One of the most exciting metrics to watch on social media is your follower count. From Instagram to Facebook and Tik Tok, social media platforms display your follower count in a highly visible area on your profile so that everyone on the platform can see how many followers you have. This prominent display of followers on social media has led to many brands and individuals focusing heavily on their number of followers as a primary success metric. But how valuable is the number of followers you have on social media, and more specifically, does the number of Instagram followers you have matter? In this blog, we’ll discuss the benefits and importance of Instagram followers and how they can impact your brand’s success.
How Important Is Your Number of Instagram Followers?
Despite social media platforms like Instagram prominently displaying your number of followers, in most circumstances, the number of Instagram followers you have is not the most important metric. In fact, many social media and digital marketing companies refer to the number of followers as a vanity metric, which is a metric that makes you look good to others but ultimately does not help you understand your own performance or inform strategy.
It’s important to note that just because a certain metric does not help you understand your performance does not mean it’s not valuable. To better understand why this is the case, we need to look at how the number of Instagram followers you have impacts your performance.
How Does Your Number of Instagram Followers Impacts Performance?
Your follower count is crucial in understanding your engagement rate, which is the number of engagements you get on a specific post. Engagements come in the form of likes, comments, shares, video views, link clicks, etc., and use your follower count to calculate the total percentage of engagement given your number of followers. In short, the engagement rate shows what percentage of your followers you are connecting with.
A high engagement rate means that your content is resonating well with your audience, and also means that your potential reach, or the number of people who see your post, is much greater. A good engagement rate is typically in the range of two percent, although some brands have engagement rates as high as 20% on Instagram.
Why Does Engagement Rate Matter?
Higher engagement rates mean your content is resonating with your audience. This is important because the foundation of any content strategy and the primary reason individuals follow accounts on Instagram is because of the type of content they are creating. Using your engagement rate, or the number of engagement actions a post receives relative to your total number of followers, you can determine if your content strategy is resonating with your audience or if you need to reassess what type of content you post, how often you post, etc.
By focusing on content strategy and building your social media engagement, your brand can benefit from a better marketing reach, greater brand awareness, and improved ROI.
How Do I Grow My Follower Count & Engagement Rate?
Developing a concrete and actionable content strategy is the easiest way to grow your follower count and engagement rate, but the truth is, that’s easier said than done. Developing a content strategy for a growing brand can be like throwing darts blindfolded. You know the general direction of the board, but only by hitting it a few times can you identify where and how you need to be throwing the dart. The same is true with content strategy. By testing different content types and learning what resonates and what doesn’t, you can build a strategy that focuses on content themes and types your audience likes. In doing so, you will increase your following, engagement rate, and brand success.
If you’re ready to grow your social media audience with engaging content, contact us to learn how BuzzShift can help.
About BuzzShift
BuzzShift is a digital growth strategy agency with a focus on mid-market, scaling DTC Brands. By combining the ideologies of branding, performance marketing, and retention agency, we are able to create memorable experiences with measurable results, and build long-term success for our clients with scalable, sustainable growth. Learn more about BuzzShift.
