In the early days of social media, the number of followers you had determined success. However, as social media has evolved, so has the understanding of what makes a successful social media presence. Now, engagement is seen as a far more valuable metric than the number of followers alone.
First glance at someone’s profile, it’s often difficult to gauge what their engagement is like, especially if they have an impressive number of followers! But dig a little deeper and you can find the real story. This is usually where it is interesting.
Engagement is a much harder metric to fake than follower numbers and we’re not talking ‘likes’. Sure, it is easy to buy followers or likes, but it's much more difficult to fake meaningful engagement with an audience. When someone has a high level of engagement with their followers, it's a sign that they're truly interested in what the person has to say and are actively engaging. This has the added bonus of making the social media algorithms work in favour and show content to more people. With video platforms like Instagram Reels and TikTok, engagement is not hidden and is a great way to actually gauge the persons online presence.
When it comes to engagement, a good indicator of the impact someone is having on their community. It's one thing to have a large number of followers, but followers may not be actively engaging with the content.At the other end, if someone has a smaller number of followers who are highly engaged with the content, then they are having a much bigger impact on their community.
Building genuine connections with an audience is essential and the only real way to do this is with engagement. When someone takes the time to respond to comments, create and engage in conversations, and build relationships with their followers, they are creating a loyal community.
Authenticity, interaction, and connection are the key. By prioritising engagement over follower count, anyone can build a more authentic and impactful social media presence.