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Why People Unfollow You On Instagram

By Victoria M. Jul 29, 2020

It may happen that the number of your followers starts getting down. And a natural desire of any person is to find out why. Various questions occur: “Did I do something wrong?” “Am I not interesting enough?”

In this article, we will uncover the unfollowing on Instagram topic and explore what you can do to stop (or at least try to stop) people from abandoning your account. 

Many of us spend a significant amount of time and energy to create and share some content on Instagram. And when we notice that people unfollow us, it might be hurting or annoying. 

But the good news is that any Instagram account loses its followers, no matter how cool it is. It is highly important to understand why people don’t want to see your content anymore, and try to learn something from this situation.

So, let’s start with the most dramatic question: why people do it. 

Why people stop following my Instagram account

Why did people unfollow your Instagram account? Sometimes, this is not a bad sign.

The most obvious scenario for unfollowing an account is when a person finds the content irrelevant or uninteresting. If you don’t like cooking, why would you keep following an account with recipes? 

Also, if a brand’s changed its content strategy and started posting something, let’s say, too political or morally off, Instagram users prefer to quit. 

The basis of social media marketing is communication. You should take care of talking to your followers and keep your content relevant to your business, niche, and, of course, your target audience. Business accounts that are on the same wavelength with their followers will always experience a gradual rise in the follower number. 

Also, there are some situations when a decrease of followers count is a good sign. 

  • Your content became even more targeted

It is impossible to have an Instagram account which will be interesting for every person. Of course, you should have your core audience. And when you finally find what you are good at and what you like to post and share about, the number of followers can go down. 

In this case, it is ok. If some people don’t like your new style, probably they just are not your target. Just keep creating your fabulous content and gathering a community of like-minded people. 

  • You got rid of fake accounts and bots

Sometimes, to attract attention to their Instagram accounts, some Instagrammers follow a number of other users. They hope to get the same in response and boost their followers number. In a few days, they’ll unfollow you and hundreds of other Instagram accounts. This is their strategy. Their actions don’t show that your content isn’t engrossing. 

Plus, you shouldn’t forget Instagram hates bots and fake accounts. So, its algorithm constantly looks for such suspicious “users” and bans them. It can also impact your followers number.  

However, you can watch what is happening with your followers/unfollowers ratio with the help of a number of apps. Let’s get a closer look at them.

Who unfollow you: the list of apps for Apple and Android 

You can watch what is going on with your followers/unfollowers ratio with the help of various mobile apps. Here is the list of the most convenient of them.

Actually, you can do it manually – go to the account and check if this person still follows you via search in the “Following” tab. But it can be quite tough if you need to check more than two persons. 

That’s why, for business owners (especially for beginners), it will be really useful to have one of these apps installed. Some of them can not just tell you who unfollowed you but also show who gives you the most likes or who you should follow back. 

Apple

Android

Try several of them and find which one is the most convenient for you. 

How to stop people from unfollowing: 3 ideas

Each case is specific but there are several common and effective tips to stop people from unfollowing.

Well, we’ve told you that sometimes a decrease in your followers number isn’t something bad. However, if you think that this number is getting lower really fast, and you haven’t changed your strategy recently, probably, there is something wrong. 

There can be various factors that influence Instagram unfollowers. And it’s hard to say what is going on in your case. But, you can always take into account these three tips to improve your marketing on Instagram and thereby keep your followers. 

  • Pay attention to content 

We are sure this isn’t the first time you hear that content is king. But this is true. Your content is the most important thing in your Instagram account (and in all your marketing communications as well). 

The best that you can do if you worry about the growth of your Instagram account is to think about your photos. They MUST be high-quality, bright, and catchy. If you post poor quality images over and over again, people just go away. 

One more vital aspect is the frequency of posting. Each social network (and Instagram isn’t an exception) has recommendations on how often you should publish content to avoid the spammy look. According to recent researches, 1-2 times per day is quite enough to engage your followers on Instagram. 

And don’t forget about the Stories. If you want to be closer to your followers, Stories are the best tool for that. Plus, you can post there much more often. 

  • Mind social and political posts

People tend to follow brands and companies whose views and values are similar to theirs. And recent researches support it: 66% of consumers agree that brands should share their opinion or support initiatives. 

Sometimes, it might be risky for your business to say everything that you think about different situations in your city or the whole world. If you are a newcomer to SMM, we don’t recommend writing anything about politics in your business account at all. But when you gain some experience, you can try to implement such content to show your stance. 

In addition, if your company is socially responsible and you want to encourage more people with your go-free efforts, share your value with the audience on your Instagram account. This will help you to find those followers who have the same beliefs and ideas. 

  • Know the difference between a marketplace and a social account

Social media marketing is not only about sales. Despite Instagram being one of the most powerful business tools, you shouldn’t turn your account into a marketplace. 

When people follow a brand, they don’t want to see your products every time they open Instagram. 

Usually, people follow brands to get some expert first-hand information, stay in touch with a company because they share common values, have some fun, or just enjoy good content. If they only see products, they will not have a reason to stay and will just unfollow you.

Improving your content and marketing strategy on social media will definitely help you gain more followers. Subscribers come and go, and this fact shouldn’t upset you.  In this article, we’ve explained what is Instagram unfollowers, why people unfollow accounts, and how you can prevent them from it and grow your SMM.

By Victoria M.
Victoria is a marketing specialist at Social Rabbit. She always looks for great promotional ideas and finds ways of their realization
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