Time for a social media reality check in 2025: followers don’t matter any more.
For years, brands have treated follower counts like trophies. You’d see companies proudly announce, “We hit 10,000 followers!” as if that number alone meant success.
Now, that’s not to say you should ignore the loyal customers who consistently engage with your brand. They’re valuable, and nurturing those relationships still matters. But when it comes to growth, visibility, and impact, social media success isn’t about how many people hit “follow.” It’s about how many people actually see, engage with, and act on your content.
Followers Don’t Matter. Content Does
Not long ago, the strategy was straightforward. You would grow your follower base first, then market to that audience. But that model doesn’t hold up any more. Social platforms now operate on an interest-first system. Posts are no longer shown to followers just because they’re on your list, they’re shown to people the algorithm believes will care, regardless of whether they’ve ever heard of you.
That means a brand with only 500 followers can rack up tens of thousands of views on a strong post, while another with 50,000 followers might barely register if their content falls flat.
Why Followers Don’t Matter for Growth
This shift may feel strange at first, especially for brands that have invested years into growing their social pages but the new system actually creates more opportunities for small brands to make a big impact. A single smart post—a quick demo, a behind-the-scenes clip, or a relatable pain point—can land your brand in front of thousands of people who had never heard of you the day before.
Imagine a boutique clothing shop with under 1,000 followers. One video of a staff member showing how to style an outfit earns 20,000 views and dozens of new customers. Meanwhile, a major retailer with 80,000 followers posts a product photo that barely makes a ripple. The size of the following didn’t matter. The content did.
Which brand actually won in that moment? The one that created content people cared enough to watch.
What Brands Should Do Differently
So if the follower count doesn’t matter any more, what does? Content that connects. Every post should capture attention quickly, deliver something useful or entertaining, and encourage people to take action, whether that’s sharing with a friend, leaving a comment, or checking out your brand.
The good news is you don’t have to play it safe. If one style of content isn’t working, you can change your approach without worrying about disappointing a “base” of followers. The algorithm rewards relevance, freshness, and engagement, not repetition for the sake of it.
That’s why it’s common to see videos from the same creator over and over without ever hitting the follow button. For brands, this means visibility is tied directly to the relevance of your content. A strong post has the power to build brand awareness even among people who have never interacted with you before.
Stop Looking at Followers and Start Looking at Impressions
If you really want to know how your brand is performing on social media, forget the follower count and open up your analytics. Impressions—the number of times your content was actually seen—tell you far more about your visibility and growth than the vanity metrics everyone gets stuck on.
When you review your analytics, don’t just ask, “How many followers did we gain this month?” Instead, look at whether your posts are reaching beyond your existing audience. Are people watching all the way through? Are they sharing, saving, or commenting? Those insights show whether your content is working.
Here’s the truth: you could gain 100 new followers in a week, but if your posts are only being seen by your existing audience, your brand isn’t really growing. On the other hand, even if your follower count doesn’t budge, increasing impressions and engagement means you’re expanding your reach and connecting with more potential customers.
Why Working With 3SIXTY Marketing Solutions Can Make Your Brand’s Social Media Content Reach the Right Audience
At 3SIXTY Marketing Solutions, we help brands stop chasing numbers that don’t matter and start focusing on what does. A large audience that doesn’t engage won’t grow your business. What matters is creating content that earns attention, sparks conversation, and ultimately drives results.
That doesn’t mean those loyal customers who always like, share, or comment on your posts aren’t important, they are. Building and keeping that trust is what makes a brand sustainable. But the real opportunity for growth comes from content that reaches beyond your base and gets discovered by new audiences every day.
That’s where we come in. We focus on making sure your content is built for the way social media works now — optimized for reach, designed to resonate, and positioned to put your brand in front of the right people. Instead of chasing vanity metrics, we’ll help you measure success by how often your brand shows up and how effectively that content turns into leads or customers.
In today’s world, followers aren’t the goal. Relevance is. And if you’re ready to stop worrying about follower counts and start focusing on content that actually works, 3SIXTY Marketing Solutions is here to make it happen. Contact us at 647-250-1494, or book a free consultation.
