Oh Instagram- it’s a love/hate relationship, isn’t it? One day you’re thriving on the platform and everyone is loving your content and then the next day it seems like no one even saw your latest picture.
If there’s one thing that we can all agree on- it’s that the algorithm is a pain to keep up with. It’s constantly changing and it puts a huge burden on content creators as they have to stay a step ahead of the game to not only get their content seen, but to also keep their followers.
While I highly recommend focusing on your loyal audience rather than those who are likely to hit the unfollow button (keep scrolling), it is still important to understand why people may be unfollowing you as it impacts your growth, engagement, and much more.
I’m going to dive a bit deeper into why you may be losing your audience and how to weed out the keepers to continue to create content that resonates with them.
Now, let’s start with why you are losing your followers.
No one wants to see that follower count drop day after day. It’s a tough pill to swallow but chances are your content no longer resonates with the person anymore.
For example, I lost a ton of followers during election time because I began to use “my voice” and guess what? I did not care. If those people do not want to hear where I stand on issues that’s fine, and if they don’t relate or feel offended with what I have to say, it is best for all of us that they do hit that unfollow button.
Here’s 8 reasons why people are likely to unfollow you:
#1 Your content no longer resonates with them
It’s what I touched on briefly above. It’s okay that you are “not everyone’s cup of tea.” Don’t push yourself to be someone you are not when posting on Instagram. Stick to your brand and what you enjoy posting, if it’s not what someone wants to see, they can move on. All you should focus on is making content that is on brand and that makes you happy. Don’t push yourself so far into a niche that doesn’t fit with you, in the end it will cause more harm than good.
#2 You are posting too much
We’ve all seen it. The account we absolutely love yet they post WAY too much. While I do think you can post too much in-feed, you are pretty much free to go on stories. Try to limit your posting in-feed to one a day, more than that can become overkill.
#3 You are not posting quality content
As a content creator, you need to put some thought it into your content. Taking a quick snap on your phone should be posted to your stories, not your feed. Focus on putting your best work in your feed to help keep your audience excited about your content.
#4 You are posting too many ADs
Such a tough one because sometimes ADs all happen to fall back to back when it comes to busy seasons. I try to limit the amount of sponsored posts I do a week and like to cap it at two sponsored posts. Too many sponsored posts unfortunately turns people off as it’s like “watching a commercial” and they tend to skim right past it. Take extra time and attention when creating sponsored posts to encourage your followers to hit that like button. It’s also a double-win as brands will see your potential and it will lead to more opportunities
#5 You’ve drifted too far away from your niche
This is the easiest mistake when you first start blogging. You want to try out different things and see what works. However, if you are posting something that is just so off-brand, your audience will be able to tell. Not only will it not feel natural to you, but it will also look off to your followers. Stick to what works for your audience and work on creating content in those areas. While trying new things is good, make sure it stays within a scope you are comfortable with.
The takeaway
Acknowledging why people are unfollowing you is important in your growth. Every week I do an analysis on my content to see what was the top-performing for the week and which content didn’t do as well. This helps understand what type of content is resonating with your followers and what type of content you should focus on creating in the future. Evaluate this week after week and notice changes in patterns with engagement, reach etc.
So how do you give back to your loyal audience?
While this post focused on reasons why you may be losing followers, it’s important to note that there is nothing more important than focusing your attention on your audience who continues to show up for you time after time.
There’s many ways to acknowledge your audience and let them know, “hey I see your supporting and I want you to know that I see you and appreciate you.”
One of the most important ways to connect with your audience is to engage in conversation wit them. Respond to comments, reply back to DMs. You can easily spark a two-way conversation by posing questions, asking for opinions, etc. just make sure the convo doesn’t stop there and you continue to engage with their feedback.
You can also give back to your audience by doing giveaways, sharing surprises, etc. One easy way to do this is by giving Starbucks to those who’ve engaged with your content for the week as a way to say thank you. It’s a simple act of kindness like this that shows your followers that you notice them and that’s what creates a loyal audience.
