Here’s something that you might not be ready to hear, no one really cares about your “follower” count besides your ego, agents, PR firms and anyone who could or is making money off of you.
I know, I know. We've been conditioned to worship at the altar of vanity metrics. We refresh our analytics dashboards like slot machines, hoping for that dopamine hit of growth. But while we've been obsessing over numbers that look impressive in pitch decks, our actual communities have quietly shifted their priorities.
The people who matter—your real audience—your community are craving something entirely different in 2025.
They're tired of being treated like statistics in your growth strategy.
They want connection, not collections of hearts and likes.
The members of your community have different priorities these days here is what they consider is in…
Friendship is in...
Offline experience is in...
Printed storytelling is in...
Tangible community-building is in...
Your community doesn't want to be marketed to anymore. They want to be befriended. This means showing up consistently, remembering conversations, celebrating their wins, and genuinely caring about their struggles. It's the difference between broadcasting and being present.
Smart brands are already making this shift. Instead of scheduling 47 posts about their latest product launch, they're engaging in real conversations. They're sliding into DMs not to sell, but to check in. They're treating their community managers less like content machines and more like relationship builders.
The pandemic taught us that digital connection has limits. Now, people are hungry for real-world experiences that go beyond the screen. Your most engaged community members aren't necessarily the ones double-tapping every post—they're the ones silently watching who show up to your popup events, workshops, or are telling others about you when a question related to what you do comes up.
Now I’m not saying don’t abandon digital entirely. It means using your online presence as a bridge to meaningful offline moments. Think intimate gatherings over massive conferences. Local coffee chats over virtual webinars. The kind of experiences that create stories people actually want to share organically.
Real community isn't measured in follower counts or engagement rates. It's measured in how many people show up when someone needs help. How many connections are made between community members that have nothing to do with your brand. How many inside jokes develop. How many people consider each other actual friends.
This requires moving beyond broadcast-style social media toward platforms and spaces that facilitate genuine connection. Private groups, forums, regular video calls, collaborative projects, shared experiences—the kinds of things that build actual relationships rather than parasocial ones.
The call is getting louder to moving toward a more human internet, one conversation at a time. The brands that understand this shift early will build the kind of communities that survive algorithm changes, platform shutdowns, and economic uncertainty.
Your follower count might look good in a presentation, but your community's health determines your actual future. The question isn't how many people follow you—it's how many people would notice if you disappeared tomorrow, and more importantly, how many would actually care.
The metrics that matter most can't be captured in an analytics dashboard. They live in the quality of relationships you build, the value you create in people's actual lives, and the community that forms around shared values rather than shared content consumption.
It's time to stop optimizing for vanity and start building for longevity. Your ego might miss the follower count bragging rights, but your business will thank you for the sustainable community you build instead.