How Many Social Media Followers Should A Small Business Have?

But first, a brief history lesson about social media…from earlier in my career.

Years ago, I worked at this advertising agency. I was in the digital media buying department, where one of my roles was the director of social media.

Back then, social media was a burgeoning medium, and everyone knew it. Everyone believed it would greatly influence the future of media and marketing. But they just weren’t sure how yet.

At first, all the social media algorithms favored any brand that would create an account and take a chance with them.

But after doing some industry research and following market trends, the social networks’ end game became clear to me: they wanted to monetize social media with paid ads.

Many of my colleagues in the advertising and marketing community disagreed with me. They thought that, while paid media could be one revenue driver for social networks, it wasn’t the end game.

Many brands invested tons of money into these organic social media communities, with Facebook leading the pack, to try to be the first dominate players in the space.

Organic content was king. Copywriters focused on the writing and communication style, designers tested which types of graphic elements worked best, strategists worked on contests, promotions, and any other opportunity they could think of that didn’t involve media buying. The future of social media was bright!

And then 💥, Facebook changed its algorithm to favor paid ads. All that organic content those brands invested countless dollars into was significantly quelled - organic reach dwindled significantly.

All of my colleagues went bonkers. They didn’t know what to tell their clients. “We could have prepared for this if only we had listened to you,” one creative agency account director told me.

And just like that, my career peaked - my inbox was filled with requests for help with paid social media buying. Social media was now a “pay to play” world, and I was never busier.

All because of a simple algorithm adjustment.

In today’s email, we’ll discuss the following:

• In A Main Street Minute: This week, we’re focusing on all things social media.

• How Many Followers Should A Small Business Have? We will address the types of followers there are, and what I call “The Rule of 1%.”

• Spotlight on the 4 P’s: We’re talking about Promotion this week. Social media algorithms, to be exact.

• Mark Your Calendar: May is Small Business Month! What will you do to take advantage?

• Instagram Shares Algorithm Insights To Inform Strategy: According to Social Media Today, the top 3 metrics to be aware of is watch times, likes and sends.

• According to MediaPost, small-mid sized businesses plan on investing more on social media advertising in the future. Years ago, I remember how resistant small business owners were to the concept of “paying” for social media. But once they came around, they never looked back. Seriously, try it if you haven’t already. Think of it as gasoline on your marketing fire.

• 55% of consumers learn about new brands from social media: Off the top of my head, I can count 5 new brands I discovered on social media last week alone; 3 of them were small businesses.

• About 2/3 of Facebook users visit a local business page at least once weekly: That’s right! Facebook is more important to local businesses than people realize. Facebook is good for local SEO (search engine optimization), which helps a business become more visible online. Many businesses have a Facebook page, but never post to it. As a user, there’s nothing worse than going to a dormant social media page.

• But isn’t Facebook dead? Nope! Facebook remains the #1 social network with over 3 billion monthly active users. Users take advantage of Facebook’s many offerings, such as Marketplace or Groups. It’s multifunctional nature helps keep it a dominate player.

First of all, “followers” is what us marketers call a vanity metric, which means it’s basically a performance statistic that appears impressive on the surface but doesn’t reflect actual business performance or provide actionable insights for improvement.

Quality Over Quantity

It’s another way of saying just because someone has more friends than another doesn’t make them a better person. It just means they have more friends. It’s the quality of those relationships that matters most. I’d take a few high quality friends over a sea of acquaintances any day.

Translate that to social media: It’s more important to focus on having followers who really believe in your business rather than simply aiming to amass a slew of followers who are only fair-weather about your business.

Thus, a small business with 1,000 highly engaged followers is likely to have more success than one with 10,000 followers who are not genuinely interested in the product or service.

In my years of experience in working with social media, I see that established businesses have different types of followers, which I categorize into three “Tiers,” as I outline here below:

Tier 1: Core Fans / Brand Advocates

• Description: These are your most engaged followers. They like, comment, share, DM, buy from you, and tell others about you. They feel emotionally connected to your brand, and are the most likely of these tiers to buy from you. Very loyal.

• Behavior: They often react within minutes or hours of a post. They create UGC (user-generated content) and leave reviews.

• Value: They're critical for organic growth, word-of-mouth marketing, and gathering feedback for product improvements.

• Who they are: Loyal customers, superfans, long-time supporters, brand partners, sometimes employees, and those closest to you (family, friends and neighbors.)

Tier 2: Warm Audience / Passive Supporters

• Description: They're interested, but their engagement is inconsistent or low. They might have bought from you before, but moved away…or maybe they just didn’t need your products or services anymore. It’s possible they could be reactivated with the right messaging. They could also be light users of social media. They may buy from you occasionally, or did in the past.

• Behavior: They watch Stories but rarely comment. They might like occasionally but aren’t active sharers. They could still open emails or show up to a sale if properly reminded.

• Value: It’s possible there’s an opportunity for conversion. With nurturing, they can move into Group 1.

