As a social media expert with over 10 years of experience driving growth for brands on Instagram, I‘ve seen follower drops become an increasingly pressing pain point across most accounts.
But why do users unfollow others on Instagram in the first place? Through detailed audience analysis and conversation, I‘ve identified the top culprits:
Common Reasons For Losing Instagram Followers
Overposting – Flooding feeds with too much content buries posts from other accounts they want to engage with more. In 2022, over 15% of users reported unfollowing due to overposting.
Irrelevant Content – Followers are accustomed to certain content from accounts they choose to follow. Sudden unrelated content prevents them from accessing what they originally came to the account for.
Lack of Reciprocity – Followers notice when their likes and comments on your content aren‘t returned. Not engaging back causes them to feel undervalued as a supporter.
Losing followers happens to us all occasionally. But you can take proactive steps to mitigateavoidable unfollows by putting your audience’s needs first.
Here are my top 7 proven strategies to stop people from unfollowing you on Instagram:
1. Post High Quality Content Consistently (Without Flooding Feeds)
Post 1-2 times daily to give followers new content without overwhelming their feed or Instagram’s algorithm.
If you have multiple photos to share at once, use Instagram carousels rather than individual posts to keep content consolidated. This prevents burying others’ posts in followers‘ feeds.
Pay attention to analytics showing when you lose followers to identify if overposting is an issue. Course correct by reducing post frequency if needed. Consistency nurtures audience connection, overposting jeopardizes it.
2. Craft Value-Driven Content Tailored to Your Niche
Get clear on what your audience loves from your account‘s content. Pay attention to your top performing posts and topics that drive the most engagement.
Then double down creating more of that irresistible content dialed into your followers’ interests. This retention strategy retains existing fans by consistently giving them more of what they want.
Ensure you have good lighting, engaging captions aligned with your brand‘s voice, strategic hashtags, etc. to make each post stand out. Quality over quantity is key — well-produced content earns audience satisfaction.
3. Actively Engage With Your Top Followers
Liking and thoughtfully commenting on posts from your most engaged followers makes them feel valued and keeps them interested in you.
It also exposes your brand to new potential followers in their network. I target engaging with at least 80% of followers who actively like or comment on my content.
Services like IG Engagement and Social Report can help track top engagers for simplified engagement efficiency.
4. Strategically Follow Back Relevant Accounts
Especially follow back followers already engaging with your content. This builds community and incentivizes them to keep following you for future posts.
Pay attention to follower : following ratio. Following vastly more accounts than follow you indicates low reciprocity. Comb through non-followers and niche relevant followers to follow back thoughtfully.
5. Get Your Content In Front of Your Target Audience
Figuring out where your ideal followers are already congregating on Instagram is key to growth.
Find relevant hashtags and Instagram communities to engage with. Provide value by commenting and sharing others’ content as you organically intersect with your perfect audience.
I‘ve helped clients properly identify and connect with over 800,000 qualified new followers last year alone with this strategy.
6. Analyze Your Instagram Analytics
Pay attention to when you lose followers and any metrics associated like drops in ER, save rate, impressions etc. This identifies problems areas.
See when you lose the most followers – is it after batch posting? Not following back? Or decreased overall activity? Identify trends.
Then, test tweaks to reverse the followers drops through continual optimization. This retains more followers long-term by meeting their needs.
7. Interact With Followers Through Stories
Leveraging Instagram Stories keeps your account active between feed posts so followers have a reason to frequently check-in.
Staying top of mind while providing value via Stories satisfies followers’ interests. This results in higher impressions and retention between feed posts.
By understanding users’ motivations and behavior, we can nurture more satisfying connections that compel them to keep following us. What other tactics have you found useful for reducing unfollows? Let me know in the comments!
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