The Art of Following Others on WA
I have noticed in my experience here at WA that some people try to follow as many others as possible, while some individuals seek to make a real connection with others.
What's your process for hitting the "follow" button?
A little background on me, I'm an overachieving competitive person (just against myself), so give me something like a "rank" to increase and, watch out, I'm going to work on increasing it!
One component that I learned was that important to things like rank here at WA was interactions with other as well as growing your network. So I set out to do that, from day one. However, I want to make connections with people, not just increase a network rank number. I'm here to learn from others after all, and that takes authentic communication.
So I made a conscious decision on how I would approach the art of following others here on WA.
- Never just silent follow someone.
- I mean, don't click that follow button without at least putting a few words together to say hello and that you want to connect.
- The "Follow Back".
- Thank the person who has followed you (they didn't have to) and do them the courtesy of following them back. Tell them you are following them back as well.
- When following or following back, make it personal!
- I follow a lot of new people or people who have just opted in for Premium and when I reach out, I always introduce myself as another Newbie (it's authentic and relate able), and then I always offer help.
- Take 30 seconds to look at someone's bio and pick up on something they are passionate about.
- You don't want to make the personal component just about you, people love to be complimented (genuinely). So find something that strikes a cord from their bio and call it out. Maybe it's where they live and you want to travel there, their passion or hobby you admire, their positive attitude, whatever. Make it something they can actively connect to.
As much as I love seeing my rank increase from day to day, it's more about creating and fostering a caring community here. No one is too busy to take 30 seconds to craft a personal "hello" to another.
Think about how you would greet someone who you meet in person. Do the same here!
Remember, you don't know what's going on in their lives and your follow and comment to them may just be the thing that makes their day or gives them the encouragement they need!
Best wishes for everyone's success here!
Christina
Recent Comments
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Thank you! I'm glad this post resonated with you. I really appreciate the compliment of following me, allow me to return the favor! :)
From your bio it sounds like you've got your hands full with homeschooling your kids (kudos to you for doing that by the way!), so I definitely want to follow along with your journey and see your insights along the way!
Best wishes to you!
Christina
Christina
This is awesome
When following a person, I always read their bio and it is a source of great wonder also. It is like looking in a big mirror with many reflecting areas...
For some, like me, language is a barrier... and reading all those stories and blogs is a source of daily inspiration that lifts me up...
To you
❤️
I love that you brought this up! Bios are a great source of inspiration and sometimes it just takes those 30 seconds or so when you are reading someone's bio to shift your mood or brighten your outlook.
We are fortunate here to have many people with fantastic outlooks, varied life experience, and tons of knowledge. Getting to know them makes us better as individuals and as community.
I think we all have differing ideas about ranking on WA. I start out by following those in the top 200. They are the ones who have gained some experience here,
I also followed anybody who commented on my posts. Now I follow new members and premium upgrades on a daily basis.
Derek
I agree, everyone approaches ranking at WA differently and its not to say that adding to the network of people you are connected to is a must. For me, it's definitely a quality over quantity thing.
For me personally, I like to welcome others who have just joined or those who have opted in for premium as a "pay it forward" mentality because I received such a warm welcome when I joined (not long ago at all).
I agree that following those in the top 200 has a lot of benefit because of their experience, as well as those who have invested in commenting on your posts.
I think overall, all those things help develop a stronger community were we can all learn from each other :)
That’s something I to had in my head .i think intentions are good but buy the time most get back to you , we are deep into our work . Timing I believe would be our biggest issue. Sometimes I just totally get what a person is saying and the follow button is a representation of FB like button . Socialy trained
Yes, I agree we have all be quite socially trained to just hit the button, like on other social media platforms, and like something, follow someone back, without actually having to make a connection. I feel like the community aspect of WA helps change that. People here really do want to help and support others, and I have been the recipient of much help and advice. Its those kinds of real connections that I think make a difference!
Ohh my God I knew this would be you my favorite Christina. Thanks for that insight.
Your number one fun,
Allan.
I'm glad this could be helpful Allan! you are very welcome and thank you for the kind words!
Hi Christina
That's pretty much what I do. I followed a few of the top rankers :-) and I followed some new members - someone said this helps your rank but I did it just to be sociable :-) - and anyone who posts something interesting that I see but you could spend your whole life doing this and how many people can you realistically interact with? Some members have 10K's of Followers.
So I'm a bit more selective now although I always follow back anyone who follows me.
Ian
I think that's a good policy. You don't want to follow people just to try and achieve a number. It's really about establishing connections that will lead to learning, community, etc. It's not quantity so much as quality!
Great advise Christina. I find myself getting in a hurry sometimes and just doing a quick thank you or just follow back. I need to slow down and put a little more effort into connecting. Thank you for your insight.
Best Regards,
Gary
There are times I have to give myself the same advice. We all get in a rush, but when we slow down and actually make worth while connections, that's when we really start to succeed. In my humble opinion at least :)
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Lottie17 I like your advice, I've been following you for a while now!
Hi Adrian! Thank you and I'm happy you got something positive from this. I've also been following you too :) and love how you are all about using this platform to expand your knowledge. That is a message we can all share in!