Some time ago, the great challenge of a brand in social networks was to add followers in any way it could. At that time, the measurement of success was based on the weight and number of followers, no matter how, perhaps by a lottery with a segmentation that had nothing to do with the brand’s identity: the only goal was to accumulate followers.
However, with the passing of the years and the analysis of Social Media Marketing, the real operation lies in the fact that absolute numbers do not imply value. What should really be sought are followers relevant to each particular brand, which in turn, build a target audience. Another key is not only to gain followers, but to keep those who already trust us: the recognized engagement to build a good community and have loyalty as a pillar of the communication of a brand.
Every marketing strategy should focus on both points to boost activity: the search for new fans and the ways to take care of those who are already part of the community. The big question to solve and avoid is why a follower makes the decision to leave the community and it is not just a particular bad experience with the brand.
The saturation of the message by a company in its networks can be another reason why a follower decides to unfollow. Sometimes we notice that it doesn’t show up in the feed but suddenly the brand goes to the other extreme and posts content too often. Among the main reasons for followers we find that the brand started to come across as spammy, takes too much place on the timeline or their posts became boring or repetitive.
No brand is exempt from boring its followers, as analyzed by a group of researchers in a study published by the International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising. In order to understand why loyalty and enthusiasm fade to become a decision to unfollow or hide, the researchers focus on the evolution of each person. Sometimes, people want to avoid certain brands because of a personal change or a leap to another stage of life, and sometimes, no matter how relevant it may have been, that brand is no longer attractive or necessary on the way.