW you can retain your audience on social media next week, but in the meantime, I have a smallish assignment for you:
Go through your most recent posts and DMs and notice at least three accounts that engage with you frequently (you probably already have a good idea who these people are). If you aren't already following them back, give them a follow and leave meaningful comments on one or two of their most recent posts.
If you’re feeling really extra, add them to your close friends group and share content exclusively for them in your stories!
Sometimes, giving a little love to your most loyal fans is the most productive use of your time.
See you next week!
Keeping followers but not nurturing them is a slow leak for most creators. You could try Loyally.ai to set up simple retention tactics and reward your most active fans, making it easier to turn repeat engagers into advocates. Do that and you'll see steadier engagement, more referrals, and less frantic chasing of new followers.