Amaan Surani, creator of @ScaryClip on Instagram, and founder and CEO of Slay Media LLC, had a brief chat with us today on what to refrain from on social media. According to Amaan, people try these popular “tricks” daily blindly hoping that they’ll help them grow their follow count, increase conversions, and boost engagement. Amaan Surani is here with us today to discuss which of these “methods” to avoid, and why to avoid them.

“Sit down and think about what niche you’d like to work with. I see people all the time with hundreds of thousands, sometimes millions, of followers changing their usernames, switching themes drastically, all just to follow a new trend. If your followers followed you for one thing, then stick with that. I personally would never change the niche of one of my social media accounts. This can lead to unfollows, confusion from your followers, and even getting reported. For example, if you’re a page with a million followers posting family-friendly content, your followers expect appropriate content from you. The last thing they’d want is for you to post something edgy or inappropriate.”

“‘It takes money to make money,’ is a true phrase. If you’re intending to excel on social media as a creator, influencer, or marketer, an investment can surely help boost and speed up your chances of succeeding. However, invest wisely. Do not invest in bots, fake engagement, and fake followers. People try this daily, either out of impatience or they simply believe that it’s the right thing to do. The leading platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, TikTok, and YouTube all have artificial intelligence that detects fraudulent activities such as this. If a platform notices you for engaging in such behavior, it can result in your account being deleted from the platform. Put yourself in the position of an audience member or follower, if what you’re doing turns you off as a follower, then don’t do it. That includes cheap tactics such as follow/unfollow. People who see results from a method like this need to understand that even if it works, it’s temporary. If someone follows you just because you followed them, chances are they’ll notice when you unfollow, and they’ll do the same in return. Instead, focus on being genuine and authentic. Earn yourself those followers that you desire.”

“Maintain consistency. Post multiple times a day, every day. But don’t overwhelm your followers. Remember, too much of anything can be dangerous. Don’t post consistently for a month, and then disappear for a week. You want your followers to know that you’re not here temporarily. Your goal should be to build a brand for yourself, where the people can count on you for appealing content, on a regular basis. If your intention is to go viral, it may happen overnight, it may not. That’s what’s great about going viral. However, it isn’t easy to accomplish. If you saw an account post a video that accumulated millions of views, don’t repost it. It’s already gone viral so chances are that it won’t go viral again. You need to be original. Aim at posting something that you made yourself. This way if it does get noticed, other accounts may repost it and credit you, leading to more followers on your account! That’s how growth is done. Do what it takes to get noticed, and don’t stop until you’ve done it. Hashtags are a crucial component in going viral, that you can use to your advantage. But don’t spam/abuse the hashtag feature. I personally like to add in a catchy, relatable caption and include 3-5 relevant hashtags below that caption on my TikTok accounts.”

“Don’t ignore an update. Keep up to speed with the newest trends and updates from the app you’re working with. If you’re on TikTok, for example, and a song is getting noticed, use that song in your next video. This can help you get discovered by people searching for content featuring that particular song. Social media is ever-changing, and it’s your job to be the first to discover what’s new. Pay attention to each update, and decipher how to utilize it to your advantage. Maybe set a reminder in your phone to sit down once a week for one hour, just to see what’s new. It’s important to build your analytics by understanding how the algorithm of the app works.”

“The most important point in this article, to me, is that your followers are everything. They’re the ones that are responsible for building your social media presence. Audiences may treat you like royalty, after accumulating millions of followers. I like to flip the script, and treat my followers like royalty. Without them, I wouldn’t be where I am right now. Engage with your followers, learn from them, even ask them what they think of your profile and what they’d like to see more/less of. Their feedback is crucial to your success.”

To keep up with Amaan Surani and his journey to the top, follow him on Instagram @abracadabra and Snapchat @AvalancheAmaan.