Brands must engage on Twitter or risk losing 15% of new followers

Follower retention metrics and management are more important than ever as businesses invest in Twitter advertising to increase the size of their communities, new data has shown.

According to Twitter management platform SocialBro, businesses on the social media site will lose 15%  of new followers within three weeks unless they make an effort to engage early. Sample data from the company has shown that famous or influential individuals (100,000+ followers) will lose one to three per cent of new followers in the first week and 10 per cent after three weeks.

This rate will increase to five per cent and 15% for companies, while ‘ordinary’ individuals can expect to lose 20 per cent of new followers in the first week and 40% over three weeks unless they make an effort to engage with these users.

In a bid to increase follower numbers, brands are spending more on social advertising than ever before, leading to Twitter’s recent announcement of ad revenues of $220 million in Q4 2013; a 121% increase on the same period in 2012.

Javier Buron, CEO and founder of SocialBro, says: “Unsurprisingly, the more influential you are, the more likely your followers are to stick with you. But the bigger your community, the greater scope there is to gain an edge over your competitors by engaging your followers.”

He argued that brands must “Make an effort to ‘follow back’, using lists to listen to your most important followers. Behind every profile is a real person, so do your best to interact with them, just as you would if they came in to your shop. Mention them; thank them for following you; favourite their tweets. Obviously you need to prioritise those that are real accounts and those that represent a real opportunity, but try not to ignore new followers or they will soon say goodbye.”