So you created your unique brand image, you got yourself a professional bio, a curated and short brand statement, you paid for efficient ads on social media, and after a while… you start losing those numbers and engagement! Why does that happen? Read below the 5 reasons, paying the utmost attention to number 1, why people start unfollowing you.
5. It’s All About You, You, You.
Yes, being all about you and you alone will turn people off. One in 10 posts should be about something else. Not memes stolen off Google. But genuine things in your life that you care about and are congruent with your brand values. It could be a gallery of fan posts, a genuine photo with a music producer, a behind the scenes shot with the camera crew, a photo of your sister-in-law who’s a doctor on the front line and you’re thanking her, a photo/video of your pet that’s helping you stay sane throughout these repeated lockdowns, etc. Don’t make up stuff that you couldn’t care less about just to create the appearance of not being egocentric. Make a list instead of things that touch you, help you, inspire you, encourage you, and dedicate a post to it. Very similar to the 10% you’re giving to your church on Sunday. You’re supposed to give 10% of your clout to something other than yourself.
4. You Got More Recycled Content Than New Content.
This is most painful to watch when you go on forgotten stars’ social media profiles. Their content feels like a continuous Throwback Thursday. Don’t become that person. You are only allowed to post recycled content on Thursdays. Other than that, if you’re interested in keeping and increasing your followers, get to being creative! You got tons and tons of competition.
3. You’re Not Posting The Type Of Content That People Initially Followed You For.
This is the only exception where losing followers is a positive thing. If you accidentally went viral for a dumb gimmick or a semi-nude pic but you’re doing music for a living, you will 100% lose plenty of followers when they realize that you’re not who they thought you were. And that’s great! Because you don’t want to find yourself forced to create content that has nothing to do with your brand just to keep those numbers up. That defeats the entire purpose of doing music for a living. On that same note, for this very reason, try to always post photos and videos that if viral, would help people associate the idea of music with you!
2. You’re Never Interacting With Your Followers.
If you think you can afford just sitting back and observing your audience instead of being right there with them, You. Will. Pay. Dearly. You do know that Instagram shows people the 50 users they least interact with thus incentivizing them to unfollow those they don’t often engage with? The very minimum you should be doing is replying back to ALL comments with a like and an entire thought out sentence. But if you’re an artist that is not okay with just the bare minimum, you should follow back your biggest fans, go to their profiles, like a minimum of 3 of their photos and comment on them too. It’s called building a genuine relationship with your 3 Fs (Fans, Friends, Family).
1. You’re Simply Put: Boring.
You need lots of self-awareness to realize this one. Or a blunt friend who actually cares enough about you to point out your shortcomings. Balance is key in the virtual world just like it is in the real world. Post too much or too little of something and you’ll start seeing your numbers decreasing. You have to have just the perfect ratio between reposts, original content, shout outs, promo stuff, announcements, selfies, behind the scenes shots, official shots, and all else music related. Post too much just about press coverage and you’re instantly killing your brand. Post too much about your achievements only, and people will see you as a try harder. Post too much about other artists you’re working with and people will judge you as an artist who needs other names to push numbers. You have to be in the trenches and tweaking and experimenting with your content ratio all the time to figure out what works best for your brand. A rap artist will not benefit from the same type of content that a rock band will gain from. So find out what means boring for your followers and DON’T BE THAT.
Blue Rhymez Entertainment 