“Just shake with laughter, my method actor”
Everyone’s still chasing reach. More followers. More impressions. More streams. As if scale equals substance. But in truth: Reach without resonance is noise. It looks good on a dashboard, (I mean, no one’s losing their job) but it doesn’t move culture or make anyone actually care and therefore doesn't deliver sustainable career & commercial growth.
“…AS FOLLOWER COUNTS RISE, ENGAGEMENT RATES FALL.””
The Cold Hard Facts
The numbers tell their own story, with several recent reports from the likes of Nielsen, McKinsey and Meta showing that as follower counts rise, engagement rates fall. In other words, bigger isn’t better. It often means weaker connection and lower relative impact.
Nano and micro creators routinely deliver 2-5x higher engagement than macro stars
Between 61-68% Gen Z’s favour UGC over brand-created ads
Gen Z spend more of their time engaging with peers’ content than ‘official’ messaging
88% consumers globally “trust recommendations from people they know” as a top source
Culture doesn’t trickle down from celebrities anymore, it spreads sideways, through trusted micro-communities. Not people who call themselves Influencers and get paid to say something nice. No, we’re talking about fans. Enthusiasts. Obsessives…and sorry to bring up the phrase yet again…but the Superfans! It’s the friend whose playlists you actually follow. The one whose taste you quietly copy. That’s where trust lives now…in small networks of believers.
“…CREATE AN EXPONENTIAL WORD-OF-MOUTH EFFECT THAT NO AD BUDGET CAN BUY.””
Welcome to the New Age
Welcome to the age of the nano-influencer. 200 - 1,000 followers. Zero polish. Maximum authenticity. They drive much higher engagement rates than the macro names. They don’t “promote”; they recommend. They don’t shout; they share. And when you mobilise them, not as individuals but as a collective, they create an exponential word-of-mouth effect that no ad budget can buy.
“They don’t shout; they share.”
Anyone talking about this today, is actually talking about a phenomenal that has existing for years…decades in fact. It’s just that technology offered the music business something cheaper, easier, but sadly, not better. Over 10-15 years ago our amazing team did a global study across multiple countries that helped us understand how piracy would be killed. An interesting sub finding was the identifying the motivations, values and passions of the nano-influencers then…and nothing’s changed really.
“IT FINDS THE PEOPLE WHO CARE MOST, NOT JUST CLICK MOST.”
Its What Sound Effects Does Differently
We don’t rent reach, which is essentially what you’re doing on third party platforms. No, no, no we recruit believers. Our Superfan Engine identifies, profiles and mobilises these advocates using attitudinal insight, not behavioural dashboards. It finds the people who care most, not just click most. Now, that line’s important, and shouldn't just be brushed over. The most valuable fans are the ones that ‘care most’, and that is not necessarily the ones that click most.
“It finds the people who care most, not just click most.”
Uniquely with our Superfan Engine, we have a tool that not only answers all the why questions you have, it then has the power to build communities that move and ignite, not audiences that scroll.
And it turns fandom into a force multiplier for revenue, reach, and reputation.
“STOP PATTING YOURSELF ON THE BACK FOR NEBULOUS VANITY METRICS...”
Why This Matters
Most artists and rights holders already have access to some of these people - they’re hiding in plain sight. But you won’t find them in your CRM or TikTok metrics and you’ll certainly not be able discover their attitudes, values, beliefs and passions. That’s what the Superfan Engine is built to decode.
Stop patting yourself on the back for nebulous vanity metrics - forget reach; forget followers; forget the obsession with dashboards. You don’t need a million people to care. You just need a 1000 with 1000 friends. That’s how culture spreads.
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