What (Not) to Do When You Lose Followers
I once lost a thousand followers in one month. Crazy, right? My reaction resembled something akin to rejection. Except it was deeper than that. It was the pain of being rejected publicly in front of others.
I could recall one other time that felt similar.
The summer before my sophomore year of high school, I tried out for the Gilroy High School cheerleading squad. I had prepared for try-outs all year and was certain I was going to make Varsity, even as a sophomore. I had all of the elements one needed: a back handspring, a sharp choreographed routine with the performance facial expressions to match, and the confidence of having years of cheerleading experience under my belt.
On the day of try-outs, I gave it my all.
I belted the cheers from my stomach, performed my back handspring flawlessly, and danced with all the drama and charisma I could muster. Even though I cheered my heart out, I couldn't help but notice the judges' faces were flat. I tried not to let it bother me, but it was all I could think about as my mom picked me up and drove me home that day.
The next day, the results were posted on the bulletin board on the gym doors.
I approached with uneasiness, hoping to see my name on the list. I checked the Varsity roster first, nothing. I scanned the Junior Varsity roster second, and there it was. My name in black writing: Anna Vatuone. Overwhelmed with disappointment, I began sobbing uncontrollably as I ran back to my mom's car. I could barely breathe, barely articulate the words to tell her. I was devastated. Any sophomore would have been thrilled to make the team, but not me.
I wondered if I should have cheered differently, if my facial expressions were annoying or overplayed, or if I should have worn something better to make me stand out more. The worst part of all was that my peers had witnessed me fail. They knew my ambition to make Varsity, and had seen how hurt I was when I didn’t.
I thought about quitting the cheerleading team, but I loved it too much to not participate.
So I kept going and became the JV Cheerleading Captain, determined to make our team the best that Gilroy High School had ever seen. It just so happened that we got a new coach a few weeks later. She was everything I aspired to be. Disciplined, energetic, warm, and ridiculously talented. She became my mentor, and taught me everything there was to know about cheerleading.
One day, at the end of the year, after the dozens of football and basketball games were over, after the routines had been completed, she told me,“You know, Anna, you should have made Varsity. But it’s a good thing you didn’t. It made you work that much harder.”
I'll never forget it. It turned out to be the best year of cheerleading I ever had.
Personal Branding Tip
While losing followers is a bit different than not making the cheerleading team, the feeling of rejection is universal. Here’s what NOT to do if you lose followers:
Hide Yourself — This is not the time to back down and stop posting. This is the time to rise up and make your content that much better.
Abort Mission — This is not the time to start meddling with your content strategy. If you are constantly changing your content to appease other people, you lose your personal style and identity. You become a puppet, creating for others, instead of yourself.
Track Obsessively — This is not the time to keep checking the numbers on your profile. As far as your concerned, losing followers is a “non issue.”
When you’re living your life right, you’re facing rejection constantly. When you are posting according to your values, you can expect to lose followers. This is why it’s so important to have a clear vision for your personal brand that truly reflects what you value.
At the end of the day, losing followers is a good thing. It means you’re that much closer to finding the right people who are going to LOVE your content. Keep going! This could be your best year yet.
Personal Question
What would happen if you stopped trying to get people to like you? What would you do differently? What would you create if you already had one million people watching?
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