When I was 8, I was given a boiled egg to carry around for a week. My class was reading Mr. Popper’s Penguins, and my teacher used this as an opportunity to teach us about responsibility. We decorated our eggs like penguins and were instructed to carry them everywhere as though they were our baby.

I was elated. I couldn’t stop showing my penguin off to others. I even made it a water bed by using a water balloon. I was so smart and clever and responsible.

Until I dropped my egg.

I sobbed and sobbed, and begged my mom to make me a new egg. I simply could NOT be the only child in class to kill their egg! I couldn’t be the only one to show up empty handed to school!

Clearly, I was an over sensitive child. My mom, being a mom, rolled her eyes and made me a new egg. Then she confided that she knew at least two of my friends had done the same thing. Their moms had also doctored up some new eggs for them.

To this day, I still remember feeling it wasn’t right that I cheated. I’m sure the teacher knew that it was likely a large percentage of the class had. It didn’t change the unease I felt about it. It was one of my first lessons that responsibility is hard. It was also one of my most memorable lessons in the unique joy of doing things honestly.

This lesson applies to how I still manage my social media presences. I don’t buy followers. I believe it’s worth it to take the time and do the work to earn your followers. After all, followers who have been bought are much less likely to engage with you, almost impossible to convert into sales and are often bots.

With that said, I do think Facebook ads can play a part in a healthy social media presence. There is, after all, a difference between buying followers and advertising. But advertising alone cannot convert followers into sales. Advertising alone also cannot develop relationships. For that, you need to have an active, engaged and real presence on the platforms you manage and, as in real life, excellent customer service.

How do you gain new followers?