The Stat Disconnect

This is one band's numbers on Facebook. I took this screen shot today (August 28, 2015). Two million followers, but only 3,000 people engaged.

The huge disparity between the total number of followers and the number of “people talking about this” is more than can be explained by the Facebook algorithm controlling what people see and don't see. The Facebook algorithm can be cruel, but this goes beyond its influence.

For instance, here are the numbers for a band I work with. I also took this screen shot today. I have not spent money boosting the band's posts. Ninety-four thousand followers and over 6,000 people engaged.

People fixate too much on the total number of followers. It is too easy to artificially inflate that number though. You can spend money on ads or even on services that boost that number with fake accounts. Most likely that is what the first band did. So suddenly you have many more followers. However, they are not actual followers. These followers will never:

> Download an album

> Buy a concert ticket

> Buy band merchandise

> Share a post with their friends

> Tell people about your new song

What is sad is that some venue owners get tricked into booking bands based solely on their number of followers and then wonder why they can't sell any tickets. What is more sad is that the band that artificially inflated its numbers starts to believe the illusion themselves ... and also wonders why they can't sell any tickets.