How important is social media to a business, especially a small independent one?

How important would it be if you had one follower, but that follower was Oprah Winfrey?

Many small businesses worry about the number of followers rather than focusing on who those followers are. It is quite easy to get a following: mass follow-then unfollow, spam, or buy followers and likes, but none of those will bring any value to your business.

So what should you do? Focus on communicating to your audience in the places they are. If they are on social media, be on social media, if they listen to podcasts, start a podcast, and read articles and make articles. As a business, your job is to communicate what you offer to those who need to hear your message.