Social Media is a powerful tool when it comes to perception. Perception equals fact in the business world because even if a certain perception is not completely true, it is the reality in peoples’ minds. This is why it is important to avoid “Negative Social Proof.”

Your social media page is an extension of your brand, your message, and your influence. When people first see it, you want their ‘perception’ to be a positive one. Now there are multiple factors to consider for each social site in order to create that positive vibe but I’m going to focus this article on one in particular. I will definitely point out others in future posts.

Unlike RSS Feeds, you can’t hide your list of friends, followers, or connections on your social media sites. It’s right out there for everyone to see publicly. How many times have you visited a page and immediately looked at their ‘social stats?’ I believe it’s safe to say, that many times it is the first piece of information that gets processed in a browser’s mind.

Now I know what some purists out there are thinking: “Here’s a shallow marketing approach making social networking all about numbers!” That’s not what I’m doing here. What I am doing is pointing out a common sub-conscious pattern of human behavior and thinking which is simply this: “Unless I know you, I don’t feel the need to follow someone who isn’t being followed by anyone else.” Your follow stats add digital weight to the information your posting. I will consider what you’re saying more when I know others are listening. I will really consider interacting with your ideas publicly when I know others are watching.

That’s why the worse thing you could do is start a page on a popular social site and then do nothing with it. You would be better served to simply not use a specific site than have something like this:

Now, there are multiple things that are not good to do here, but the poor follow stats are the final nail in the coffin. Chances are, unless you know them well, you’re probably not going to follow them. Heck, I know them personally and I didn’t follow them (I say that humorously as this particular person is actually a good friend who just doesn’t know much about Twitter).

I whipped up some sample metrics for you to use as a measuring rod for your own social media pages. Don’t be offended if you don’t measure up. The point is, if you can be persistent until you hit some of these levels you will increase the likelihood of your page growing on it’s own.

SOCIAL MEDIA PERCEPTION SCALE

Personal Page/Hobby Page:

25+  Facebook Fans/Likes

100+  Twitter Followers

25+ LinkedIn Connections

Small to Mid-Size Company:

250-500+ Facebook Fans/Likes

2,000+ Twitter Followers

100+ LinkedIn Connections

Advanced Social Media Strategy (Ideal):

2,000+ Facebook Fans/Likes

10,000+ Twitter Followers

500+ LinkedIn Connections

Unless you’re a rock star, pro athlete, Hollywood diva, or Nike, some of those levels might seem pretty challenging to hit. If so, take your time with each page. Start one page on one particular site and get it established first before moving on to the next site. I would recommend starting with Twitter first. It’s simpler to start, in my opinion, being that there’s not as many ducks to line up in a row, figuratively speaking. When I setup networks for customers, I always setup their Twitter and LinkedIn first, then launch their Facebook page last.

In closing, let me give you an idea of what I’m talking about. I have some networks currently setup that hit and/or exceed those metrics. When nobody even touches them for a week they will still grow by over 150 people or more across the board. The opposite of ‘Negative Social Proof’ is experiencing a ‘Social Tipping Point’ that stimulates growth on it’s own. This is the goal I have with each of Mason Media’s customers.