Kirsten Peek | @kirsten_peek

We all have a family member or friend who just is not “with it” when it comes to social media. They have profiles, but they don’t post, share or engage in any noticeable way. These are called ghost followers. Scammers and bots are also sometimes called ghost followers, but we are just talking about our well-meaning friends and followers who appear inactive.

So how does this translate into the business equation?

The goal of any business social media account is to engage and interact with followers and fans. This can be done by asking interactive and relevant questions of your community to keep followers engaged, using hashtags to reach a wider audience, and tracking clicks to links. According to a study done in 2014, however, about 40 percent of Twitter users were using Twitter only to follow other accounts, posting no content of their own. About 23 percent of adult Internet users have Twitter accounts.

Meanwhile, 71 percent of adult Internet users have a Facebook account. According to a recent study, 65 percent of Facebook users actively share and post, rather than just watching other accounts, or ghosting.

The difference between Facebook and Twitter usage illustrates the possibility that certain demographics, particularly seniors, have privacy concerns when it comes to engaging on social media. Facebook has been around longer, and privacy features may be considered more comprehensive. For other users, Twitter in particular is a great venue for receiving information about a business or the news, but they do not care to engage in the social aspect of this platform.

While it may not always be apparent and certainly isn’t easy to track, many ghost followers are logging into their social media accounts and are receiving the information that pages and businesses they follow are putting out there. So maybe your business has an outwardly quiet crowd, but this should not discourage you because many of these users hear you. Continue to put out great content, and the ROI will come.