Why you shouldn’t obsess about your social media numbers
Lessons from “Big Brother Naija Lockdown”
This is Dorathy Bachor a 24-year-old contestant in the ongoing Big Brother Naija season 5 dubbed “Lockdown.” I know this picture is probably not what you expected to see on a Monday morning on Linkedin but I share it respectfully to buttress my point.
Last year, after Big Brother Naija season 4 “Pepper dem” ended, a radio presenter said that Big Brother Naija is the only reality TV show in Nigeria that makes you a celebrity after 90 days. She is right!
Big Brother Naija Lockdown kicked-off on Sunday 19 July and Olorisupergal began tracking the contestant’s Instagram pages immediately after they entered the house.
At the time Dorathy entered the Big Brother Lockdown house, she had 686 followers on Instagram. In less than 24 hours, that number had increased to 44,000.
Four days later, not only had Dorathy’s followers grown to 119,000 but her account had been verified. At the time of publishing this post, her fanbase stood at 226,000 and she’s only been in the house for two weeks. It won’t be surprising if she has a million followers by the time she leaves the house.
You can’t match that! That’s why I say you shouldn’t obsess about your social media numbers, that is, followers.
Two things drove this growth. First of them is consumer interest. The reality is that social media weren’t developed for businesses, they were designed for individuals to connect and share fun moments.
People want to watch goofy videos or those who are brave enough to dance in front of the camera for the world to see. They want to laugh their hearts out and forget their troubles and they want to have conversations. There’s another group of users in Nigeria, those who are there for the giveaways — one reason why influencer marketing campaigns are not necessarily yielding returns. Because if my followers are a charity case, how can I sell to them? But that’s a story for another day.
Secondly, the underlying principles of what constitutes news in traditional media are the same for digital media. These “Cs” — change, controversy, conflict, curiousity and crisis are what make headlines.
The “Cs” is why Cynthia “Cee-C” Nwadiora was the most talked about housemate in “Big Brother Double Wahala” — two seasons ago, the reason why Natacha “Tacha” Akide got booted out last season leaving Mercy Eke to eventually win the “Big Brother Pepper Dem” show.
Five to 10 years ago, winning was top of the agenda for most “Big Brother” contestants but the show host, Ebuka Obi-Uchendu and former “Big Brother Africa” contestant Vimbai Mutinhiri-Ekpenyong are proof that you don’t have to win to become a star. But that reality didn’t quite hit home until Cee-C despite being first runner-up and highly controversial bagged endorsement deals left, right and centre. As a result, most “Big Brother Naija” contestants don’t mind not winning anymore. During their post-eviction interviews, the common answer they give in response to the question ‘what next?’ is, ‘I’ll focus on my brand.’
Like the aforementioned, Dorathy has satisfied at least two of the “Cs,” hence she’s become an overnight sensation. If you are not following the show, after you watch the video below, you’ll get the picture.
So whilst businesses are on Instagram promoting products and services, consumers are scrolling for funny, heartwarming, heart-wrenching or controversial pictures or videos.
As a public relations practitioner and lecturer, I still find that one of the biggest challenges for businesses is how to grow their social media numbers. Most businesses want large followers but cannot convert them to customers. But if your organisation is just embracing social media marketing, you are late in the game. So stop putting yourself under pressure. Also cut your social media handlers some slack because the organisations that have large social media followers in Nigeria, for instance, the telecommunications companies, banks and media organisations are enjoying the first-mover advantage. They quickly embraced digital media, created dedicated teams to manage their social media pages and grew their followers at the time when Facebook hadn’t monetised its platforms, and when algorithms weren’t in the way. Despite these resources, no telco or bank has a million followers on Instagram — even DStv that creates tons of content doesn’t.
What you must do is to begin to see social media as all other media channels whose fundamental uses are for information dissemination, persuasion, education and interaction.
Before the introduction of the internet and subsequently e-commerce, when consumers considered their options they visited physical stores. Now, they search for your organisation’s website, Instagram or Facebook pages. And when they want to rant, they search for you on Twitter. Therefore, your goal should be to be available where the consumer is looking for you and to respond appropriately.
Chase after your true tribe — those who follow you because they are genuinely interested in what you offer. That’s the only way you’ll be able to eventually convert followers into customers. And for niche influencers, I still believe that the future of influencer marketing belongs to you. Some day, brand managers will see the light. If you want to know more about that, read my Tips for selecting the best influencer for your brand.
