15 Types of Social Media Fans and Followers

Posted on June 6th, 2025 by Quertime Writer in Social Media

What is the one thing all your social media followers and fans have in common? Quite simply, they follow you across your different social media accounts. In many instances, this is where the similarity ends. Your social media fans can range greatly – from fans who re-pin, Like and retweet your posts at every opportunity, to the furious ‘fans’ who follow you across various platforms to share their negative customer experience.

By gaining a greater understanding of the different types of consumers of your social media posts, you can form a solid strategy to generate engaging content. Hitting the right note with your posts is crucial to get your followers to take action and share, like, comment and repost your content.

In the age of social media marketing, where brands are always chasing the elusive viral post, making the most of various social platforms to raise awareness and increase fan following is crucial to building a loyal customer base. But as a modern, forward thinking brand, you must have noted that your social media fans and followers have different manners of communicating. So let’s take a closer look at 15 types of social media fans and followers, and what they mean for your business on social media.

1. The Loyal Fan

A fan for life

This is one of the fans that every brand should yearn and aspire to attract. Key characteristics of this type of social media fan include:

They will recommend you to their family and friends, both online and offline.
They provide you with both insightful criticism and value-adding praise.
They will defend you against angry social media posts, rants and fans.

One way to harness the power of this type of follower is to recognise their loyalty with appreciation gifts, coupons, discounts and vouchers. Also use their positive comments across your numerous marketing channels and campaigns.

2. The Casual Liker

Finds genuine enjoyment in some of your posts

Social media is filled with these types of fans, because they are every type of consumer. Key characteristics of the Casual Liker are:

They connect with your brand because of past positive experiences or purchases.
Casual Likers want their friends to view them as a good source for great recommendations.
They are valuable in boosting your social visibility.

Engage the Casual Liker by developing engaging and creative posts about new and popular services and products, and ask these fans to share these posts.

3. The Quiet Follower

They’ll reach your posts, when it arrests their attention

The prospective customer – everyone wants to convert the Quiet Follower. Key characteristics of this social media fan include:

They know of your brand or company, but may not be a customer – yet.
Likes your brand because their acquaintances do.
Doesn’t cause any harm to your social media presence.

By creating appealing content like videos, images and polls, along with strong call-to-actions, you will succeed in engaging this coveted demographic.

4. The Deal Seeker

Always looking for a great deal!

This social media fan is always willing to scratch your back, if you’ll scratch theirs, so to speak. Key characteristics include:

Stays up-to-date with businesses through different social media platforms.
Makes daily purchase decisions based on value as opposed to loyalty.
They are a valuable source of new sales to your organisation.

Offer specials, deals and fan appreciation promotions to gain more shares, Likes and return business.

5. The Unhappy Customer

Vocal about bad experiences

This social media fan isn’t afraid to be vocal about bad experiences. Key aspects include:

Shares negative experiences they have with brands on social media channels.
Expects brands to respond to their issues – and soon.
These fans can affect your online reputation, perhaps in a negative way.

6. The Ranter

Always in search of a cause

This type of social media fan isn’t necessarily a customer, but has the potential to become one. Key aspects include:

They have strong opinions on personal issues.
Has the potential to become a consumer.
Referred to by some as being a ‘troll’.

Keep cool when dealing with The Ranter, and avoid fuelling conversations unrelated to your business. Never feed the trolls!

7. The Cheerleader

Loves everything you post

This is a great fan to have! Key aspects of The Cheerleader fan include:

They will like, share and comment on your posts, often from mobile devices.
They enter every promotion and contest.
They drive community growth while helping to build brand awareness online.

By giving your Cheerleaders content that is worth cheering about – like limited time offers that add value – they will make sure their friends and family will see it.

8. The Fakers

Won’t engage – no matter the effort.

Statistics show that one in ten Twitter accounts are fake, and there is an estimated 83 million fake Facebook accounts active today. Key aspect of The Fake follower include:

They are the worst social media fans your brand can have.
They never engage with your content, no matter the effort you put into it.
They are just numbers.

Don’t buy Fake followers from some portals or agencies, as they mean nothing for your brand.

