What does it take to be popular on different social networks?
When we look at the list of the most followed people on different channels, we can guess what is most valued, what attracts the most attention, and what has the potential to gain mass popularity on a specific platform.
We could certainly draw even more complete conclusions if we looked at the top 10 most followed accounts, but that's research that goes beyond the scope of this text.
So let's get started ‒ we took into consideration the individual creators who are most followed on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Twitter.
Instagram/Facebook
Cristiano Ronaldo absolutely dominates on Meta. During the writing of this article, he has gathered a whopping 477 million Instagram followers, and 152 million on Facebook. Ronaldo is also the most followed person across all social media platforms.
Ronaldo's massive popularity (and Messi's who is also in the top 10 accounts on both of these platforms) proves that I live in a bubble. In my world, football is a distant and abstract phenomenon, which becomes relevant only during major championships or when the city is blocked for a derby. Out of my friends, only 3 people follow Cristiano, and one of them I know is doing it to parody him. On the contrary, 48 of them follow Jovan Memedović, so it is clear that in my environment Memedović is much more relevant than Cristiano. But let's go back to the so-called reality.
Cristiano's popularity also proves the enormous popularity of football (I'm probably the only person on the planet who needs that proof). Even if we ignore that probably at least part of Cristiano's followers are fake (and here I will refrain from quoting the British tabloids who wrote on this topic and stated what the figure of the fake followers is), the number of Cristiano's followers is still amazing. In his posts, Cristiano emphasizes the importance of constant work and exercise, and from time to time he also posts photos with his family.
The whole account has a strange vibe as if it is run by a person without much sense of beauty (the pictures from the field and photoshoots are professional) - the photos are strangely cropped, the family ones are blurry, created so that they seem as casual and probably natural as possible. I will assume that the goal is to make Ronaldo seem relatable and that he succeeds in doing so.
Also, neither Ronaldo nor Kylie Jenner, who is behind him in the number of followers, do not publish video content too often, and when it happens, it is mostly material from shooting commercials/collaborations with brands. This confirms the fact that even the most famous people here do not perceive Instagram as a video platform.
Former US President Barack Obama has the largest number of followers on Twitter, who has almost 133 million followers. On this channel (as expected), the one who has compelling ideas and views on the world and who is primarily verbally strong wins.
TikTok
Khaby Lame is proof that ordinary people, even those from underprivileged classes, can sometimes succeed. This guy of Senegalese-Italian origin was fired from the factory where he worked in 2020, during the Covid-19 crisis, and decided to end the moments of boredom by creating videos for TikTok. Lame became famous thanks to his silent reactions and skits that overcome language barriers with silence and expressive facial expressions and began to dominate the platform and achieve great collaborations with brands. So, in an extremely short period, an ordinary person became a star and the face of top brands thanks to this app.
YouTube
The most followed individual creator is still PewDiePie, who is known as a gamer, commentator, and creator who grew up on the platform and in the process made some very questionable jokes and comments that caused criticism and various scandals. The Swede has recently reduced his activity and it is clear that the channel is not his current priority.
The reason why PewDiePie has remained the master of this platform for so long lies in his charisma and authentic relationship with the audience. Since authenticity is often a concept emptied of meaning, I'm not sure how to explain what authenticity means to me. I haven't watched his channel for a while, but when I did, Felix seemed intelligent and realistic. It seemed to me that he is a person who carefully chooses his closest people and who has not been hit by fame. The sarcasm, irony, and inappropriate comments to which he is prone and which enabled him to grow rapidly are slowly being overcome in communication, which is probably why he is slowly losing relevance. Even though he is less interested in the channel, that he is part of a different time, and he started his career in the online world more than 12 years ago (which is several centuries in the internet world) ‒ he is still on top.
What is interesting is that the people who are most popular on Instagram/Facebook and Twitter generally gained their popularity in traditional media first, after which it was transferred to the digital space, while on the two video platforms the most relevant individuals are those who simply enjoyed creating video content that made them go viral.
Perhaps this is because the video leaves more space for the personality to shine, but also because, for the younger generations, video platforms have replaced TV and there they have made their celebrities out of ordinary people, and whether we like those particular individuals or not, it’s a fascinating phenomenon that demonstrates the power of audiences... and the algorithms that can help people go viral.
Author: Natalija Jovanović, Senior Content Manager
