Follower Counts Don’t Pay Bills

Follower counts feel productive. They are easy to see. Easy to compare. Easy to celebrate.

They are also mostly useless.

In 2026, the number of people who follow you is one of the least important signals in your business. It looks impressive. It sounds impressive. It does not pay invoices.

The real metric is quieter.

It is your engagement to customer ratio.

How many real conversations are you having?
How many of those turn into a visit, a call, or a walk through your door?
How many of those become paying customers?

That is the work.

Likes do not build relationships. Views do not create trust. Viral posts rarely create loyal customers. They create noise, attention, and then they disappear.

Businesses are not built on attention. They are built on relationships.

A DM that turns into a proper conversation matters more than a post that gets shared by strangers. A customer who comes back matters more than a spike in reach. A short exchange that leads to a sale beats a thousand likes every time.

Vanity metrics tell you how visible you are.
Relationship metrics tell you how viable you are.

When you shift your focus, something interesting happens.

You stop chasing what other people say success looks like. You stop posting for the algorithm. You stop trying to be viral. You start being useful. You start being clear. You start speaking to people who are actually in a position to buy from you.

If your following grows after that, fine. That is a side effect. Not the goal.

Growth that comes from clarity sticks.
Growth that comes from noise fades.

Real relationships lead to real revenue.
Everything else is distraction dressed up as progress.

Stop counting followers.
Start counting conversations.
Start counting customers.