Follower count
Number of followers/subscribers on a social-media account. Historically the primary status metric. Modern: engagement rate more important than raw count due to fake followers + dormant accounts.
Follower tier names: nano-influencer (1K-10K), micro (10K-100K), mid-tier (100K-1M), macro (1M-10M), mega (10M+). Brand pricing: ~$10/1000 followers per Instagram post (rough). Verified counts vs purchased: bot detection tools (HypeAuditor, Modash) screen for fake. Classic cases: Belle Delphine 6M Twitter (organically grown), Pokimane 4M Twitter (gaming streamer), Linus Tech Tips 16M YouTube. X Premium makes follower count less meaningful (paid algorithm boost). Modern wisdom: 10K engaged followers > 1M passive followers for revenue.