Digital Marketing: Three reasons users unfollow you on social media

“Build it, and they will come” only works in the movies. Social Media is a “build it, nurture it, engage them, and they may come and stay.” Seth Godin, sethgodin.com

It is hard enough to build a following when you are starting out on social media so it can be very frustrating when users unfollow you. Let's shed some light on why this might be happening, so you can modify your social media strategy accordingly.

1. Your posts are too promotional

This may be news to some brands, but social media users generally do not want to be sold to directly. Most users are more interested in interacting with brands and are likely to know their products and services already. Therefore, your brand's social media content should not be aimed at sales most of the time.

If you are making the mistake of making every post promotional, users will likely start to unfollow. After all, if that is all users wanted, they would go to the company's website or store and not bother following them through social media. So, focus your attention on connecting, and the unfollows should drop off.

2. Make sure your content is not erratic

A problem brands often get into is that they do not have much of a social media plan behind their strategy. So, what tends to happen is they either start off with a lot of posts and then get bored or, put out posts only once a week or a couple of times a month. This can also feed into the previous point if that post is promotional.

So, if your social media is not consistent, you might need to make a social media plan or, amend the one you have. It is also a good idea to post a consistent amount each day, and one easy way to achieve that is to schedule your posts a week or two in advance. Remember, social media moves fast, so followers will soon start to drop off if you go quiet for a few days.

3. Ensure your social media is providing value to your audience

Another problem brands can have is they are too focused on themselves. Remember, you provide social media content for your audience, not yourself. You have a lot of data through Google analytics or via the social media sites themselves. So, you can use this information to ensure you understand what your audience is interested in.

Once you have done that work, you can create content that your audience is more likely to share and interact with. If the interaction on your social media posts is consistently low, then you are not doing that job well enough. Of course, some trial and error may be needed here to find the right formula. Providing value to your audience is crucial if you want to avoid them unfollowing you.

It can be frustrating to see users unfollowing you when you have worked hard to build a social media following. However, there is usually an obvious reason why this is happening, which means you can fix it. So, if you notice this is happening, ensure your posts are not too promotional or erratic, and make sure you are providing value to your audience.

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