You might think your Instagram followers are irrelevant and don’t affect your brand’s marketing strategy. Or you might think the opposite; you must have a zillion IG followers to amount to anything. The truth is your followers are part of your online community: more followers (who are engaged with your account), the more interactions, and the more sales.
When your Instagram is gaining popularity, it feels incredible, right? People appreciate your work by sharing and commenting, and your followers eagerly anticipate new Instagram posts.
Then, out of nowhere, you start seeing your followers leave, leaving you scratching your head, asking, “Why am I losing followers on Instagram?”
According to HubSpot Blog Research, 14% of Instagram marketers report losing followers from 2020 to 2021. That number has increased in 2022 and is expected to grow in 2023. If you belong to that percentage, you might be wondering about the reason for losing followers on Instagram.
Like I said earlier, having a large following can be a huge advantage for both sales and building professional relationships (again, that’s if it’s an engaged following).
So what the heck is happening to your followers, and how can you fix it?
Before we can answer that, we must first cover the potential reasons for why you may be losing your IG followers.
Why am I losing Instagram followers for no reason?
It’s easy to say that you are just losing followers for no reason, but several factors can contribute to the loss.
1. You bought followers on Instagram
The followers you’re losing weren’t ‘real’ followers to begin with, and Instagram is cleaning its platform by deleting all those fake accounts. Growing your Instagram organically takes time and energy, which is why some brands are tempted to buy likes and pay to increase their followers. It looks good, right? WRONG!
Most users are much savvier and can spot the difference between when an account has bought followers and when they have true followers (you know those accounts I’m talking about).
If you paid for your followers, this would lead to a lack of interaction or engagement with these fake followers, making it harder for your content to reach those organic followers.
Solution:
- Stop buying followers.
- Learn the power of engagement and grow your account and influence authentically.
- Even if you have a goal to meet or you think more followers look better, avoid falling back into the habit of buying followers. It will only hurt you in the long run!
2. Follow-for-follow schemes
This is a technique where you follow an account and then hit the “unfollow” button once they follow you back. It’s a massive turn-off when they discover you are in the follow/unfollow game. You gained a new follower and increased your number but at what cost? Plus, what was the point? Do you put that effort in just to follow someone you didn’t really care to connect with? Let’s remember that the point of social media is to be SOCIAL.
Solution:
- Create an Instagram community and engage with them regularly.
- Try and embrace the authentic way of increasing your followers by optimizing your bio, asking your audience questions, and engaging with others in your niche.
- By maintaining a regular posting schedule, offering relevant information, and monitoring trends, you can concentrate on growing your follower base organically.
3. Inconsistent posting schedule
You are losing followers because your Instagram posting schedule needs to be adjusted. If people can’t find your content, they can’t engage with it, making it difficult for you to build loyalty and trust over time.
Instagram is by its very nature a fast-paced medium, and content ages quickly. That is why it is so important to post frequently; if you wait weeks between postings, it is doubtful that your audience will read your message frequently enough for it to stick in their minds and have an impact. Starting off strong before losing all that momentum is such a bummer. One of the best strategies to improve your social media presence is to post regularly and to stick with it.
Here’s why maintaining consistency is so vital.
Instagram’s algorithm favors consistency. This indicates that they favor accounts with consistent posting. You are free to post as often as once per day or three times per week, but you must establish and maintain a posting schedule.
But if you rarely post, the algorithm won’t show them your content and gives your audience the thought that you’re not active anymore. Your readers will engage with other people’s content, thus unfollowing you. And why should someone follow you if they have no idea when you’ll appear? Right?
Solution: Aim to post on the same days of the week, such as every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and at the same time of day when planning your calendar. Start small; you don’t have to start posting 7 days a week. The algorithms will prefer your postings if you post frequently, increasing the number of individuals who see them. Also, check the time that your audience is most active. Did you know that marketing tactics really must include real-time audience monitoring? It’s the best way to monitor what your audience is doing and saying about your brand at the precise time that discussion is taking place.
4. Post irrelevant content
Here’s the thing, if you upload poor material to your Instagram accounts, you run the risk of overpowering all the effort you’ve put into developing your online presence and building relationships with your audience. Your followers may become fatigued and unfollow your account because it is taking over their feed or does not provide important content. Here’s a list of post you must avoid;
Overly promotional content. Some brands make the error of assuming that what is useful to them is also valuable to their audience. As a result, they utilize their social media platforms to promote and “sell, sell, sell” instead of taking into account what is truly relevant to the target audience. Politics and religion are two topics about which individuals have strong opinions.
