Why Colture Brand Building Beats the Hustle #shorts

25 Feb 2026 · 0 min

Watch on YouTube

0:24

In this YouTube short, two speakers discuss the relative value of follower counts versus the ability to activate an audience for brand partnerships. Speaker A argues that engagement—specifically concrete actions like downloads—is far more valuable than raw Instagram follower numbers. He gives an example of 5,000 people downloading a podcast episode versus having only 8,000 Instagram followers, emphasizing that he would pay for engagement rather than follower size. Speaker B probes the question, prompting the discussion about what marketers should prioritize when evaluating influencer or brand value.

What do you see as far as like, the value of the follower count today? Is the follower still valuable or the more about like your ability to activate an audience?
I think it's about the engagement. I
really do. Because you think about it,
if you got 5,000 people willing to download, let's say the episode of fuck you money, right? If you 5,000 people downloaded every, every, every episode,
right?
And but you only got 8,000 followers on Instagram. I really, truly believe in engagement. That's what I'm gonna pay for.
So
if I can know that, oh, I'm gonna get a higher click through rate by marketing with a smaller brand versus a huge brand, and that's what I wanna do when it's all said and done.