Do You Want Huge Followers On Social Media To Be Creditable?

Social media has become a digital religion in many ways. … [+]How people value the power and influence of likes, followers and followers

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Social media has become a digital religion. Or maybe a cult in some ways. This is absolutely true on Twitter, where the number of followers someone has apparently tied to their credibility – and not what the actual message is saying.

People who make good arguments can easily be fired for not having enough followers. On the flip side, those who “work” it and try to gain followers – much like digital apostles – can be declared more credible because so many people are following them.

But is that possible? Credible?

Dr. Leilani CARVER, director of Graduate Strategic Communication and Leadership at Maryville University, stated that a large number of supporters could show credibility through a compelling strategy known as “social proof”. “Social proof, made popular by the influence professor Dr. Cialdini, the idea is that if someone is not sure what to do – e.g. should I buy this widget? – they look at other people to see what they are doing – e.g. how many people bought the widget and what rating was it given? If many people believe in something or do something, they are more likely to do so.

This can lead to a large fan base on social networks. Some users may assume that someone with a large following is worth following.

“One of the problems with giving this number-based credibility is that there are ways to cheat the system and inflate your numbers – ex. Carver said that perhaps the bigger problem is that the person with a large following is not believable.

Simply put, just because you have followers doesn’t mean you are an expert. Even having followers doesn’t necessarily make you an expert on a topic.

“If there’s a relationship between credibility and the number of followers a person has on social media, it’s likely an inverse relationship. Josh Crandall, an analyst at Netpop Research in the tech industry, says, “The more followers someone has, the less credible they are.”

“There are some who have a lot of factual and scientific integrity and who have garnered a sizeable following online, like Neil deGrasse Tyson (~ 14.2m Twitter) and Richard Dawkins (~ 2.9m), but the vast majority Majority of popular influencers build their followers through the celebrity cult – Kylie Jenner (~ 39.2 million) or the power of bombastic rhetoric – Joe Rogan (~ 7.6 million), ”noted Crandall. “In fact, more than half of the top 50 Twitter accounts are celebrities, musicians, or athletes. I don’t know if these people are believable except that they share their opinion. And based on what we’ve seen in the recent past – think Gina Carano – these opinions can sometimes be very subjective and suspicious. “

Carver also mentioned that Kylie Jenner’s half-sibling, Khloe Kardashian, has around 192 million Instagram followers.

Carver stated that Khloe is known for promoting waist trainers through Instagram. Dr. Alok Patel, a respected doctor and wellness expert, says that waist exercisers are not scientifically proven, they can be ineffective and even harmful. Dr. A vocal advocate for health, Patel only has 22,400 Instagram fans, compared to 292 million of Khole. Dr. Patel is a reliable source for information on waist trainers and other health topics, but has significantly fewer followers. Dr. Patel pursues the persuasion strategy of authority (e.g. credibility through title / degree). The truth is, falsehoods spread faster and further than the truth.

Accent on numbers and not on content

The problem is, too much attention is paid to the credibility of the influence and followers. The popular and the beautiful have an immediate advantage.

This should come as no surprise given the increasing use of social media, especially among young people.

Lon Sakfo is a technology entrepreneur who wrote in his book, Technology Entrepreneur Lon Sakfo, “The First Thing A Person Checks Today Before Doing Business With You”. The Social Media Bible “Your ‘digital footprint’ was known as your digital footprint a few years ago, before the social network matured.

Safko pointed out that in the past, when someone searched him online, his Google digital footprint had around 185,000 pages mentioning him for various works.

“Now that Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are in place, my digital footprint is heavily influenced by these three,” he said.

Safko is a published author and has written several books. Its credibility index could be compared to those who have a lot of friends, followers, or LinkedIn connections.

Trust in metrics

All of this would not be a serious problem other than emphasis on followers, shares, likes, etc. This can affect the roles of actors, whether journalists take stories seriously, and most importantly, it can affect our political future.

The world is increasingly moving based on likes and followers and the possible impact it could have

James R. Bailey, professor of leadership at the George Washington University School of Business, said that “impact” means being able to make meaningful and lasting change.

Bailey said Charles Dickens doesn’t have an Instagram account. However, he almost single-handedly changed British labor laws. “Donna Tartt is America’s greatest living writer. She has a Twitter account, but she’s never posted on it. ”Congressman Dr. Michael Burgess from Texas – a sincere conservative who has been instrumental in influencing US health policy – has exactly 784 Twitter followers. “

Safko explained that it is difficult to get a book published today because publishers are so caught up in their followers and preferences. It has to be big enough to believe that the following will sell you 10,000 copies of your book. If you do not have the following, you will not be considered. “

While it’s true that a person with a lot of followers will be more successful, you could potentially have a better chance of your book becoming a best seller. Too often, likes don’t lead to sales. This is a problem in itself.

It all has to do with being fixated and obsessed with social media metrics. They should be considered insignificant when compared to other measures of one’s own effort.

Bailey asked, “Can sales be a measure of a salesperson’s success?” “Yes.” Sure. Yes sir. Can the number of books published measure a professor’s contribution? Possibly. But can social media followers measure someone’s impact? No. No. Never.