Religious or Political views content. Politics and religion are two topics on which individuals have strong opinions. If you post aggressively political or religious stuff, you won’t reach your audience, and you’ll inevitably offend or be irrelevant to those who don’t share your viewpoint. Resulting in unfollowing your content and Instagram account.
Viral posts. When you’re short on ideas and your feed appears empty, it’s easy to turn to post the most recent popular meme. But be wary because your audience might have seen it already, and reposting will make the rest of your activities seem less important.
Negative or offensive language. Instagram can be a terrific platform for exchanging ideas, but if your feed is full of debates, rants, foul language, and negativity, it will give your brand a bad image.
Solution:
- Try to utilize your Instagram to join conversations that are currently taking place rather than using them to broadcast. Listen to what your audience is discussing and read what influencers are writing about, then pitch your content in response to these.
- Before posting, try to see if your content is neutral to any beliefs, religiously and politically, before you publish it to your feeds. Also, to make sure that the content you upload is relevant to your audience, plan your content in advance.
- Avoid using abusive content. Refrain from using vulgar language both online and offline.
4. Low engagement
The key to sustaining your followers is engagement. You can’t use Instagram effectively if you don’t have enough of that key. Engagement is what drives followers to your account. Conversations are relevant in business growth, This boosts engagement and drives traffic to your account. Accounts are likely to only engage with you if you’re supporting them. If you don’t build a relationship with your followers, it will lead to disloyalty and a drop in followers. You need to develop a strong relationship foundation if you don’t want to keep losing your followers. On Instagram, you should leave valuable comments on other people’s posts to introduce yourself and increase engagement. Some reasons for losing followers due to low engagement rate are the following;
You’re managing too many accounts on social media. With so many platforms available now, things might get a little perplexing. The chances of becoming successful on any platform are extremely slim to none. Focusing on the few platforms that actually provide results is a better use of your time, money, and resources.
No one responds to DMs or comments. Instagram is a popular channel for customers and potential buyers to contact businesses. Your engagement will suffer if you’re unable to address their issues or promptly respond to their questions.
There isn’t enough engagement in your content. Your Instagram presence depends on your content. Producing high-quality content that people genuinely value is one method to stand out and start an engagement.
Solution:
- Focus on the two or three networks that will most effectively help you reach your target demographic.
- Monitor comments and messages, or ask a third-party organization or agency to do so for you.
- Your social media engagement can increase significantly if you post material that educates, informs, or entertains.
5. Not Focusing on Your Ideal Audience
When someone visits your profile, they think, “What’s in it for me?” What will I learn as a result of following them?” You are probably losing followers because you are posting content your ideal reader isn’t interested in.
Solution:
Consider hashtags that your Ideal Reader would use as you concentrate on them. List those hashtags and then interact with users who are using them. It’s an excellent method to connect with your target audience and demonstrate your compassion. It keeps you engaged and prevents you from asking, “why am I losing followers on Instagram?”
6. Your Instagram niche is declining
The declining phase is the phase where your niche has decreased its popularity or where sales stay flat. People who were formerly intensely interested in that specialty lose their interest, thus deciding to unfollow you.
Solution: In truth, there’s nothing you can do to change the phase of your niche. The only option is to pivot your account into a niche where you’re more likely to experience new audience development. You can read here to learn more about finding your niche.
7. Uninspiring Instagram captions
If you’re not making your feed imagery and captions enjoyable, you’re missing out on opportunities and losing Instagram followers.
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Uninspired captions fail to draw likes and comments, which is what you want from people when you post anything online. Reaching new accounts and maintaining your existing audience without that involvement is more challenging.
Solution:
Think more like a content creator when developing your content strategy. Use your captions to serve as a gathering spot for your online community. Captions are an essential part of your Instagram posts. They add context, provide value, and can even help to convert leads into customers. Write great captions that will get your posts noticed.
8. Your first impression is poor
First impressions matter a lot. Ensuring your Instagram bio accurately describes what you do and who you do it for has always been crucial. Obviously, when you initially find someone on Instagram, you look at their bio. A user usually decides whether or not to follow you by looking at your profile, in particular your handle, profile photo, and bio. If you have a suspicious or unattractive bio, your old followers might unfollow you.
Solution:
Your handle should be distinctive, but it should also be memorable to other people. Your profile bio should be concise, precise, and straightforward. Make it well-written and fascinating enough. Make it varied. Your bio ought to grab readers’ attention and pop off the page. In your bio, explain who you are or what your business is. Mention how you can help your followers and your location. Also, you can add CTA or A call-to-action (CTA) on your Instagram business bio. It helps to engage readers and drive traffic to your website.
9. You’re not providing value, entertainment, or education
You must find a way to solve some form of problem for your followers if you want to expand it or keep the ones you already have satisfied.
