How Focused Are You on “Growing” Your Instagram Following?

By Kayla Zigic

Let’s have an honest chat here… Ask yourself, are you more concerned with the followers you “don’t have” over the loyal followers you already do? If this is you, we need to talk.

In the world of social media, we are led to believe that social media in business is a numbers game. When working closely with salons the “follower count” always seemed to be their primary goal and objective with most believing that their online business and social media would be successful once they hit that magic number and that the success of their business was reflected through their follower count. (Sound familiar?)

Sadly, follower count is an obsession among 90% of social media users. But the real question here should be why are we spending so much time obsessing over the followers we don’t have instead of focusing on the followers and community we do have?

For most, the current following most salons consist of family, friends, current clients, past clients and followers who are yet to become a client yet. This percentage of followers are comfortably sitting in your purchasing funnel and could potentially become a client with the right social media strategies. So, the question is, why aren’t we focusing on those followers that already know about you, yet haven’t booked? They are already halfway there, they just need a little strategy push to finally get them to book that “book now” button, engage with your content or send you a message or enquiry.

Let me break some things down for you… Followers and Likes don’t equal clients.

Think of vanity metrics such as likes and followers as the feel-good hug drug dopamine. Yes, it feels amazing when you get some new followers, or someone likes your content however, metrics like “likes” and “followers” serve no real purpose unless those “likes”, and “followers” are converting to bums on seats or bodies on beds. Rarely does a large number of likes or followers correlate to the number of clients you have in your salon.

Therefore, you don’t need a large social media following to have a successful social media. What you do need is an engaged community. Yes, growing a following is important, but it shouldn’t be the overall goal of your social media strategy—ever!

So, what should you be focusing on within your social media?

Social media is a platform designed to allow people to be—you guessed it—”social!”

First and foremost, you need to focus on building your community and nurturing the followers you already have. This means creating authentic and meaningful connections with your audience and truly connecting with your dream clients. This type of connection comes through truly understand your target audience/clients and speaking to them directly.

Have you heard the term “people buy from people”? This is very much true on your social media platforms. Trends around social media is veering towards authentic brand content vs curated stock images of products. People want to see you, they want to see your staff, they want to learn about your specialties, interests, and quirks. They want an incredible therapist who provides fantastic service and someone they can connect with on a deeper level. Share things they might not know about you and your staff. Share your mission statement, your visions, and address their concerns personally.

Enquiries: Keep an eye on the number of inquiries you receive about your services.

Sales: Measure how much revenue is generated through social media efforts.

For example, if you specialise in acne treatments because you have suffered from acne growing up, you may want to share that. This helps build strong relationships with existing followers and establishes your brand authority as an expert in your niche. When new potential clients come to your page, they can see you are an expert in the services you provide.

Next, start building relationships in your inbox and comments. One of my biggest piece of advice is to always replay to comments with open ended questions to continue the conversation. This boosts your engagement and tells Instagram that people are interested in your content. The same goes for your inbox. Reply and building connection with your audience should be your goal, and this can only be done by engaging and reply to your direct messages and connecting with your follower on a deeper level for them to trust you enough to book in.

Here are some metrics I suggest focusing on over your follower count:

Engagement: Track how much your audience is interacting with your posts through likes, comments, and shares.

Bookings: Monitor how many appointments are being booked through your social media channels.

Enquiries: Keep an eye on the number of inquiries you receive about your services.

Sales: Measure how much revenue is generated through social media efforts.

These metrics can only be achieved by followers who have built a connection with you. If these followers become clients and then advocates for your business, they will be your best form of social media advertising—think of them as your social media word of mouth, one of the most powerful marketing tools available.

Instead of focusing on your follower number, I urge you to change your social media mindset and focus on your community. By doing this, your following can only grow.

Remember, the goal is to build a loyal community that supports and advocates for your brand. A strong, engaged community will always be more valuable than a large, disconnected following. By prioritising the relationships you build with your current followers, you’ll create a more meaningful and successful social media presence.

@socialsforsalons