You can't run competition without leading by example, can you? So i'm here to talk about followers.
(If you want to enter the competition and stand to win SBD then check it out here).
Is there any point in having followers on steemit?
In my opinion, having followers for followers sake is pointless. Not just on steemit, but anywhere. I'm active on Instagram and I find the same thing there. I know and see many people who buy followers on Insta, but what exactly is the point? What are you gaining from having a number increased? If you goal is simply to look popular, then you might achieve that from buying followers. Although it's pretty easy to tell when people have bought their popularity or following.
However if you are trying to sell something, preach something, or generally engage people then you are going to need to put in work.
Gaining genuine followers is something else completely. I do think it's important you celebrate you followers and show them you appreciate their support. It's not about the number, but the quality.
It's not always easy to tell who is a genuine follower and who isn't, but for me the most important thing is engagement.
How to gain followers and engagement?
For me the key has always been comments. Comment, thoughtful comments on other people's posts which you feel resonate with you in some way. Ask questions. Be supportive. My policy usually is say something nice or don't say anything at all. There have been a few occasions where I have seen people posting unnecessarily nasty content about other people I know or things I care about. In those cases, I have commented in a not so favourable way, but usually I try to keep 99.9% of my ineteraction positive only.
I used to be a food writer in Singapore and we would only write positive reviews. That meant if we went somewhere we didn't like what we ate or saw, we wouldn't write about it at all because no one wants bad press and it's a waste of everyones time. I generally try to apply this rule everywhere, especially to commenting.
The same goes for people who comment on your posts. I try to respond to every comment I receive to show people that I appreciate their comments and also try and build some kind of connection with them. Putting in the work to interact with people is really important. Even though I have over 1000 followers, I have made 2606 comments/ posts.
Have a goal
It's important to have a goal for why you want followers and what kind of followers you want. For me, my goal is to build a mini community of like-minded individuals. So my behaviour indicates that. I comment on posts which I genuinely like and want to engage with. I want to be connected with people who I can be inspired by, who help me to grow and who genuinely want to engage with my content
If you don't have a goal yet, you might want to think about one.
Yes, followers are important, but more than the number is the quality and the value for you. So my message is make your followers count, don't just count your followers.
Please do enter the competition and share your thoughts on followers! I'm giving away a SBD prize!
Check out the contest here.
Yasmine
Congrats on your 100th Day and 1000 Followers... Impressive @yasminep!
And it was so lovely meeting you... pity I only got to know this energetic and caring person (you) at your farewell dinner and drinks!
Hope to see you either in London, Singapore, KL or even Melbourne one day. Bon Voyage!!
p/s - I just followed you :)
What a lovely message! Thank you, Mel! We'll definitely keep in touch and looking forward to seeing you again ... wherever in the world that may be!
😊😊😊
Oh by the way, I'm looking forward for your post on Zord's gal @yasminep... Look here, it's starting https://steemit.com/mancrushmonday/@kweenbrand/fun-time-with-gee1-my-man-crush-monday-mcm
Eh @zord189 👍🏻👍🏻
OMG!!! Even here @coachmelleow?!?!
HAHAHAHAHAHHAHA. Oh it's got to happen now. Maybe i'll combine it into my post about last night. I'm going to sketch her out.
OH NO!!!! The tragedy!!!!
Absolutely Yasmine. Connection with followers matters otherwise it's only as good as a number next to name.
Exactly. I think sometimes it's easy to lose track of the goal or what is important when it comes to increasing 'popularity'.
This blog is on point. I don't see a point of having numerous followers.People should follow you because they want to, for your content or pictures or whatever is it that they find interesting. This following frenzy is no good.
I'm with you @swati-s and I wish everyone thought that way :-)
I’ve found this to be very true as my followers grow it really becomes less about the overall number and more about the select few who engage back with my post as I do with there’s that really keeps me coming back to the Steemit community time and time again
YES. Same for me. I'm not here to get 10,000 followers. Whilst I do appreciate being followed, I value the people who bother to write a meaningful, engaging comment much much more. Thanks for dropping by @tspink! :-)
I couldn't agree more @yasminep the worst are the scammy comments, right after writing a great article lol it's like what terrible timing, way to kill the vibe! But of course, I'm sure I'll see you around more on here :)
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Agree 100% and really like this post. You've definitely worked hard and deserve every single one of your 1000 followers! Very proud of you. Your content is always super genuine and interesting to read. Keep it up, girl!
Thanks Ings! Glad you agree too. I know we share similar view on the importance of quality.