• Who they are: Past customers, light fans, people who aspire to buy from you but haven't yet, people who find your content useful but aren't emotionally tied.

Tier 3: Lurkers, Watchers, and Opportunists

• Description: They're unlikely to engage much if at all. They may follow for research, casual interest, or social proof.

• Behavior: They consume silently. Some may eventually engage (slow movers), but many won't unless something shifts dramatically.

• Value: Some still play a role — they boost your follower count (social proof) and keep an eye on you for potential opportunities (press, partnerships, etc.).

• Who they are: Media, competitors, bots, random people who liked one post once, people who admire you from afar but never intend to buy.

Any follower in these 3 tiers can move to another, depending on circumstances such as life changes, promotions, how good your content is at the moment, and so on.

In some cases, I suggest considering two other Tiers:

• New Followers: Most important to startup small businesses, or to those who just created a new social media account. New followers need onboarding into your business. How you handle the first few interactions matters significantly.

• Haters or Trolls: Rare but important. Negative attention is still attention, and how you manage these individuals can either damage or strengthen your brand reputation.

Social Network Selection: Niche and Industry Matter

Each social network has its own value proposition, and therefore how fast you acquire followers will vary. Think about how you’ll need to use social media to sell your products or services, and then think about which ones will align the best. Also think about how your target audience uses social media by looking into demographic data.

Here are some examples: 

Visual-heavy businesses (ex. vintage/antique stores, restaurants, fashion) → Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok

B2B businesses (ex. consultancies, services) → LinkedIn, Twitter (X)

Local businesses (ex. cafes, bookshops, florists) → Facebook, Instagram, Nextdoor

E-commerce & product-driven businesses → Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest

Taking all of that into consideration, I do have some milestones to consider for your small business. Keep in mind, these are milestones for small businesses in general; they are not niche specific. There is also some wiggle room with each milestone - what I have here are ranges to strive towards.

Growth Milestones

• First 100 followers: 

  • A milestone that indicates initial interest in your business. This milestone is especially important to a startup.

  • At this time, it’s about building visibility and starting to learn what your audience likes.

• 500-1,000 followers: A decent size to start seeing consistent engagement and potential for social proof.

• 5,000-10,000 followers: 

  • At this point, you’re likely establishing a solid presence in your niche and can start benefiting from brand collaborations or partnerships, if relevant.

  • Monetization should start to become more consistent.

The Rule of 1%:

As a general rule of thumb, a metric I like to share with my clients is 1%: If you have 1,000 followers, anticipate that 1% of them will convert into customers. This number could change over time. Some social media experts refer to this as the “Rule of 1%.”

Here’s some quick calculations, so you can see how these numbers may impact your business. You can swap out these numbers with your own.

1,000 followers x 1% = 10 customers. 10 customers x $50 average sale = $500

5,000 followers x 1% = 50 customers. 50 customers x $50 average sale = $2,500

SPOTLIGHT ON THE 4 P’S: PROMOTION 📣

Social Media is Magic—Until It’s Not

Let’s talk about social media algorithms for a second.

Social media can feel like a gift from the marketing gods. It’s free (though paying for ads can really help), it connects you with your customers in real time, and it’s a fantastic way to showcase your brand’s personality. For small businesses, platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok have become essential tools for building community and driving foot traffic or online sales.

But here’s the truth no one talks about enough: your social media reach is built on borrowed land.

Keep in mind my story from before, where I explained how the social media algorithms shifted everything in my career (and the careers of several others) overnight.

One change to the algorithm—and 💥—your engagement drops, your visibility tanks, and your once-busy inbox or order form goes quiet. And you didn’t do anything wrong. You’re just not being “shown” like you used to be.

That’s why email marketing is still one of the most powerful (and often overlooked) tools in your marketing toolbox.

When someone joins your email list, you own that relationship. You’re not at the mercy of a tech company’s algorithm or ad policies.

You can pop into their inbox with your latest updates, promotions, or behind-the-scenes stories—and it’s you who controls when and how that message is delivered.

In fact, small businesses are building a business asset when they create an email list. The more subscribers, the more value it has. And that becomes very important if/when it comes time for a small business owner to sell.

So yes, keep showing up on social. It’s great for awareness and connection. But don’t forget to encourage users to subscribe to your list. Because when the algorithm turns cold, your email list is still warm.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR 📆

May is Small Business Month! Did you know JFK created Small Business Week in 1963 as a way to show appreciation. The SBA has managed the event every year since. The event has evolved into also include Small Business Month and Small Business Day.

Don’t Forget: I mentioned last week that the US Chamber of Commerce is having its annual Small Business Day event on May 1, 2025. Click here for registration information. I’ll be in joining the event online!

If you participate, let me know what you think. I may be able to use your thoughts for future newsletter content.

Also, think of what you can do to promote your business during this month. I’m a big fan of collaborations with other small businesses myself.

Whatever you to, post on the socials, and include a hashtag about small business month! And while you’re at it, small business day and week…