Social Metrics, Real Life Numbers & Their Outsized Impact

Today, we’re talking about numbers.

How does that make you feel? Did you cringe a little bit? Or are you ready to dive into the data and learn more?

In today's world, it's essential to take a close look at our social metrics. If you aren’t already doing that, I want to show you how to reconsider the value of understanding your data. For our example today, I’m going to focus on Amy Elohim, a renowned herbalist and licensed functional medicine practitioner who has amassed an impressive number of followers on TikTok — almost half a million. 

When I spoke with Amy, she was frustrated by (her perceived) low engagement rate. We dove in and found that she has 19,692 unique people who have written her at least 1 comment. From my perspective, that's a lot! 

For Amy, 19,000+ unique engagers seemed lagging: “I have half a million followers! Why is it so low?” I had to remind her to look at the positive — that 4% of her audience was actually engaging with her.

Here's an enlightening perspective shift: if she would consider these 19,692 people not as a fraction of her online following but rather as a crowd filling up the Boston Garden to engage with her content, it’s impressive, right?

As creators, we need to recalibrate our mindset about our audience. Are we seeking to monetize our channel? Do we wish to maximize our impact? Understanding your true following isn't about vanity metrics like follower counts. Instead, it's about engagement: comments, direct messages, and the super fans who regularly interact with you.

Diving deeper into Amy’s engagement stats, we can learn more.

The 28,000+ comments she received were made by 19,692 unique individuals, and she responded to about 22% of the comments, leaving 78% of comments unanswered. This is a reality we often overlook — that even with high engagement rates, a significant portion of comments may go without a response due to simple time constraints. 

That is why we are working hard at FIVE to help creators like you increase your response rate and never fail to miss the most important messages that need a reply.

These percentages might sound small, but the actual number of engaged followers can still be in the tens of thousands for expert creators. In a world where exposure is abundant but time is limited, navigating social interactions can be overwhelming. 

When we took a close look at 15 different creators with a somewhat similar sized audience, what we found was that 80% unanswered questions was typically the norm.

So what can we learn? Follower count means less than you believe it does, but your ability to effectively engage with your audience means more. Be aware of your real active audience - value them, engage with them, but most importantly, do not feel overwhelmed. 

Do your best to respond, prioritize, and above all, continue creating and inspiring. You may not reach everyone but remember that even a small percentage of engagement can still translate into thousands of meaningful connections.

Checkout FIVE to see how our Ai-assistant will never let you miss an important message from an important fan ever again: www.five.me

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