Facebook started out as a social networking platform for connecting with friends and family. However, over the years it has evolved into much more than that. These days many people use Facebook as a tool to build their brand, promote their business, or establish themselves as an influencer. This has led to a shift from connecting with ‘friends’ to amassing ‘followers’.
The Difference Between Friends and Followers on Facebook
On Facebook, you can either ‘friend’ someone, which establishes a two-way connection, or ‘follow’ them, which creates a one-way connection. When you friend someone, you both have access to each other’s posts, profiles, and activity on the platform. However, when you follow someone, you can see their public posts and activity without them necessarily seeing yours.
Friends on Facebook usually consist of people you know in real life – close friends, family members, coworkers, etc. Followers tend to be made up of acquaintances, brands, businesses, influencers, and public figures you want to keep up with. Whereas friend connections imply a personal relationship, follower connections are more detached and unilateral.
Why Some People Prefer Followers Over Friends
There are a few key reasons why some Facebook users prefer amassing followers rather than friends:
To Build a Public Persona
Having lots of followers allows you to establish a visible public persona on the platform. It shows that you have influence and that people are interested in your content. This can be especially beneficial for people trying to build a personal brand or establish themselves professionally on social media.
To Promote a Business or Brand
Following rather than friending is preferred by businesses, brands, and public figures who want to promote themselves on Facebook. It allows them to push content out to followers without having to approve friend requests or reciprocate access to their personal profile. The one-way nature of following favors broadcasting over reciprocal relationships.
To Control Privacy
For those concerned about privacy, amassing followers can be a way to limit personal sharing and accessibility. With friends there is an expectation of some mutual access, disclosure, and two-way communication. Followers, on the other hand, provide more arms-length connections focused solely on outward-facing content.
To Keep Up with Interests
Some Facebook users follow brands, influencers, or public figures simply because they are interested in their content – not because they want to be social friends. Following allows them to keep up with posts and updates related to their interests or industry without creating a friendship-level bond.
How Having Followers Impacts the Facebook Experience
Opting for followers over friends impacts the Facebook experience in a few key ways:
- Less personal sharing – friend interactions often involve more personal disclosures and insights into each other’s lives. Followers relationships focus solely on public-facing content.
- One-way communication – friends tend to communicate in a back-and-forth manner. Followers just see your outgoing posts without necessarily replying or interacting.
- More broadcasting – having followers typically means focusing on broadcasting content outward rather than reciprocal sharing.
- Bigger audience reach – followers allow you to get your content and messages in front of more people and expand your audience.
- Metrics focus – with followers there is often more concern over how many you have and how much engagement you get. Friends emphasize quality over quantity.
The Rise of Influencers and Personal Branding on Facebook
The shift on Facebook from friends to followers reflects larger social media trends toward influencer marketing and personal branding. Facebook is no longer just a social network but also a powerful branding platform. Its tools allow ordinary users to establish a influential public persona, broadcast to followers, and monetize their popularity just like celebrities and public figures. The result is an increase in follower-focused behavior over traditional friending.
This is evidenced by Facebook’s introduction of public profiles in 2013 to accommodate users focused on amassing followers rather than reciprocal friendships. Users can now convert their profile from private to public to allow anyone to follow their posts without friending. Facebook also introduced tools for analytics and follower engagement to cater to influencer-style use cases.
The rise of influencer culture and personal branding helped spur the evolution away from reciprocal friend connections toward unilateral following. Now people use Facebook not just to keep up with social circles but also to broadcast a personal or brand image to the world.
Pros and Cons of Having Facebook Followers vs Friends
There are both advantages and disadvantages to shifting your Facebook experience from friends to followers:
| Pros of Followers | Cons of Followers |
|---|---|
| – Reach wider audience – Build public image – Promote brand/business – Control privacy – Track metrics & engagement |
– Less personal connections – One-way communication – Less authentic interactions – Harder to go viral – Could seem disingenuous |
Pros
- Reach wider audience – gaining followers allows you to get your content, opinions, and messages in front of many more people than just your social circle.
- Build public image – amassing followers enables crafting a specific persona and image projected publicly on social media.
- Promote brand/business – followers model works better for brands wanting to broadcast outbound marketing content.
- Control privacy – keeping relationships restricted to following only allows for more control over privacy and personal information.
- Track metrics & engagement – you can closely monitor follower count, post reach, engagement rate and other metrics.
Cons
- Less personal connections – focus on followers loses the personal touch and meaningful interactions that come with reciprocal friendships.
- One-way communication – there is less genuine back-and-forth communication with a purely follower-based approach.
- Less authentic interactions – an overly calculated approach to presenting yourself online can seem inauthentic and contrived.
- Harder to go viral – amassing friends can help content spread rapidly via friend networks. Followers make it harder to achieve viral reach.
- Could seem disingenuous – some people may assume followers rather than friends means you are more concerned with appearances than real connections.
Best Practices for Balancing Friends vs Followers
For most people aiming for an optimal Facebook experience, the best approach is to strike the right balance between friends and followers. Here are some best practices:
- Maintain a solid base of real friends instead of only amassing followers.
- Be selective in who you choose to friend and follow to ensure higher quality connections.
- Interact meaningfully with friends through likes, comments, messaging, etc. Don’t just broadcast.
- Publish a mix of personal content friends would appreciate as well as professional/brand building content for followers.
- Analyze your metrics but don’t get obsessed with vanity stats that don’t align with your goals.
- Follow brands and influencers you genuinely like rather than just those with huge followings.
- Periodically audit friends and followers to prune low-quality connections.
The ideal Facebook profile has elements of both friendship and following. It provides the authenticity and community of friend interactions as well as the reach and influence that comes with quality followers.
Conclusion
The shift on Facebook toward amassing followers reflects the platform’s evolution into a place for personal branding and influencer marketing. Certain users, especially businesses, brands, and aspiring influencers, are motivated to build follower counts over friend connections to establish a public image, broadcast to wider audiences, control privacy, and monitor metrics. However, most regular users are still best served by maintaining authentic friend connections in addition to curating a quality follower base. Striking the right balance leads to an overall healthier and more rewarding Facebook experience.