Why Follower Count Isn’t the Metric You Think It Is

A common worry among small business owners? “My follower count isn’t growing — should I be concerned?” Here’s a truth many marketers now agree on: Follower numbers matter less than engagement and audience quality.

What to Know

Platforms like Facebook and Instagram have shifted how content gets shown.

It’s no longer about having a huge follower count — content can get reach and engagement even from smaller accounts.

What Really Matters

People know when they’re being sold to. And in 2026, people are very skeptical of any content that they see (even if it’s a cute kitten! AI slop is everywhere). When looking at your social media metrics, focus on the content that people care about. This will look one of two ways.

• Engagement Rates (Comments, Shares and Saves)

  • Similar to a lie detector test - engagement rates aren’t going to tell you everything you need to know - but it will certainly point you in the right direction. Keep an eye on any content that has extensive comments and shares (or saves on Instagram.

• Impressions

  • This metric tells you how many people saw your content for a reasonable amount of time. With Reach, many platforms give you a larger number because they can reasonably say that X amount of people scrolled past your content. Great, but did they absorb the content? This is where impressions tell a better story. An impression typically captures an individual that spent several seconds on the post. It did enough to stop the scroll.

Broaden Your Marketing Efforts

While business owners may be split on whether email newsletters are worth their time - consider who is on that list.

Social media reaches the masses, but your curated email newsletter list are typically individuals that you know on some level. You already have a relationship with them. We recommend using your email marketing campaigns as an “ICYMI (in case you missed it)” service. Use the best content from your social media feed in an email newsletter so your message is delivered directly to your people.

Here, the metrics that matter is your open rate, and your unsubscribe rate. You’ll always have a few unsubscribes, but this number should diminish over time.

Bottom Line: Follower count isn’t dead — but there are better ways to measure your connection to your audiences.