9. Trendy Followers

Young and creative

Trendy followers are on top of the latest gadgets, fads and trends. They only engage with you if your brand provides them the ‘cool’ factor. Key aspects include:

They engage with trendy brands.
They are regarded as influencers among their peers.
They are always looking for great deals on the most popular products and items.

Keep posts short, to the point and value adding. Create posts that are highly informative, and Trendy Followers will happily share it with their networks.

Other Social Media Fans and Follower Types:

10. Choosy Followers

The choosy followers selectively follow the content and the pages they like. They usually follow only a few brands, influencers, or personalities in accordance with their interests, values, and preferences. They generally keep their feeds clear and unfollow pages that no longer serve a value. Choosy followers provide engaging content; that usually means thoughtful comments, shares, and direct interactions. Such followers appreciate great content and consistency; thus, they are a very good target audience for brands they respect. To keep choosy followers, businesses and influencers must supply curated content that’s engaging or informative or entertaining in their feeds, matching their audience’s preferences.

11. Sociable Followers

Those who have the highest sociability levels seek to socialize, interact, and become more familiar with the community. They actively leave comments, share, and discuss issues; thus, they are key players in boosting social media traffic. They enjoy making contacts, reacting to posts, and initiating discussions on hot topics. A following of sociable people can contribute to increased brand reach by tagging friends, live streams, and user-generated content. These followers could also be an asset to brands and influencers through interactive experiences: responding to their comments and posting something shareable and engaging enough to foster a discussion. They can interact through different means: polls, Q&A sessions, and contests.

12. Undecided Followers

The undecided followers are those who had been to some page or brand but are still on the fence about continuing to engage with them. They may have started following out of sheer curiosity, a recommendation from a friend, or because they saw something that sparked their interest. However, they have not really invested into that yet. They do little, and they can very easily unfollow the account in case the content they expect was not of a decent quality. In order to convert the undecided followers into loyal fans, brands have to produce exciting, engaging, and personal content that caters to the interests and needs of each of them. Targeted posts, special offers, and other engagement tools help them stay interested and convert them into active, life-long fans.

13. Career Minded Followers

Career-oriented followers use social media mainly to build professional networks, to gain learning opportunities, and career advancement. They will follow industry leaders, professional organizations, and career-oriented pages to find out insights, job opportunities, and expert advice. They will engage in posts that are insightful in business trends, development in skill sets, and motivating posts. LinkedIn and Twitter are two of their major resources. To capture and maintain career-minded followers, brands and professionals need to share articles that are informative, career advice, and thought-leadership. They can maintain their interest by interacting with them through networking events, mentorship programs, and discussions on career development.

14. Attention Seekers

Attention seekers are those who actively engage in order to be noticed and gain recognition, likes, and comments. They often post, comment, and engage in the latest trending topics so that they may gain exposure. The action itself could be positive or negative, depending on the intentions behind it. They get validity from their shares, mentions, or interaction with influencers and brands. Even though they are good for engagement, it’s not assured they are 100 percent loyal. Managing attention seekers is balancing by brands how they should reply to their actions so that it doesn’t monopolize the conversation. Brands can use their existence to further themselves by valuing their input and pushing authentic engagement.

15. Influencers

Influencers are simply those users of social media who have some kind of influence in opinion-making, trendsetting, and buying habits of people. They are specialized in creating engaging content for a specific niche in the fields of fashion, technology, fitness, and lifestyle. They provide recommendations, which are important in influencing the target audience, and thus are very good for companies trying to expand their market reach. Influencers engage their audience by uploading videos, posting on social media, or collaborating. Influencers make money from their influence in several ways: from sponsorships, collaborations with brands, and affiliate marketing. For building successful relationships with them, brands should ensure genuine collaborations with them, bring something valuable for them, and align their personal brand with interests of their audiences.

Conclusion

Building a social media following is a process. Each of these types of social media fans and followers are attracted to your content, your social media posts and your brand’s overall online persona, for many different reasons.

In order to attract, engage and retain followers, you first have to establish which follower type your business should be targeting. Hopefully these insights will help make your decision easier, and more importantly, help you to offer your fans the content they crave.

Author: Louis

Louis is a social media junkie, currently firmly in denial. He enjoys staying up-to-date with the latest trends, and is always in pursuit of creating that elusive viral post. He writes SEO blog posts and content for Archetype Copywriting when he’s not spending his time exploring the social realm.