This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Hey friends, hey listeners. Thanks for tuning in today. On today's exciting edition of Side Hustle School, we're gonna meet Omar from Detroit. He is wrestling with a social media conundrum, a dilemma, a problem, an issue that's all too common in the digital realm. Now you may experience this yourself if you are trying to use Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, X, if anybody says X.
Well, any social media platform basically, and you're trying to build up a follower count, right? You're trying to get more followers, like that's what people want, or you're trying to get more engagement. And so you might notice that sometimes with some posts, and this is what Omar is seeing, you're getting likes, but no new followers, right? Like you're posting some content that seems to be generating some likes, but you're not actually getting new followers from it. So what's up with that?
If you've noticed something strange with your recent social posts, or maybe even on somebody else's posts, like they don't have a lot of followers, but they're posting content that's popular, or it seems like there's a little bit of a disconnect in the ratio, what can you do, right? So let's talk about why this happens in the first place, and then what you can do to crack the code a bit more. So detailed question coming up, and my answer right after this quick break. [Music]
Hey, Chris, it's Omar from Detroit. I found your show through a friend, and I've been hooked ever since, especially your episodes on social media growth strategies.
I'm facing a puzzling issue. People seem to like my posts, but I'm not gaining followers at the rate I expected. So I guess why do some people like posts for accounts they don't follow? And what steps can I take to convert those likes into loyal followers? [Music]
Omar, what you are seeing here is something that a lot of people are experiencing.
It is essentially the effect of the social media algorithm, and there's more than one, I should say algorithms, but the point is in some ways it's good that you're getting additional likes from people who are not following you currently, because that means the almighty algorithms are showing your posts to people who are not currently following you, because otherwise they wouldn't see it in the first place. So this is good overall, although of course you want to turn those likes into a following. So a couple things, prioritize content that generates engagement quickly after posting. So encourage immediate interaction, post questions, post call to actions, post where you're encouraging people to comment with a keyword or just a single word or response or something that makes a difference. And in your posts actively encourage people to follow you if they're not already doing it.
Like give them a reason to talk about what's coming up so they don't just see it as a cool video or a cool post that was a one-off. You basically say, this is a series or there's more where this came from or follow me to receive X. Just try to build relationships with people over time. I mean, that's what you do with any kind of blog or email list or social media platform, whatever the platform is, you want to encourage ongoing relationship. And then of course, just be consistent.
So be consistent. The follows will follow the likes, especially if somebody likes your post and they continue to see more posts because of the engagement of the algorithm and how that works, then they will eventually follow you. So I wouldn't stress about it too much. It's good that people are liking your posts even if they don't follow you. That's showing that the algorithm is rewarding your content or rewarding the approach that you're taking.
So lean into that, do more of that. Good luck, Omar, everybody else. I know it's a rough world out there, social media wise, otherwise of course too, but focus specifically on social media here. And if you have a question or comment, sidehustleschool.com/questions. We got much more coming up, not just through the end of the year, but on into 2024 as well.
I think that's the first time I've said that word, 2024, which sounds a little bit scary and overwhelming. I can't believe it's coming up, but it is in fact. And of course, I'm so grateful for your being out there, for you being part of this community. So thank you for that. I'll say more about that as we go along as well.
My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School. [Music]
From the Onward Project.
