More on platform, cause Wednesday..

Hello, your royal sharkness! Are you sick of platform questions yet? I’m trying to build my following, and I have a few questions:

1) Does the ratio of followers to following matter?
I see a lot of people who have high follower counts (let’s use finance terms and call these “inflows”) but only because their following count (“outflows”) is so high (“follow for follow, like for like.”)

Many of them are following far more accounts than vice versa. In these cases, outflows exceed inflows. On the flip side, actual influencers usually only follow 200 or 300 and have follower counts that are orders of magnitude higher.

I assume we need inflows that are a certain percentage higher than outflows (aka “profit,” and nonprofitable channels are likely not marketable)—what ratio should we be shooting for?


2) What percentage of audience engagement should we be aiming for, and how will that change with insta eliminating likes?
It’s all well and good to have thousands of followers, but if they never engage with likes or comments, I’m guessing they won’t mean very much (it doesn’t in the PR world.)

What is the current standard? Any inkling of how it will change with insta’s new like-less format?

My hamster wheel is outfitted with an abacus, as you can see. Thank you for any insight you can shed!

When I look at the social media presence of a prospective author, I don't assess your metrics, I evaluate your content.

First, I want to make sure you're there;
Second, that you're not doing anything stupid;
Third, that you're talking about something other than writing.

Sure, I look at the number of followers you have.
The more the better generally speaking.

I fully understand that when you're building, you'll be following more people than are following you.

My follower/following ratio is quite skewed cause I can only pay attention to so many people before I start to get crazy.

I unfollow or mute everyone who posts too much. I just don't want to be inundated (I had to mute Roxanne Gay for that reason. I'm a devoted fan of her work, and she's amazing and brilliant on Twitter but egad, it was a deluge!)

I look for an indication you understand that Twitter isn't about making statements, it's about engagement.  As in asking questions, responding to questions.

A Tweet like: My first book pubbed today!!
doesn't give me much room to say anything. A heart maybe if I know you.

But, a Tweet like: my first book pubbed today, and I am filled with gratitude for
the folks who helped, even when they didn't know it

That gives me a way in.

Questions are even better.

Big bold political statements are a huge turn off for me.
He's a moron is a good example.

But NONE of this is industry standard. Not even close.
It's how I deal with social media.

This is a question you should put to any agent who does Q&A on blogs, YouTube or #AskAgent.

A variety of opinions will help you triangulate.

For me the bottom line is:
1. Have some sort of social media presence
2. Don't be an asshat.