What To Do If Youāre Losing Followers On Instagram
Struggling with the changes Instagram keeps making? Here’s some top tips on what to do if you are losing followers on Instagram, and how to combat it.
Posted 5 years ago
Written by
Tania braukamperPosted 5 years ago
Your ultimate goal is to grow your Instagram follower count. But despite your best efforts, the opposite is happening: Youāre actually losing followers on Instagram and you donāt know why.
This is not good news. After all, your Instagram account is a key part of your marketing strategy.
So what can you do to rekindle the love affair with your followers and stop them from walking out on you?
There are lots of reasons for losing Instagram followers, so the first step is to work out which ones apply to you. To make it easier, weāve singled five out the most common ā as well as what to do about them.
So if you want to know how to stop losing Instagram followers, read on.
Reason 1: Youāve strayed from your niche.šāāļø
Most likely, people followed you because the style or theme of your content appealed to them. Maybe you even set yourself up as a topical authority in your niche.
If you stray too far in a different direction thereās a risk your followers will lose interest. This is because your content is no longer meeting the expectations you set at the start.
An account about vegan recipes is going to lose followers if it suddenly starts posting recipes for chicken fajitas. An account that posts high-quality travel photos will lose followers if it starts posting crude, gritty snaps. And so on.
This is not to say you canāt evolve. Evolving as your brand grows is crucial. So is getting creative and trying out new things. But the trick is to always keep the desires and expectations of your audience in mind.
Solution: If your content has shifted you have two options: The first is to return to your roots. Divert back to posting the kind of stuff your audience knows and loves (and aim to make it even better than before!)
Pottery Barn stick within their niche. Followers know theyāre always going to get a steady stream of design tips and inspiring interior decor pics.
Or, commit to your change in direction, accept that youāll have to sacrifice some followers, and focus on creating incredible content that satisfies your continuing follower base while also building up a new one.
Food account, Minimalist Baker, commits to a change in direction while still satisfying its existing crowd.
Reason 2: You paid for followers.š°
Itās tempting to want to skip the hard work and slow growth. But as weāve discussed before, buying Instagram followers isnāt worth it.
Often the follower accounts are fake, in which case thereās a good chance theyāll eventually be found out by Instagram and deleted (if you notice your follower count take a big dive at once itās likely Instagram has done a cull of fake accounts).
And even if the followers are real, itās likely theyāre not genuinely interested in your content.
In other words, their ā¤ļøās arenāt in it.
And that means that as soon as they stop being compensated thereās nothing to make them stick around.
Solution: The best solution here is to forget about buying followers and focus on growing organically.
Learn how to be a master of Instagram hashtags. Write compelling captions. And, of course, take captivating images and videos.
Urban Outfitters make sure to engage their active follower base with snappy captions and encouragement of participation.
The better your content, the more genuine followers youāll attract. And itās the genuine followers who are in it for the long haul.
Reason 3: Youāre overzealous on the sales pitches. šØāš¼
If youāre a brand, your followers know that you want to sell them stuff. And if theyāre genuine fans of your brand, theyāre ok with that.
But no one likes an overly pushy salesperson. If all you ever post are sales pitches without the added value from your content, people are going to hit that unfollow button faster than you can say ādonāt miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunityā.
Solution: Make sure all your content is beautiful, inspiring, or informative as well as promotional. Really, thereās no reason it canāt be both. Avoid too many graphics with āSALE!ā splashed across them and instead focus on creating content your audience will love that features your product in a natural way
A beautifully-presented post with a subtle sales pitch from homewares brand Crate & Barrel.
Another strategy is to compliment your sales posts with broader lifestyle content thatās of interest to your audience. Interspersing your product pitches with other creative content ideas will keep people engaged with your brand.
An example of fun content from Free People that isnāt selling anything except the brandās personality.
Reason 4: Youāve created controversy. š±
Another reason you may be losing followers on Instagram? Youāre posting content thatās controversial in some way.
Political messages, support for certain causesā¦ maybe you just have a really strong opinion about whether pineapple belongs on pizza. Some things are just bound to divide.
The bottom line here is that you canāt please everyone. And whether youāre a brand or an individual, itās your choice whether you want to stick by your values at the risk of getting some people offside.
Solution: You could avoid posting anything divisive. But an even better option is to stand by your values and beliefs. You may lose some followers, but the ones whose values align with yours will stick by you even harder.
Starbucks proudly adheres to its brand values, undeterred by a degree of negativity.
Reason 5: Your followers were just gaming you.š®
Thereās a common tactic in the Instagram game which can result in you losing followers, and it goes like this:
An account follows you, and maybe even posts some sparklingly positive (but generic) comments on your posts. (Cool pic! š„) We hate to say it, but they donāt really love you. Theyāre just trying to lure you into following them back.
And when you donāt, theyāll be out of your life as quickly as they entered it.
Solution: Some followers will come and go. š¤· Well, if they were just bots trying to game you, good riddance to them. You want followers who are genuinely engaged.
Keep focusing on creating awesome content, using strong hashtags to help people find it, and building up followers in a natural and organic way. If people unfollow you on Instagram because they were just trying to build up their own account, you havenāt really lost anything anyway.
To sum upā¦
There are a number of different reasons why your Instagram account numbers could be dropping. Some of them are beyond your control ā so why not focus on the ones that you can do something about?
First and foremost, do a review of your content and check if youāre still meeting the expectations of your desired audience.
Make sure all of your content gives some kind of value ā even if itās promoting your brand or products.
And focus on growing your audience organically rather than artificially.
All of these things together will help you to stop losing followers on Instagram and build your account instead.
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