One question keeps coming up whenever I speak with business leaders.
“Should we still be trying to grow our followers?”
Ten years ago, my answer would have been simple. Today, I’m no longer so sure.
Communications channels have always evolved. Newspapers expanded online. Websites were joined and overtaken by social media. Today, we’re witnessing another shift.
Social media is becoming interest media.
I noticed it recently while watching a three-and-a-half-minute video explaining why Costco’s food court is so profitable.
I had never heard of the creator. Yet I watched until the end.
The same thing happens when I come across a young entrepreneur explaining supply chains on LinkedIn, a doctor debunking health myths on YouTube, or a small café in Siargao going viral because someone shared an authentic customer experience.
I didn’t follow any of them. The platforms simply decided I would care.
That’s the defining characteristic of interest media.
Algorithms are no longer asking, “Who do you know?” They’re asking, “What are you interested in?”
That changes everything.
For years, communicators focused on building audiences. We celebrated follower counts, page likes and media reach because those numbers largely determined how many people would see our message.
Today, having a million followers is no guarantee that anyone will actually see your content.
Meanwhile, an engineer, economist or entrepreneur with only a few thousand followers can spark a national conversation because the content itself is useful, relevant or thought-provoking.
Attention is increasingly earned rather than inherited.
That changes the way organizations should communicate.
One lesson I’ve learned over the years is that communication isn’t about talking more. It’s about saying something worth listening to.
Whether explaining financial results, sustainability, governance or new technologies, the real challenge isn’t producing more content. It’s helping people understand why something matters and how it affects their lives.
When communication is clear, relevant and credible, people don’t simply consume it.
They share it.
Artificial intelligence (AI) will only accelerate this shift.
AI will make content easier and cheaper to produce. The internet will be flooded with words, images and videos created in seconds.
But AI won’t make it easier to earn attention.
If anything, it will make useful, credible and original thinking even more valuable.
Perhaps we’ve been asking the wrong question all along.
Not, “How do we get more followers?” But, “How do we become more interesting?”
Because in the age of interest media, influence is no longer determined by the size of your audience.
It is earned by creating something valuable for people who have never met you and may never follow you.
And in the end, I think that’s what builds trust.
The author is Vice President and Head of Corporate Communications at SM Investments Corporation, the parent company of the SM Group. A father and advocate for sustainable and inclusive development, he writes the iTHINK column, exploring how technology and leadership shape the trust that enables long-term success.
