Unpopular opinion: hitting 10,000 Instagram followers actually hurt my brand's engagement

I got to 10,000 followers last month but my likes per post dropped from 500 to 150, and I think it's because I bought into the number game instead of focusing on real connections with people who actually care about my products.

2 comments

2 Comments

fisher.kevin10d ago

Real connections don't really scale with follower count, they come from consistent interaction with your core audience.

kevin21810d ago

Real connections don't really scale with follower count" - that hits hard. I've seen creators with 100k followers who feel completely alone because nobody actually talks to them beyond a like or a heart. The people who really get it are the ones with smaller audiences who reply to comments, ask questions, and remember stuff about their followers from weeks ago. It's like having 20 close friends who actually care vs a thousand people who just scroll past your stuff. That core group will stick with you through anything, even if your numbers drop, and they're the ones who'll actually buy your stuff or share your work.