It's tempting to chase followers, but on today's platforms reach isn't gated by your follower count — a brand-new account can hit a million views on one reel. What actually matters:
- Views drive income — monetization pays on qualified views, not followers.
- Views drive growth — followers come after the reach, as a byproduct of content people liked enough to hit follow.
- Views are controllable this week — you can improve a hook today; you can't will followers into existence.
Note · That's why your Progress level in Merge is earned with views, not followers. Chase the reach, and the follower count catches up on its own.