I don't have a lot of followers across my social media. I still have under 1000 followers combined. But I want to change that so, I've started thinking of ways to gain more followers. At first, I thought maybe I should do what other people are doing; constantly posting and going live. But then I thought, "the followers I have now follow me for a reason." If I can figure out why that is, maybe I can maximize it.
This also made me think about why people follow others in the first place. Why do you follow your favorite artists, actors, and comedians on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok? It isn't just to see what they post. It's to feel connected to them. It's about community. If you're trying to gain fans, your first fans will be your friends and family. They're going to support you because they care about you as a person, not just about what you're selling. So, it should be similar for people who don't know you. When they follow you, it's because they want to see more of you. Not just more music. They can follow you on Spotify for that.
When people follow me, it usually isn't right after someone has liked my picture or video. It's after they heart a comment I posted. It's more about engagement than content. This explains how some people who don't post a lot can have huge followings. It's because they're active on other parts of the platform and engage with people. I even tested it out a little last night.
On TikTok, I had 6 followers and only a few videos. I then spent a couple of hours watching videos on my FYP, commenting and replying to comments. I also joined a Live and talked to the people there. Fun fact, when you follow someone on TikTok, Their comments show first on any video you see. After those 2 hours, I gained 11 followers. It's not a lot, but It's the most I've gained so quickly. So, I'm still going to increase the amount of content I post. But I'm also going to focus more on being engaged and "social" on social media. To be honest, this should have been more obvious to me. Otherwise, the only thing I'd end up doing is trying to sell to people when that should be just a tiny part of it.
This also makes me feel much better about being present on social media. I don't need a lot of posts or a fake personality to get people to follow. I can engage with people more directly most of the time. So, when I have something to sell, it won't be as awkward to post about it.