My Advice For Agencies + Content Creators
I recently had a call with a literary agent that concluded with the equivalent of, “I'd love to date you, but only if your tits are bigger.” In this case, my metaphorical tits being my Twitter (16.4K) and Instagram (15.8K) follower counts. I have thoughts about this.
Generally speaking, I’m someone who appreciates the quantifiable. I have a Ph.D. in music and brain science. In college, I took advanced statistics for fun. I love analyzing data. I know that the word “data” is plural. Yay, numbers!
However, when it comes to social media, like many digital creators, I have become increasingly frustrated with the obsession over numbers, especially when follower counts are grossly prioritized over content quality.
As a result, many influencers fret over and/or feel forced to game the system because people with higher follower counts get the paying gigs...because people doing the hiring are either clueless about fake followers or understand but are lazy (sorry not sorry).
I see this situation from both sides. I’m a content creator and I’m creative director at Women Online. We work incredibly hard to educate clients on why follower counts aren’t everything AND we fight hard to build campaigns including influencers who otherwise would be bypassed due to arbitrary follower benchmarks. This is way more work for us; it’s a hell of a lot easier to set arbitrary follower count benchmarks, then sort your Excel sheet to weed people out.
So back to my literary agent call. The agent loved (their words!) my book proposal but didn’t want to sign me until I could get both my Twitter and Instagram into the 30-50K range. OMG YOU GUYS MY METAPHORICAL TINY TITS!
Based on my current numbers (16.4K Twitter + 15.8K Instagram), that would mean, at a minimum, *doubling* my followers. Which, with intentional, organic efforts on two platforms would take approximately a fucking eternity.
FYI I don’t just have a proposal. I wrote an entire book (75K words) during the pandemic. I’m a driven person who believes fiercely in this content. I do not want to wait a fucking eternity to reach an arbitrary follower count just to start the conversation about publishing it.
I told the agent that the only way I could achieve that metric in any reasonably short amount of time would be to buy followers. And that I refused to do that. I explained the influencer follower buying situation. The agent was sympathetic but unmoved.
This is fucked up. So what next? I have ADVICE FOR AGENCIES + CONTENT CREATORS. From a basic business perspective, this is win-win because quality content creators with real engaged followers will ultimately influence more than people with bloated fake accounts. #notrocketscience
AGENCY ADVICE
Focus on the content first and foremost (above social metrics). If a person creates amazing content, champion them! We do this *all the time* at Women Online, fighting for power of storytelling, diversity, and creative execution.
Stop using follower counts as your inclusion metric. JUST STOP. Literally, as I was drafting this thread I received an IG DM that offered 500 followers for $20. That’s how low the bar is. Pretty sure those 500 fake followers are not going to buy anything.
If something looks fishy, it’s probably fishy. See an influencer with tons of followers but very little engagement? Yes, algorithms are killing reach, but it also might mean they purchased followers who never engage (and eventually unfollow).
Get ready to dig in and do your homework. Unfortunately, it’s not enough to ask for engagement metrics either…because influencers can game the system for likes and comments too. (OMG THIS IS WHY WE CAN’T HAVE NICE THINGS.)
Read the comments on a creator’s social posts and look for genuine human interaction. Reading follower comments and how the creator responds will tell you a lot about the content creator and their ability to connect with people online.
Consider social media audit software. Tools that analyze social media accounts for fake followers aren’t perfect but can be helpful; e.g., I have used audit tools as additional info if I feel that an influencer’s account looks fishy. I have also had brands/organizations push back on influencer recommendations based on audit software. In cases where I feel their result is a false positive, I champion that influencer based on samples of their QUALITY CONTENT. Brands/orgs appreciate this!
Educate your team/clients/higher-ups about quality over quantity. We do this *all the time* at Women Online; brands/orgs value this education greatly and it CHANGES DECISION MAKING re: who to invest in. We have the power to move the needle.
CONTENT CREATOR ADVICE
Keep doing good work. Your work is your legacy. Note: despite my metaphorical tiny tits, right after that agent call I was offered $4K for an influencer campaign due to the strength of my content, reputation and social. LOL #staystrong
Advocate for yourself and your excellent, legit work and platform! You know your strengths best; get comfortable talking about them! This is something I don’t see done enough when I’m building campaigns, e.g., when I’m leading a Women Online campaign I always include on the influencer application: “Make a case for why we should include you in this campaign!” It’s a tragedy when people leave the field blank. MAKE YOUR CASE! (I make a lot of decisions based on what’s in that field!)
Engage with your followers. This sounds basic, but it matters. And it will bring you joy to communicate with people who take the time to communicate with you. Instagram is my favorite because I find it’s where people really chat.
Champion fellow content creators. Karma, people. I love recommending other influencers for campaigns and I love sharing smart, fun things my fellow content creators are doing online. This will help them and also just feels good.
Observe how awesome people who create kick-ass content and have authentic engaged followings do things; e.g., I observe + learn from my friends Gabrielle Blair, Karen Walrond, and Jill Krause ALL THE TIME. They inspire me to be better and more creative.
Don’t buy followers. It’s bad for our industry and it is (or soon will be) bad for you. Agencies are catching on (and hopefully more will via this thread). I know 500 followers for $20 is tempting but DON’T DO IT.
IN SUMMARY
The cycle of follower buying and arbitrary metric benchmarks has fueled laziness, ridiculous expectations and shady behavior that have nothing to do with the quality of a creator’s work or, quite frankly, the ability to sell anything. ENOUGH ALREADY.
I have a Ph.D. Since leaving academia I have built a successful 6-figure Internet career out of nothing. I have thousands of digital and real life connections. I have the ability/work ethic to execute a kick ass book campaign. I’m already a published author. I co-host two podcasts, run an advocacy apparel shop and am creative director at an award-winning social media agency. And yet I still cried after the call with this agent because I WAS TOLD THAT I WAS NOT ENOUGH due to arbitrary metrics. That is fucked up.
When it comes to buying followers and arbitrary benchmarks, some say, “Welp, the industry is broken. It is what it is.” NO. You know who else recently said “It is what it is”? Let’s not be that orange asshole. We can do better and break the cycle.