I Reached 20,000 Followers on LinkedIn and I Feel Weird about it

"I hit 20,000 followers on LinkedIn in August 2025. The number itself is worth celebrating. After all, who doesn't love a milestone number? However, it has also led to much reflection about where and why I started on the platform. This was the first year I set a clear growth goal for LinkedIn, and reaching it gave me a reason to pause and ask: What actually drove this growth? What changed along the way? And what comes next?"

"When I first started actively posting on LinkedIn, numbers were the last thing on my mind. At first, I was looking for community after losing my job in 2020. Once I found work again, my focus shifted. I went back to using LinkedIn to connect with other professionals and learn from people in the content marketing space. I was more focused on work and community than content. I only shared about 10 LinkedIn posts between 2020 and 2022."

"However, in 2022, after joining Buffer, posting took on a new purpose. My profile became a proof-of-concept lab, and every piece of advice I wrote for Buffer (like finding your niche or setting content pillars), I tested on my own account first. If it worked for me, I knew it would resonate with our readers. Some of those experiments worked better than I expected. They helped me define my niche, connect with the right audience, and build a platform"

Posting began as a search for community after losing a job in 2020, with only about ten LinkedIn posts through 2022. Joining Buffer in 2022 turned the profile into a proof-of-concept lab where advice like finding a niche and setting content pillars was tested on the account first. Successful experiments helped define a niche, connect with the right audience, and build a platform that unlocked opportunities. After crossing 15K followers in early 2025, a clear goal to reach 20K was set to validate Buffer’s strategies and pursue partnerships. Reaching 20K prompted reflection on growth drivers, opportunities, and next steps.

Read at Buffer: All-you-need social media toolkit for small businesses