Two Queens of Social Media, Katy Perry and Shakira, show us how it's done.
Tameca L Coleman
In social media, a lot can be learned from mega-stars. Take Shakira, for example. Just last week, news broke that she had surpassed 100 million likes on her Facebook page by being personable and by interacting regularly with her fans. This event made her literally the most popular person (and brand) on Facebook, surpassing some of the most longstanding household names like Coca-Cola (with just over 86 million Facebook likes) and RedBull (with just over 44 millions Facebook likes). Although the artist did not beat Facebook itself in number (which rang in on Monday morning to the tune of just over 161 million likes), news reported last week that Shakira’s page was second to none, with the exception of one of Facebook’s own. That’s pretty impressive, especially since many artists whose names are mentioned more in the media don’t even come close to these numbers. On Monday, July 21, The Telegraphreported that the artists who came closest were Eminem (almost 92 million), Rihanna (89 million), and Katy Perry (72 million), though they still lagged quite a bit behind Shakira.
This landmark in social media seems to beg the question of who might be the queen or king of other social media platforms, such as, perhaps, Twitter:
Looking at a list of Twitter’s top 100 most followed accounts, gives the answer. While Katy Perry’s Facebook page racked in only 72,571,699 Facebook likes by July 21, her Twitter account on Monday topped the list. Katy Perry’s Twitter beat Lady Gaga’s, YouTube’s, Barack Obama’s, and Justin Beiber’s in numbers with 54,574,261 followers by Monday. Shakira’s Twitter account only had about half that amount of followers. No one can win them all or should, for that matter, according to many social media pundits.
As hard as some artists, like Kim Kardashian (whose Facebook and Twitter numbers hit on Monday in the range of about 22 Million) try to nab more attention by way of stunts and ploys, it's really social interaction that increases a following. This is a perennial bit of advice from many social media gurus. “Build a relationship,” writes Drew Hendricks, a contributor to Forbes Magazine. “Create a community of insiders,” writes Stephanie Walden on Mashable. Writes Wendy Maynard of LKR Social Media Marketing,
Your customers and prospects want an opportunity to get to know you, so go ahead and “let your hair down” a bit more. Show people the fun side of yourself and don’t be afraid to get a bit personal. Step out of your comfort zone and take some risks! Even the big brands are learning that “unexpected bursts of humanity” make you stand out.
The Queens of Facebook and Twitter seem to take these things into account and their social media results are proof. Shakira’s Facebook often features personal videos to fans, pictures from her own life, as well as notes mentioning and celebrating personal landmarks with photographs from her point of view (giving followers a sneak peak or behind-the-scenes look). Katy Perry’s Twitter account does the same, with wit and personality. To boot, she retweets and frequently gives shouts out to her followers.
*originally published on the now defunct Examiner.com
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