Why Have People Stopped Following Your Brand?

One of our favorite infographics we designed and published was Why Do People Unfollow You on Twitter. Folks got a chuckle from it and hopefully it made them rethink their social media publishing strategy in the meantime.

I’m going to state something here that might startle some folks:

I don’t care if people unfollow me or unsubscribe from my email.

I can hear the howls of anger and shock right now… and I don’t care about those, either. I’m sick and tired of marketers chasing eyeballs instead of results. The majority of fans, followers and subscribers are useless to your business. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t care about that audience, I’m simply being honest. The numbers are simply a validation method for consumers and businesses to judge you on… nothing else.

And simply because someone unsubscribed does not mean that your brand did something wrong. There are thousands of reasons why someone would unfollow or unsubscribe from your social channel or your newsletter. Perhaps they left the company, perhaps they were promoted, perhaps their job responsibilities shifted, perhaps they thought your brand was something altogether different.

Nurturing isn’t the act of expecting every follower or subscriber to make a purchase. Nurturing is also the period where prospects can get insight into your brand and decide whether or not you’re a fit. So… some leave.

Does that mean there aren’t things you’re doing to drive them away? Of course not. I just replied to a colleague this week and told him he was treading lightly on the tone and spamminess of his emails to me. I wanted him to know he was pushing too hard and back off, otherwise he might lose me. Then again, I’m not his ideal client so perhaps he shouldn’t listen to me!

The survey found that 21% unfollowed as a result of boring content, due to an overload of posts on Facebook or cluttering feeds. Less can be more…So do consider your maximum frequency by comparing it to others in your sector or run a test where you reduce frequency.

I’ve said it thousands of times, the reason why people listen to you is because you’re providing them value. Continue to provide value and you’ll retain relevant followers and subscribers. Over time, you’ll build trust and an engagement will soon follow. But quit kicking yourself when a few folks leave… it’s going to be okay. Go find better ones!

Fractl and Buzzstream surveyed 900 social media users to find out these answers and the reasons for losing followers.