Solution:
Are they attempting to mend themselves? – Provide them with advice or instructional videos. Do they want to laugh or find something amusing to share with their friends? Give them current, well-made memes with humorous, uplifting captions. If you fill a need for them, they’ll keep returning. They’ll unfollow you if you become boring.
10. Your visual display sucks
That might hurt, but your graphics must have contributed to losing some of your followers. Instagram’s primary focus is on visual media. Without even reading the caption, people will like and remark on a photo or video. Visual media is excellent at creating feelings and engaging viewers. Simply if your graphics are not visually attractive, your might not gain followers’ interest and also might lead to unfollowing you.
Solution:
Post attractive graphics that would catch your audience at first glance. Graphics/photos that would surely stand out and entertain your followers and audience who are just passing through. You can post a photo that could pique curiosity. Think outside the box.
Now that we have collected various reasons and solutions as to why you’re losing followers on Instagram, we will give you general ideas on how to stop your Instagram from losing followers.
How do I stop my Instagram from losing followers?
The worst thing is losing Instagram followers, especially when you don’t know why. Have you ever spent an entire day producing fantastic content, interacting with your followers, and acquiring a few new followers on Instagram, only to discover that you’ve lost followers by the time you get up the following morning?
Many businesses allocate a substantial amount to develop a sales funnel and expand their operations. One of the most popular social media platforms worldwide is Instagram. However, increasing brand awareness on Instagram takes more than just posting a few images or videos to your page. Remember that anyone with a smartphone may post on Instagram. Therefore, don’t expect a subpar performance to boost your Instagram or get you more followers.
You need to identify your errors and work to correct them if you’re losing Instagram followers. So here’s a list of techniques to avoid losing Instagram followers;
Check the Quality of Your Content
Does the theme of your feed remain consistent? It’s best to keep things like party selfies and food selfies on your account to share with your friends and family. Remember to save your private images to your personal account.
If you are the face of your brand, there is an exception to this rule. If you run a personal or lifestyle Instagram, you are free to post more intimate material as long as you can incorporate it into your main subject.
If you are a travel influencer, for instance, you may share images of your travels or pictures of the food you are eating at various restaurants while you are traveling.
Re-Define Your Target Audience
You might be aiming for the wrong audience if you need help growing your Instagram following or if users are unfollowing you. Concentrating on a more closely related specialized group following your account consistently would be best. Avoid including everyone because uninterested users won’t likely follow your account or interact with it.
Engage and Socialize With Your Audience
It’s important to reply to every comment. If you have followers who occasionally post something you’d like to see in your home feed, follow them. Like the content of your followers and provide insightful comments on their images. People who have a personal connection with you are considerably less inclined to unfollow you. In addition, individuals with whom you develop a personal relationship are more likely to subscribe to your email list and purchase your goods.
Overall, everyone benefits.
Re-Examine Your Posting Schedule
Post while your followers are online to ensure that your material appears at the top of their news feed. To increase engagement rates and keep users following you, scheduling is crucial. There is yet to be a set rule to determine the ideal posting time, but you may locate the peak hours of each day of the week that give you the most exposure. Utilizing your analytics to monitor what works best for you is essential because the ideal times to publish on Instagram may vary by industry. To get more visitors to see your material and keep your followers, try to determine the optimal posting time for your sector.
Change Your Hashtags And Captions
Boring captions and useless hashtags are, without a doubt, significant contributors to losing Instagram followers. Creative Instagram captions can boost likes and comments while making your brand stand out. Look for the finest captions related to your niche to get some ideas. Then, create original captions that showcase your brand’s personality and set it apart from rivals. Keep in mind that a strong Instagram caption gives your picture context and communicates your brand’s narrative.
Since hashtags are the foundation of Instagram’s search algorithm, they help people find your post. Hashtags are your greatest bet if you want your brand to appear on the explore page for a particular search.
Conclusion:
Over the past few years, the Instagram community has experienced tremendous growth. That enormous number of users increases competition and platform noise. Users will have to sort through accounts to find the content they like. They can get it elsewhere if they aren’t getting it from you and might find yourself asking, “Why am I losing followers on Instagram?”
Losing followers on Instagram might depress you but hey! Nothing about losing followers can’t be fixed! Long-term relationships with your followers need a significant investment of time and effort. Review these important aspects if you’re losing Instagram followers and assess what type of boost your Instagram marketing campaign requires.
You can do things to work on your Instagram actively. You can adjust your sails and get things moving in the proper direction if you can critically evaluate your Instagram approach and fix where you’ve made mistakes. Avoid using techniques that would cause you trouble later on, such as buying your followers and including bot accounts and those who use the follow/unfollow strategy.
