We need to talk more about follower retention on social

When I first started working in social media over a decade ago, follower growth was seen as a critical metric—if not the most important one. According to The 2023 Sprout Social Index™, it’s still the second most tracked KPI.

But, in the past few years, a debate has emerged about its real significance considering how often today’s algorithms surface content to non-followers. Sentiment shifted as many social marketers began to see follower count as a stat that looked impressive on the surface, but lacked any meaningful business value and didn’t guarantee reach.

No matter how you slice it, follower count alone doesn’t tell you the full picture of your social performance. Yet, there’s a lot that you can uncover about your audience, ability to forge community and convert by looking at an often-overlooked, related metric: follower retention.

Is follower count a vanity metric?

First, I want to give follower count the flowers it’s due, and walk back the assertions the industry has made that it’s completely insignificant. If your goal is growing your presence through broad reach and awareness, follower count is an excellent indicator of your results. It shows your brand’s capacity to instantaneously reach a large group of people, and, the more followers you have, the more likely you are to be discovered.

With that in mind, measuring follower count alone has its limitations. Ideally, you want to grow a lasting community on social and keep your followers eager to engage with you. If your follower count is growing, but your engagement rate is steadily declining, you have a problem.

The same is true for follower turnover. When you have legions of loyal fans in your follower base, you’re more likely to increase your discoverability, grow your audience and reach the right people with your content.

But the wrong followers—even if you have a lot of them—aren’t going to move the needle on larger business goals. For example, if you partner with an influencer for a contest or giveaway where contestants have to follow your brand, you will probably notice a steep dropoff after the winner is selected.

For sustainable growth (and retention), it’s important to understand who your ideal audience is—including their needs, affinities, subculture affiliations and dislikes—and make sure they represent the majority of your following. The more you invest in interacting proactively with this audience and fostering community with them, the more you’ll reach “problem-unaware” ideal consumers and keep them around. Which, ultimately, carries more weight than follower count alone.

Quality is more important than quantity

Social teams across industries are burnt out. They’re running on a hamster wheel—chasing trend cycles, emerging platforms, AI developments and production quotas. According to The 2024 Content Benchmarks Report, brands published an average of 10 social posts per day across networks in 2023. From a publishing standpoint, consumer-facing industries—like media, leisure, sports, recreation and retail—far surpassed this threshold.

As we move closer to peak social media saturation, consumers’ feeds are brimming with posts from their friends and family, influencers and brands alike. And you’re competing with all of them for attention. It’s time brands start doing something that might seem counterintuitive: publishing significantly less content.

Invest in original content to foster follower retention

According to a Q2 2024 Sprout Pulse Survey, social media users are most likely to unfollow a brand when their content has become repetitive or unoriginal. The best way to keep your audience coming back for more is by making entertaining, serialized content. That’s much more impactful for sustainable follower growth than jumping on trends or pushing out too many messages. Even focusing on as few as one or two series will help you build engagement and relevance.

Take Baboon to the Moon, the company behind the colorful, adventure-proof bags. On TikTok, they have a recurring series where their team members (with their incredible witty and dry humor) explain how to use their bags and unveil the newest collections. Their former intern and current creator partner Jess became a particular fan favorite.

The content feels more like your favorite TV show—with individual episodes focused on key messages and storylines—than promotional posts. It also feels authentic to Baboon to the Moon, and not tied to the rapid-fire trend cycle.

A word of caution: If you build your serialized content around a singular member of your team, have a plan in place to keep the series alive if they depart. There is an inherent risk of follower turnover when you build your online brand around one personality. In fact, this Baboon to the Moon series was first introduced by past members of their social team before Jess took over and gave it her unique spin.

Most importantly, the more ownable and distinct to your brand your content is, the more valuable it will be for gaining, retaining and converting the right followers. Even when you pull back on your posting cadence, you can still reach new people.

How follower retention leads to conversion

The 2023 Index found that 68% of social users are most likely to follow brands to stay up to date on new products and services. Which means consumers who hit “follow” are already primed to take the next step with your brand. And the longer someone has been a follower, the more likely they are to become a loyal customer and brand evangelist.

But this goes back to the point about follower count: Your ability to convert depends on the quality of your followers. If you have a large follower base, but only a small segment is turning into customers, subscribers or donors, it’s time to reevaluate your content strategy. You need to deeply understand who the right audience is and what they want from your content. Ask yourself: Is my ideal audience aware of the problems my brand solves? What do they need to be persuaded to buy? How can I simplify my strategy to be most effective?

Some of these answers can be found by linking your CRM software and social media management solution. For example, the Sprout Social and Salesforce integration helps our team fill in gaps in the journey from follower to customer and identify key trends. If you don’t know these answers, it means you need to diversify your data sources.

Follower retention drives your brand forward

When I think of brands who’ve built engaged, loyal communities, and retained followers for the long haul, it’s clear that there are no shortcuts to sustainable results. Short-term strategies like buying followers may seem like an easy way to build credibility. But the truth is cultivating brand trust takes time. Follower retention is a long game, but it pays back in dividends.

Focusing on follower retention rather than sheer follower count is not just a strategic shift—it’s a necessity for long-term success. By investing in meaningful, authentic content that resonates with your ideal audience, you’re not only nurturing brand loyalty but also driving sustainable growth and conversions that truly move the needle.

Looking for more insight into how you should refine your content strategy (including what content should be prioritized)? Read The 2024 Content Strategy Report.