7 reasons why you’re being unfollowed on Instagram
It happens to us all. The very first step? Knowing why it happens.
How many times have you looked at your unfollow numbers and thought: “what the sht”?!
I’ve been there. We’ve ALL been there. Except, not many people talk about why you’re being unfollowed and what a “normal amount” is, so I’ll start.
My numbers
On an average week, I have anything between 350 - 800 unfollows.
The higher the reach you get and the quicker you grow because of that, the more unfollows you’re likely to get (I lose a lot less followers when my account isn’t growing)
If your strategy is solid, you’ll have more accounts following you than unfollowing you (which is where you see growth)
Bigger accounts will get more unfollows *unless you’re a legacy creator.
But as a minimum, I’ll lose 50 followers a day (over a month, -1500).
*I’ve always found that legacy creators/brands - those that have been creating content for 7-10+ years who have grown steadily over that period, lose less followers. Anybody who’s had sharp growth increases over a shorter space of time, say - through Reels, will lose more.
How do I feel about that?
I try not to take it personally and that’s the one thing I want you to take away from this post.
We don’t need to be mean to ourselves. Going for long walks in the rain whilst listening to Craig David as he sings about “Walking Away”, bellowing like Bridget (“all by yourselfffff”) - no. They’re gone. The moment you step into a negative mindset with Instagram, it’ll stick and this is a good thing.
There are seven reasons why somebody would unfollow you (there’s more believe it or not, but your time is precious haha) and as soon as you know those reasons and that it’s not always personal - you won’t take it to heart. Promise.
I try and think of it in this way too:
Every time somebody unfollows me, it’s a cleanse of my account.
Those people/accounts didn’t want to be here so… what’s better for my engagement rate? That they’re gone and instead, I have a higher percentage of people that are here for the right reasons and actually enjoy my content.
Now let’s get into the juicy bit…
Here are the seven reasons why accounts will unfollow your Instagram
1- The follow - unfollow “technique” is STILL a thing
And it’s not just bots, I still see pretty big, established accounts do it which is mind-blowing to me in 2023.
I’ve noticed people who I recognise follow me, for them to unfollow a week later. Alongside that, there are awful bot programs out there where you can pay for new followers too and this is a dodgy technique they use (which says it all)
This is by far one of the most common reasons you’re being unfollowed, so we want those slimy swines gone.
2 - You’ve changed your niche/what you talk about
Do you know the main reason why somebody should follow you?
If you don’t, it’s worth thinking about. It’s something I talk about in my strategy calls, as it gets you into the mindset of your audience and structures your content.
Take this as an example - a typical niche-change I see (one in the social media space) is for an account to start by sharing social media tips, to then change their niche to “how to sell and grow your business via social media”.
If we start by thinking about the audience first here - these two audiences are so different. Those who want to learn about social media don’t necessarily want to sell anything (creators/high profile individuals like celebrities vs brands and businesses) and that split puts you at risk of losing a good chunk of your engagement too.
I know lots of creators who’ve switched up their niche change successfully, and it definitely doesn’t mean you shouldn’t change up your content if what you’re sharing doesn’t fulfill you anymore. It’s just something to bear in mind, because if somebody has followed you for a specific reason and you’ve either pivoted or you don’t talk about it anymore, unless you have a plan in place they’ll probably unfollow you.
3- Posting too much (or not enough!)
If somebody sees you ALL THE BLOODY TIME, it can get a bit much. Being brutally honest, “my engagement cap” on most accounts is generally 5/6 times a week on the grid (Stories is different). Past this point it can feel like I’m seeing them more than my friends and family haha - but everybody is different so please don’t take how I feel as gospel, more as a nudge to think about your own limits.
If you’re on the other end of the scale and you don’t really post, you might get your audience questioning 1) who you are and 2) why they’re following you. That’s not good.
Best thing to do? Have a consistent schedule of “X posts a week” so your audience can get to know you.
4- They might have changed who they follow
Perhaps person X was on a fitness journey and they’re not anymore? Maybe they were following your travel account but they can’t travel anymore, so have decided to have a mass clear out?
We’ve all changed a lot over the 12 years that Instagram has camped out on our phones and if you haven’t… you’re an anomaly haha. It’s completely normal!
5 - Instagram has regular clear outs on inactive/bot accounts
Instagram regularly clears out inactive or bot accounts to make room on its server, thank GOODNESS.
Do you remember the day in 2022 where we all lost hundreds of followers overnight, for them to be reinstated again half a day later? Instagram put this down to a fault, but - educated guess - it could have been a fault with this whole process.
This type of unfollow is really helpful. If anybody is using a bot program to follow you/me, HASTA LA VISTA YA WRONGEN.
6 - If you’ve said something a bit controversial
There’s two sides to this story:
1- if you’re kind, have an opinion, it’s not malicious and people disagree with you - YOU GO GLENN COCO!
2- if you’re being a bit catty for views or reach, then yeah (just my opinion) you probably didn’t need to do that.
Whatever approach you decide to take though, you won’t be everybody’s cup of tea. That’s life honey! It’s important you know who you are and your style so you can stand by any decision you make.
7 - You’re just not their vibe anymore
This is where it starts to get a bit more personal but the most important thing is YOU DO YOU.
You shouldn’t have to dampen your magic for anyone. If somebody has unfollowed because they don’t like your vibe so much anymore, then it’s not a good fit anyway.
I’m hoping this blog post feels like a big hug
I really hope this post helps you feel way better about seeing those unfollows on your insights. If you have any other questions about this - I know it can feel a bit scary, DM me anytime!