Teens Meet Outreach

I created my first account on Instagram a few weeks after creating my blog. I wanted to have a platform to promote the links to the articles I put up. A few weeks later, I got discouraged. People were not copying the link and pasting it on their browser. I thought, was I using the wrong hashtags? Or maybe, the platform was wrong?

Then I discovered @instablog9ja. It is an Instagram-based blog. I thought this is a nice idea. Rather than getting them go to a blog which still has .blogspot.com behind it, let’s do this. First things first, I followed celebrities, at least I could be reporting news on them. Few weeks later, I discovered that all I gave was stale news.

I dumped that account. Easy, right? I created another one. This one, as a creative writer. First of all, I followed writers. I put up poems that I wrote and with my inconsistency, I’ve realized the importance of “who you follow on social media”

Is Who You Follow Important?

Social Media is beyond socializing. It is for connecting and interacting. And who do you connect with? Those you follow. The category of people whose posts you can view, like, retweet, comment and even save for future references.

Proverbs 13:20 MSG says, “Become wise by walking with the wise; hang out with fools and watch your life fall to pieces.”

According to this article, Preteens and Teens spend at least five hours on Social Media every day. That means we hang out more on social media than we do in the real world now. Consequently, we ought to be careful of those we follow on Instagram, Twitter and other social media platforms.

Michelle Phan, a popular star who brags of more than 8 million subscribers on YouTube, agrees on how important your following is. She says, “Part of having a social media strategy is being smart about whom you follow. Ask yourself who is important to your company or brand. Figure out who needs to know you exist.”

Who Do You Follow?

Now that you know the importance of who you follow, who then should you follow?

1. Follow Those Who Interest You

Who you choose to follow on Twitter or befriend on Facebook will vary over time. For example, I switched from following celebrities to writers. People will change. That’s fine. What they choose to share will evolve and what you want to see evolves.

Your interests change over time. That’s one of the reasons why Twitter trends often do not last beyond a month. People move on. The books you read, the songs you listen to, the movies you watch, they all push you towards a world of new interests. After watching Game of Thrones, some people are inclined towards dragons and learning about them and start following dragon pages.

So, follow companies, celebrities, brands, artists, entrepreneurs that interest you. Even Poets and Graphic designers can be found on social media.
Don’t forget to follow your family, friends, be it classmates or senior ones.

2. Follow the Good Examples

Find people that will enrich your day, your thinking, your work and your perspective. If you want to learn a skill, look for those who are good at it and follow them. Interact with their posts, comment, like. You can even ask questions.

The more diverse your influencers, the more well-rounded your perspectives will be. Accommodate your mentors, peers, clients and future prospects. Follow brands that share scholarship tips, internship offers and quality advice on societal issues.

Beware of those you follow because they followed you first. Go through at least five posts of those you want to follow. Never follow because of only one post that speaks to you. Also, don’t be afraid to unfollow when your interests evolve.

I will be ending this article with a quote from Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani activist for female education and the youngest Nobel Prize laureate. She said, “What is interesting is the power and the impact of social media. So we must try to use social media in a good way.”

Using social media well starts by following the right people.

Related: Who Do You Follow on Social Media?

Also Read: Social Media is Beyond Just Socializing

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How do you base your decision on who to follow on social media? Feel free to share in the comments below.

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