Beware the Follower Fallacy.
Two years ago this happened.
Instagram ‘Influencer’ Arii decided to capitalise on her fame by launching a clothing line.
A pretty familiar idea.
Her first order of t-shirts had a minimum run of 36 shirts.
But the catch wasn’t she couldn’t reach that minimum. Even though she had 2 million followers. She lost it in a post and the internet wasn’t kind.
This is the Follower Fallacy in action.
Simply because someone follows you doesn’t mean they are influenced by you. Or more importantly that they will buy from you.
Now there are exceptions who have done really well. But if you look at those they did more than just social media.
For example the Kardashian’s had a TV show.
There’s a pervasive idea in marketing that gaining followers and becoming an ‘influencer’ leads to riches.
But as this example shows that’s often not true.
It is far better to aim for a smaller, highly engaged, following who trust you and follow your advice and recommendations.
If you build and look after your community they will look after you, for a lifetime.