Quality not quantity is my key to managing my social networking profiles. An Instagram user reminded me about this recently.

This user commented on a post by my Instagram for Dummies publisher about the book. The user wondered how I’m an Instagram expert because I don’t have many followers. I only have 112 followers as of November 10, 2019.

I responded to the user by saying I believe in quality, not quantity. That is, I connect with others who are meaningful to me and my business.

The Process

I always remove a few connections a year usually because of posts I see from a connection in my news feeds. Some connections discuss the same issues constantly and so I don’t feel the need to stay connected. Others post about issues and topics I didn’t expect and don’t want to read in my news feed.

What’s more, I sift through my list of connections on all my social media profiles two or three times a year. I always find a few connections who I thought were meaningful when I added them.

The process reinforces my understanding of who I want as a connection. It also reinforces what I learned in the Think Big Program: connections are about exclusion, not inclusion. That means I need to set high standards and not spend my limited time working with people who can’t help me.

Your Mileage May Vary

The same is true of this blog. I don’t need a lot of readers. Instead, I prefer likes on my social media posts about my blog and comments in this blog.

I don’t recommend you adopt my approach. I think you should take your own approach because we’re all looking for meaning from our social interactions, online or not.

So, you’re free to choose your own approach, but I do recommend being self-aware when you take it. That way you’ll have a clearer path to finding what’s meaningful to you.