Data doesn’t lie. If your analytics show that you’re losing a steady amount of followers, take a good look at your behavior on social media platforms. Listed below are ten of the most common reasons why users opt to unfollow a brand on a social media.
1. You sound like a broken record.
If you post the same content multiple times a day, you might think that your followers won’t notice and that you’re simply increasing the chance for clicks.
Oh, they noticed. They noticed enough to avoid it entirely by unfollowing you.
Invest in your content creation, hire employees to deal exclusively with creating quality and accessible content that is creative and enjoyable. Develop a schedule for posting your content; the schedule should address the platform of social media, posts that are optimized by time for maximum reach.
2. You’re obsessed with yourself
A study done by BuzzFeed shows that a whopping 45% of social media users unfollow a page because of excessive self-promotion. Focusing only on yourself severely limits what you can contribute to the ongoing conversation had by users of social media. Post content that is relevant but not central to your brand.
3. You talk too much
Twitter is the platform that sees the most of this abuse. It’s easy to tweet 20 times in a row without thinking about it. The risk you run by doing this is that your followers read the first two or three, and then the rest become background noise.
Make sure that what you tweet holds some kind of value to readers before posting.
4. You’re no longer relevant.
This is a tricky one. People on social media evolve and change over time, and they may ultimately find that what you offer no longer aligns with their interests. This isn’t so much as a faux pas of social etiquette as it is a natural development.
5. You don’t respond to us
The advantage that smaller brands hold over their competitors on social media is the ability to respond on a personal basis. For example, Andrea Godoy is a graphic designer who lives in Austin, Texas and attests that,
“If I have an issue with a product that I have purchased, I like dealing with smaller companies because they are more accommodating and more responsive than the big name brands.”
If you ignore the complaints and questions sent through social media, you alienate users that actually hold considerable valuable to the brand.
6. You’re boring.
Rachel Segura, a newspaper editor based out of Cortez, Colorado puts priority on keeping her newsfeed positive and interesting.
“I will frequently purge my lists of brands I think have not put enough effort into contributing new information, or creative ways of presenting information.”
When you post content, ask yourself if it is relevant to your brand, if it shares new information, and if it sparks imagination and makes readers think.
7. You talk at us, not with us.
In order to operate on social media, it’s imperative to remember the social aspect. Social media means engagement. Don’t just post content, jump into the conversation! Go comment on other posts, respond to others with more information- get into the discussion, be visible!
8. You talk too much about politics.
Talking about politics is drifting into conflict-ridden territory (and it’s a direct violation of the rules of the dinner table, shame on you). Political views are an intensely personal subject, and unless your brand is that of a political candidate, be wary of how much you incorporate with your posts.
Taylor Anderson, is a co-host of RealTlk, a hip-hop talk show based out of Amarillo, Texas who is vocal about this point.
“I have definitely unfollowed a brand before for bringing their political views into something, sometimes even if their views are the same as mine. If I’m reading about the latest musical releases, I don’t want to hear about who you think I should be voting for. That isn’t the place or time for me to be reading that from you.”
9. You don’t post images.
Images are, by far and away, the content preferred by users. Make sure your Instragram is aesthetically pleasing, and select some attractive, eye-catching stock photos to go with content you post on Twitter and Facebook.
10. You don’t tell us when you have special offers.
This point may seem counter-intuitive, particularly after having had warning after warning against too much self-promotion lobbied at you. Most users actually start following a brand in order to be aware of when there is a special offer or limited run of a product. Make sure you post these events in moderation.
