Many people use social media with the simple aim of gaining as many followers as possible.

To them, Social Media is a popularity contest.

They believe having the highest possible follower count is a sign of success.

In a way, it is, unless you are trying to sell a product or service

If your Social Media following is going to result in sales, you need quality not quantity.

Having a high number of followers should no longer be the goal of businesses.

Instead, online brands should aim to grow their quality followers, not total followers.

This article will guide you through the most important quality of followers: engagement.

The Folly of Fake Followers

People reaching for the goal of a high follower count led to a lucrative, yet pointless, industry; selling followers.

There are still many people who will guarantee you thousands of followers in return for a fixed fee.

But, really, what is the point of this?

Sure, it looks good.

A high follower-count is social proof of a kind.

The optics of getting thousands of followers and likes may make it seem like you are successful—but are you really?

I tried telling my bank I had lots of followers but they were not interested, they wanted cash.

Your numbers may be high, but what do they really lead to?

You can’t spend or eat likes.

In the words of the moment – followers and likes are non-fungible.

It turns out that many of the followers sold on social media are fake.

Bots have no purchasing power.

They do not translate into anything.

Bots and other fake accounts will not interact or engage with your content in a useful manner.

A million disinterested followers will never translate into sales or clicks.

Bought followers will not buy your products.

Do you know who will?

Your genuine audience.

The people who are really interested in what you have to say.

Followers who understand and identify with the problem you solve.

Only people who need to scratch an itch will take action.

What is more, your genuine audience will recognise if you have bought your followers.

Fake followers do not have the same characteristics as real followers.

Having paid followers will make you come across as inauthentic and exploitative.

Fake followers will damage your credibility.

Your audience will wonder; if you are willing to buy followers, what other shady behaviour might you engage in?

When it comes to social media, engagement is everything.

You need to have engaged followers to be successful.

Your audience should be active; liking, commenting, sharing, reposting, and taking action on your content.

Make Content Which Drives Engagement

Ways to drive engagement include asking questions, holding competitions, polls, and replying to comments and messages.

This all needs to seem natural.

For example, ask people to comment about where they are when they see your post.

Set a puzzle, and promise the answer (and a winner) in your next post.

Don’t make it look like you are using your audience as a tool to success.

This is where a strong brand personality is a good asset to have.

Quality versus Quantity

Of course, you should also be aiming to grow your audience.

But it is more important to have high-quality followers, rather than a larger quantity.

Your ratios of followers to engagement should be stable and growing.

If you can grow both at the same time, this will grow your business.

You should be aiming to increase traffic and have a high conversion rate.

Not only do you want your followers to interact with your content, you also want them to buy.

Your engaged audience should be clicking, as well as buying.

Find Out What Works and Repeat

Setting targets and goals is the best way to ensure that you are succeeding.

Produce your content with the aim of meeting a goal.

You need content that will translate directly into sales.

So, include call-to-actions or discounts.

Or simply make your audience an offer that is so irresistible that they cannot turn it down!

Your social media marketing strategy should include elements that drive engagement.

Make sure that your audience will be engaged with the content that you are producing and yielding tangible results.

Analyse past engagement and plot projected future engagement.

This is the best way to grow your Social Media accounts and convert followers into customers.