Stop listening to big creators. Start copying them instead

Welcome to another edition of PROse, the B2B marketer's no BS guide to growing an engaged audience.

After a little peer pressure and a weekend to make it happen, I finally launched my agency landing page.

It’s only a v1, but I’m looking forward to improving it (I’ve got some ideas already).

And, more importantly, I’m glad not to finally look like a shady guru selling advice and products without a legit business 🤣

Anyway, let's jump into this week's email.

If someone tells you organic social growth is "all vibes" or just throwing stuff at the wall, don't believe them.

Even if they have a big following themselves.

There, in fact, is a scientific, repeatable element to growing a social audience.

The reason so many big creators say otherwise is because:

• A: They’re one of the few that actually just got lucky OR

• B: They’ve internalized the growth loops on their platform so much that it’s subconscious for them… they “know it when they see it”

Unfortunately, taking that bad advice means many social teams waste time “testing” things that have little-to-no impact on their content’s performance (see: hashtags), and don’t put enough effort into the 2-3 things that can really move the needle.

Alright, that’s the problem. What’s the solution?

To give you a prescriptive answer, I’d have to know your company…. AND dissect every social platform.

Since I can’t do that right now, I’ll talk about the two most important things you should be thinking about if you find yourself stuck.

Focus on the 20% that matters

If you’re reading this newsletter, you’ve probably already heard of the 80/20 rule, or the Pareto principle.

In case you haven’t, my paraphrase: 80% of results come from 20% of the work.

Well, that’s also true for social growth.

Some social media managers focus on the stuff you read in the SEO articles like, time of day, hashtags, Twitter chats, etc.

Honestly, none of that matters in the grand scheme of things.

There’s a small group of things that really make a difference in your growth.

Those are, having a:

• Creative idea

• Good hook for that idea

• Clear identity and brand people can recognize

• Strong reason for people to continue consuming your content

I love the way Jack put it. And, I added a few more points.

Simply put, you need good content and a clear and legible reason for people to follow you.

That’ll constitute 80% of your growth.

The rest will be based on how well you adapt to trends and formats that are working.

It’s simple but not easy.

For example, what does a good hook look like?

Depends. A good hook for Twitter is different from a good hook for YouTube.

That’s the type of intuition big creators develop over time through pattern recognition (studying other big accounts) and deliberately testing frameworks.

You can too by studying, copying and reviewing what works.

Keep the main thing the main thing

I want to put an end to this constant debate over what metrics matter most.

Here’s my take: impressions/views.

I know, I know. Just hear me out.

In the context of growing your followers, nothing else is more important.

Why?

Every social platform treats impressions as a function of all the other metrics (e.g. clicks, engagement, etc.).

Depending on the quality of those other metrics, the algorithm will push your content to other people.

Said differently, you can have a high engagement rate and still not a ton of views.

And if you aren’t getting a ton of views, you aren’t getting a ton of followers.

Now remember: this is in the context of follower growth.

I’m not saying this is the right thing to care about if you’re already satisfied with your audience size or you’re focused on another top line metric.

And, I’m also not suggesting you “hack” the algorithm to get more views.

We’re professionals, we leave that to the gurus (and then we adopt some of those practices in a more ethical manner 😅)

Bottom line: if you study any successful creator or brand social account, you’ll notice that they’re modeling these principles.

Figure out how to make them work for you. It’ll take some trial and error but eventually you’ll start recognizing the patterns and levers you can pull to get your growth going.

That's a wrap, folks! But before you go...

Remember I mentioned I was making some changes to the newsletter?

Well, in the next two weeks things will feel and look much different.

The biggest upgrade will be a change in the design from this stock-looking template into something more creative and unique so you instantly know what newsletter you’re reading every week 🤣

Can’t wait for you to see it!

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