5 Tips to Combating the Social Follower Plateau

Let’s face it – few things in life feel better than logging into Twitter and seeing that your follower count has gone up. We’re all human. It’s the natural craving to be heard without having to ask and the simple validation that what you’re saying matters to someone.

But I must warn you, there will probably come a time when that line graph starts to level out. You may look at your follower count every single day and not see any signs of growth. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll see some followers actually leave (gasp!). Don’t panic. Remember rule #1: we’re all human – which is exactly what makes social media so great.

Here are some tips for how to combat the dreaded social follower plateau:

1. Put it in perspective

If one thing is certain, social media is constantly evolving. Just like any other facet of your business, some months are busier than others. Maybe people are less active online during the summer because they’re more active in-person. The same goes for holidays, weekends, etc. Your best bet is to look at your progress year over year, rather than month over month or week over week. If your social presence has improved since this time last year, you’re in a good place.

2. Reciprocate the love

It’s easy to get in the habit of only considering your own social presence and forgetting about the other people out there wishing for the same attention. Make sure that you’re sharing their content, calling them out in your own posts, complimenting their work, etc.

Then, when you’re the one sharing big news or excellent content, they’ll be sure to return the favor. In Kindergarten they teach you that the easiest way to make friends is to be a good friend. The same applies here – follow and engage with people and they will do the same.

3. Discover a new angle

Take a look at the content you’ve been posting. Is it getting a little stale? Maybe it’s time to kick it up a notch and take things in a new direction. Are there any creative ideas you’ve always wanted to try but never did? Now’s the time!

Host a contest, live-tweet an event, choose a hashtag and track what people are saying. Experimenting with new content will garner interest from new people and help you tap into new markets.

4. Take advantage of free tools

Have you ever used ManageFlitter, Tweriod, or other social media add-on tools? Give them a try! There are tools out there that can measure the best time of day to put your content out based on your followers’ habits, or even tools that can provide you with popular content to share.

While most of them have a more elaborate paid version, you can typically use a free trial to see if it’s helpful for your needs.

5. Bring everything full-circle

Are your social media log-ins on your website, collateral, and business cards? Make sure that these platforms don’t just exist online, but they thrive in-person as well.

When you host an event, you can encourage attendees to tweet at your business in order to participate in a giveaway. Can your customers get a discount on their order for mentioning you on Twitter? Find unique ways to bring the social experience into your daily operations.

Above all, don’t be discouraged by a plateau in social followers. It’s all part of the dynamic, always-changing nature of the platforms – and there are plenty of ways to get that line graph moving upward again. Keep experimenting, engaging, and looking for new ways to showcase your business!

Happy socializing!

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