Followers vs Following: What Does It Mean for Your Business Account?

If you’re new to social media or managing a business account, the terms followers and following can be confusing. Let’s break it down.

What Does “Following” Mean?

When you follow someone on social media, you are subscribing to see their posts, stories, or updates in your feed.

For a business account, this means you are choosing to stay connected with people, brands, or accounts that matter to your business.

Who Should You Be Following?

• Local small businesses you respect or support
  
• Customers or clients you have built a relationship with
  
• Industry experts, influencers, or celebrities aligned with your brand
  
• Community organisations or event pages in your area
  

You are not required to follow every local business. Follow the ones that align with your brand values or that you genuinely want to support.

Don’t expect a follow-back. And if someone doesn’t follow you back, don’t take it personally. Your support can still mean something even if it’s not returned.

Following on Instagram

When you follow an account:

• Their content shows up in your feed
  
• You may get suggestions based on who you follow
  
• They are notified that your business followed them
  

Following on Facebook

As a business page:

• You can “like” or “follow” other pages
  
• This helps connect with local or similar businesses
  
• You will see updates from followed pages on your business account feed
  

What Are Followers?

Your followers are the people or accounts that chose to follow you. They want to see what you post.

Followers are often seen as a sign of popularity. But quality is more important than quantity.

Why You Should Review Your Followers

Not all followers are good followers. Over time, your account might be followed by:

• Spam accounts
  
• Bots
  
• Inactive or fake profiles
  

It might feel good to see your follower count rise, but don’t let that number fool you.

Do a quarterly clean-up:

• Remove suspicious or spammy accounts
  
• Keep your follower list relevant and genuine
  
• Focus on building a community, not just numbers
  

Tip to follow: 

• Follow with intention. Don’t just follow to get followed back.
  
• Engage with the accounts you follow — comment, share, or react.
  
• Be authentic. You are building a real connection, not just a network.
  
• Clean your followers list every few months to avoid spam.
  

If you found this blog helpful and learned something new, tell us in the comments.If you’re just starting out with your business page, we are here to guide you. Book a free 15-minute appointment and share what you need.  We will work with you to create a simple and clear plan to get your page started.