F  L  A  U  N  T

 Loyal customers are the lifeline of any business. That's even more true for social media stars, as their loyal customers are the fans and followers who keep up with their every post. [Jen Blanco](https://www.instagram.com/thejenblanco/) has been in the Instagram modeling industry for only a year, but already she has grown a large following on various platforms. So, how did she manage to gain so many fans in such a short amount of time? Jen uses the following five strategies to stand out in a crowded online space. **_Building Friendly Relationships_** Many social media stars would agree that there is nothing more important than the amount of followers a person has. However, Jen argues that the number of followers one has is simply a vanity metric; without proper engagement, it's like they don't really exist. "If you have a thousand followers who regularly engage with your content, they actively share your thoughts and talk about you," Jen says. "You can have millions of followers, but if they ignore you and your content, that ‘follow’ button they clicked is virtually worthless." **_Showing the Human Side_** Jen adds that one of the worst mistakes one can make on social media is to come off as a faceless person who has no substance. "The time of robot-like brands is long gone. Fans and followers expect to see your human side," she says. "They want to see that I have quirks and habits just like they do, and that surely helps with the bonding process." **_Live Chat is the Key_** Jen continues to explain that she uses live chat and conversation to build relationships with her followers: "Social media is all about building that personal connection," she says. "I try to develop friendly relationships and treat my fans as my friends, not some faceless customers. There is no better way to do that than through direct communication with fans via live chat." **_Engage the Comment Section with Questions_** This next technique allows influencers to hold onto their follower's attention for a bit longer. "\[A\] simple emoji or 'Thanks!' is a conversation stopper," Jen points out. "However, a question like 'What do you think about X?' keeps \[followers\] engaged and \[keeps the\] conversation going." **_Staying Active_** The last important strategy Jen touches on is that one should always keep their social media accounts active and filled with content. Inactive social feeds are simply a bad look. "Existing followers don't engage with old content, and without fresh content, you can't attract new ones," says Jen. "One of the easiest ways to keep your accounts fresh and active is to follow the latest trends, news, and hashtags, or whatever the latest memes might be." Finally, Jen adds that a lot of hard work goes into maintaining her status as an Instagram star, as she has to keep her mind sharp at all times to stay innovative and creative about her social media engagement.