Content
- What is a follower?
- Difference between followers and subscribers
- How to engage followers
- Maintaining follower loyalty
What is a follower?
A follower is a user of a social network who is subscribed to another person's account and actively follows their updates. The word "follower" comes from the English "follow," which means "to follow" or "to go after someone." In the context of social networks, followers are often referred to as active subscribers who support and are interested in the content of a blogger or expert.
For example, Oksana Samoylova shares news about her new home with her followers, thereby strengthening her connection with them. Followers are most commonly associated with subscribers of bloggers, while users who follow brand accounts are usually called subscribers. However, the term "evangelist" is closest to a follower in the context of brands.
Difference between followers and subscribers
It is important to understand that followers and subscribers are not quite the same. A subscriber may not be active, may not participate in discussions, and may not share the blogger's opinions. A follower, on the other hand, actively interacts with the content: watches live streams, likes posts, leaves comments, and recommends the account to friends. For influencers, the main task is to convert as many subscribers as possible into followers.
By participating in the life of the account, followers boost its ranking: their activity helps social network algorithms perceive the content as interesting and useful, which in turn promotes it and increases the audience. For example, blogger Dima Maslennikov, who has a million subscribers, gathered over 20,000 likes on a post about the new season of the show "Super Ninja" thanks to the active support of his followers.
How to engage followers
In order to strengthen the connection with subscribers and turn them into followers, bloggers use various tools:
- Live streams
- Contests
- Short videos
- Stories
- Regular posting
- Game mechanics
These methods help bloggers combine useful content with personal experiences and advice, making them closer to their followers. For example, blogger and entrepreneur Sasha Mitroshina conveys the values of discipline in business, while actress and communication expert Marina Goncharova shares ideas of freedom in communication.
Maintaining follower loyalty
However, gathering followers around oneself is only half the battle. It is important to maintain interaction with them, thank them for their activity, and inspire them to continue following you. This work requires constant attention and effort: it is necessary to develop engagement and encourage feedback.
With increasing influence comes greater responsibility. Even the most devoted followers can turn away from a blogger if they deviate from their usual content or radically change their approach. Therefore, it is important to maintain balance and meet the expectations of your audience.
Author: Konstantin Rudov, Editor-in-chief of the SMMplanner auto-posting service blog