Comments on: Social-media followers: Quantity or quality?

By: James

James — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 04:20:38 +0000

Quality is always better than quantity in my opinion. I've experienced what it is like to have huge numbers of people following me and none of them really interested in what I'm interested in. Its not really productive or entertaining. My recent post Security Issues on Social Network Websites

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By: Sharon Mostyn

Sharon Mostyn — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:52:33 +0000

Your post brings up a great question, Jesse. My answer is that quality is more important, but sometimes quality is difficult to ascertain. As your article suggests, I only follow people who I feel might bring some information that is important to me, but who knows what will be important to me in a week, month, year, 5 years...so my follows may be a bit more diverse than what I'm currently interested in seeing. I think using lists, searches, hashtags, and programs like Tweetdeck or HootSuite allows me to follow more people and topic effectively. My recent post 2010 Internet Marketing Olympics Dream Team

By: David H Deans

David H Deans — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:58:11 +0000

Jesse, given your description of Zelda I think she would be a perfect fit for the role of a typical account executive at an Ad agency or PR firm. She could "leverage" her acquired list of "friends" and send them regular unsolicited emails until they begged her to stop. Isn't that what shallow people schooled in the bygone era of mass-media do when they discover social media platforms?

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Twitter Business Magic PLR | VC Web Marketing — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 05:09:28 +0000

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By: @jimmymac

@jimmymac — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 02:02:00 +0000

More than anything, social media is relationship marketing. being public relations tool may be a close second depending on the specifics. make it a popularity contest and you have results that are as shallow as, well, popularity contests.

By: Kevin Moreland

Kevin Moreland — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:47:40 +0000

There is no black or white absolute answer here. If you're a mass marketer with distribution far and wide then it would seem high numbers are important. Having high numbers doesn't mean that the engagement equation isn't important, it simply means you have more people and a bigger opportunity and therefore return on your efforts. In my experience its easier to get budget and senior management buy-in to spending on engagement mechanisms when you can sell the idea that you have 1,000,000 fans rather than 10,000. My recent post ***king Ads

By: EmilyMolitor

EmilyMolitor — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:05:31 +0000

I agree with John that numbers make a big impact, but see Jesse's point about the ability to mobilize a smaller, more qualified network. This reminds me of another one of your posts, Jesse, where you discussed the value of those we follow and that follow us. I have many people that I am facebook friends with whose opinion I do not care about or, for that matter, trust against a stranger's. I agree with Trace, it depends on your goals.

By: jstanchak

jstanchak — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:24:58 +0000

John — I'm not saying numbers are totally irrelevant. Just that the principles of scalability apply to social media. If you get too big, too fast you running the risk of ending up with a large network that's impossible to mobilize. It's a balancing act, no question, but it's a challenge we have to take seriously if we really want to get the most out of our networks.

By: @johnpanico

@johnpanico — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:05:40 +0000

Jesse, you kind of got me wound up….sorry!

Trace's point is that many (and the argument can be made on both sides) that numbers show power and authority. When you looked at your friend and her 2,000 Facebook followers, you were impressed. You didn't think…."Hmmm….I wonder if they are quality followers!" Yes, we vote with our clicks and unfollowing is an option that people following us have as well.____Bottom line…if you aren't bringin' it, people aren't going to keep with you anyway!
My recent post Comment on Starting a new month – How is your social media working? by John Panico