Why is this happening?
I've seen others taunting people: "I'll post XYZ picture if I get ## more followers!"
This is so completely backwards. Posting interesting content will cause people to want to follow you. Interesting content is not a weapon. It goes against everything organic about social media to use it to taunt people into following you. And those people are probably not going to return to your feed, so I hope you don't intend to ever use it to tell them anything else.
Twitter and Facebook followings are built over time, not crammed into one or two "follower drives." What sort of artificial timeline is making people do this all of a sudden??
Traditionally, marketing centered around "events" (hence Event Marketing). So, say, a book launch. A very clever marketer would arrange a series of appearances or reviews or other buzz-generating items slightly before, on, and after, a certain date.
Social media--the internet in general, really--is making Event Marketing a thing of the past. Which is not to say that it's not useful or that no one does it anymore. It still has its applications. But crafting an online presence is not meant to serve one date (although a good presence will give you a strong platform when there is a specific piece of info you need to disseminate). You have to create a reason for people to want to add you to the noise of the Interwebz, so make an effort. Followers drives ain't it.
I want people to follow me because I post interesting content that they find valuable over the long haul, and I only follow people if their blog/Twitter feed meets that description (or if I'm interested in maybe exchanging manuscripts with that writer sometime down the line). What's the point of having a large following if none of those people ever stop by and actually read what you have to say?
ReplyDeleteThat's one of my Twitter pet peeves--people begging for followers. One of many reasons why I'll unfollow someone.
ReplyDeleteThank goodness I'm not the only one who feels that way about "if I get XX followers I'll do X."
ReplyDeleteThis is one of my Twitterpeeves, too, and I'm glad you won't ever ask me to do it. ;) I have, as experiments, followed people a few times because of such a drive, and without exception they are people whose feeds I don't find interesting, nor do I find that they are particularly inclined to engage with their followers. They seem to want more without using the interesting, interactive aspect of Twitter.
ReplyDeleteI'd rather pay attention to Follow Friday, and have people list me in their #FF tweets, than somehow bribe people to listen to my Twitter randomness. It's nicer when they're there by actual choice.
Yep, I agree here too. It sucks building your following slowly, and sometimes it seems to take forever. But doing it the right way is really the only way to do anything.
ReplyDeleteI will say I've gotten a couple of bigger-name followers by things I've done, but each were specific incidents, not intended to garner followers. It just worked out that way.
Ditto to what everyone else said. I only follow those that have interesting tweets (and you, Ms. Barnes, definitely do) and I've gotten online to follow others only to unfollow because I don't want to read about their personal lives - only in the context of writing or the industry. I want my followers to follow me because I'm interesting and fun. I'm still working on that - I'm fairly new to the Twitter world but I love it. And while I have some friend who now follow me, I'm thrilled that I have non-friends too. I hope it's because I'm interesting and fun. :-D
ReplyDeleteThanks for this post! I always thought the "drives" were a little strange. Glad to see that was founded in something.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first joined Twitter, I got lots of those follows where you then get a tweet saying, "Follow me back!" Being a generally accommodating sort, I did. But I soon realized I was just another notch on their feedpost and felt used.
ReplyDeleteNow that I'm a Twitter veteran of a few months, I try to interact with people I follow. I don't succeed on a daily basis, but I do try.
I totally agree, I get annoyed by those posts. If you want me to follow them, tell me why YOU'RE following them. Are they funny, interesting...what? I don't have time to help you win a popularity contest. I don't want to be harsh, but I don't ask for followers. I just join communities and meet interesting people. And if I have to say it, I follow them because I find them interesting.
ReplyDeleteI recently tweeted asking to get 9,846 more followers so I could get a book deal--joking, of course. But for half a second after I clicked the button, I had a little fantasy that it would work. :-) Then reality set in.
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