Death of the Follower

HELLOOO & HAPPY TUESDAY.

If you’re interested in this topic come back and watch this video. Or don’t… I’m not getting paid for this.

TikTok Killed the Follower. Now What?

So I’m listening to this podcast today, and it perfectly summed up something I’ve been noticing for a while.

Sometimes, I’ll look at someone’s follower count and think, hmm, they don’t really have that much motion here. Then I check their Reels views… and they’re pulling the same numbers as our Conversations with Chai Instagram, which only has 3.5K followers.

So how do you have 10x the followers, but your content is doing the same—if not worse—than ours?

My brain’s first instinct? Something shady is going on. People buying followers. Engagement farming. Fake motion. (Which, let’s be real, some still are.)

But the truth is actually much simpler.

TikTok killed the follower.

The Algorithm Shift: Why Followers Don't Matter Like They Used To

The podcast I was listening to broke it down:

TikTok’s FYP changed everything. Every major platform adjusted their algorithm to follow suit.

The new model?

🔥 You don’t follow what you like—the algorithm curates your feed better than you ever could.

Before, if you hired an influencer with 30K followers, you could expect their posts to reach a solid percentage of that audience. Not anymore.

Now, an influencer with 30K followers might get the same level of reach as a podcaster with 3K followers. 😉

So What’s the Move? (For Brands & Creators)

If followers aren’t the gold standard anymore, what should brands look at? And for creators—how do you prove your value?

Brands: Be Smarter With Influencer Deals

✅ Check Beyond Follower Count – Look at their last 10 Reels, TikToks, Shorts. How are they actually performing? If they’re averaging 1K views on 50K followers… that’s a red flag.

✅ Find Influencers With Direct Audience Access – A creator with an engaged podcast, email list, or website is way more valuable than someone who just exists on IG/TikTok. If they own their audience, they can actually reach them.

✅ Deploy Capital Strategically – If you have the budget, spread your spend across multiple creators in your niche. If not, fire targeted capital at 5-10 influencers and create a micro-trend. (Best example? Sliiime in the UK—an artist who creates viral templates, then gets other creators to run with it, driving massive engagement.)

Creators: Own Your Audience, Not Just a Platform

✅ Build a Real Community OFF Social Media – Instagram & TikTok own your audience. You’re just contributing to their ad dollars. Set up a website, Discord, WhatsApp group, email list. Anywhere you actually control access.

✅ Make Your Brand Pitch Deck a No-Brainer – Numbers mean nothing without context. Show brands why working with you makes sense.

• Highlight past campaign ROI

• Show engagement metrics beyond followers

• Have a clear narrative on your impact

✅ Nurture Your People, Stop Chasing Vanity Metrics – Instead of chasing 10K ghost followers, build a rabid following of 100 who actually care. A smaller but engaged audience will give you better conversion rates and better leverage.

You’d rather have 70% click-through on 100 people than 3% on 1K.

Final Thought: Influence ≠ Followers.

Social media tricked everyone into thinking big numbers = big influence. That’s dead.

The game now is depth, not width.

Build real engagement, create direct access to your people, and own your audience. That’s how you win in 2025.

Let’s talk. 🚀

ALSO…

Y’all know a great business accountant?