Are you still using follower count to define social media success?

I have some good news and bad news. People often prefer to get the bad news over with, so I’ll break it to you as gently as I can: No one cares about your follower account. You okay? All right, ready for the good news? No one cares about your follower account!

Why Follower Count Is Becoming a Vanity Metric

A month ago, Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri (remember, don’t let him break your heart) reiterated what he’s been saying since April, data shows people aren’t interested in constantly seeing content from people they follow and a large follower count is not a key indicator of a healthy, successful account. This is a driving factor in Meta’s decision to establish a TikTok-inspired AI curation system responsible for 50% of the content we see on its platforms.

Why is it bad news? Most flagship university accounts have invested time and energy in building an audience. Through that process, we have built a community of students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents and other supporters. This collection of “people” was the core of our operation. We used this number to gauge our successes and our shortcomings, but now it seems like it is rapidly becoming a vanity metric.

AI-Curated Feeds: Expanding Your Content’s Lifespan

But don’t fret! Remember how I mentioned this was good news? We live in a time when our reach is not limited to those who know us. Because the system is based on interest and not chronological order, your content’s lifespan has the potential to expand. Look at your FYP page on TikTok or your feed on LinkedIn and see how long it takes before you come across content more than a month old because it’s popular and matches your interests.

There was a time when you posted a picture on Instagram and within 24 hours the post was dead unless someone ripped it and reposted it. The life cycle of a piece of content is completely different now. And that’s a good thing!

Penn State’s Viral TikTok Success

For instance, two months ago on the Penn State TikTok channel we posted our most successful video ever, amassing more than 11 million views. Of those 11 million views, 99% still don’t follow us, and 76% were first-time viewers of our content. Despite not following us, roughly 24% have seen our videos before and will see them again. That’s a little more than 2.6 million returning viewers despite us only having 166,000 followers on the app. 

Funny enough, this video also helped us gain 27,000 new followers (whatever that means in 2024). And, if you think this is an exception because the post went viral, 71% of the 22,000 post views were from non-followers.

Takeaways for an Effective Social Media Strategy

• The bigger the post, the higher the chance you have of reaching an audience beyond your own. Don’t cater to the unknown though, you should still focus your content strategy on what resonates with your core audience. That’s your base, don’t lose them.
• On Instagram, story posts are your friends! If you have an event coming up or you want to post content that has a limited shelf-life focus on stories. 
• Follower count is becoming less important as more digital platforms emphasize AI-curated content. With that said, platforms like Instagram (close friends and broadcast channels) and YouTube (notification bell) give audiences the option to be notified when you post. Just because people say “followers don’t matter” doesn’t make it 100% true 100% of the time.
• Engagement is king, just make sure it’s active engagement. Likes, comments, shares and saves all matter, but pay special attention to shares and saves.
• Remember the point is for content to last as long as possible. Try to dedicate some time to making content that can be just as relevant in two weeks as it is today. 
• Algorithms are meant to show people what they like to see. Just because they don’t follow you doesn’t mean they won’t continuously see your posts, and just because they follow you doesn’t mean they’ll ever see your posts again. 
• Social media is constantly evolving, and you should never deal with absolutes. Follower counts may be falling in popularity today, but tomorrow that could all change.

Well, that’s all for now. Good luck and may your content echo in the halls of eternity!