To maintain the followers count on Instagram, is a daunting task and losing Instagram followers can be disheartening. Most people are enthusiastic about interacting with their followers when they join instagram until they realize it requires a lot of effort and strategies to grow followers. A proper analysis of instagram insights, new marketing strategies and instagram growth services can easily resolve the issue of low follower rate.
Many basic strategies include being consistent, reliable, making relatable content etc. However, these techniques also change with time. If you have suddenly started losing followers it is because your previous strategies need an update. You lose followers in bulk because of reported content and low quality posts. Due to these reasons, your followers lose interest in your account. In this article, we will discuss the most possible and common reasons why you are losing instagram followers and how to prevent this from happening in future.
Shadow banning is when a user’s posts are restricted to be seen under hashtags or on feeds of other users. Most of the time shadow banning occurs because a user has disrespected Instagram’s community guidelines. If someone reports one’s content reluctantly it can also lead to shadow banning. The worst part is that the user is not informed of such a ban.
Shadow banning can be a huge cause of your account losing followers. When your content won’t show up on other feeds, it would not gain any interaction. For instance, a new fashion trend is on the go and you have made an exciting video regarding it just like other influencers. However, your post won’t gain any new views and likes because it has disappeared.
Disappearance of posts from under hashtags can have a negative affect on your account’s total growth. People use hashtags to search in order to see the top posts regarding the topic. If your account does not show up, it is likely that you would see a decrease in your account’s functionality soon.
There has always been a discussion on shadow banning because it affects businesses, careers and general accounts of users. In 2018, Instagram told Techcrunch that it does not hide posts or favor one account over another. However, after some time Instagram also claimed that not following Instagram Community Guidelines can lead to demoting a flagged post as stated by Later. This led to a confusion because users cannot pinpoint why certain posts would be taken down despite being morally correct. So, if Instagram deems your post as against an international audience, then your posts won’t show on the Explore page.
Have you noticed a sudden decline in the amount of likes on your posts or your follower number dropping at the speed of light? One of the reasons for such a sudden downfall can be reported content. If your post is reported by instagram users, it will create a bad image of your account. Furthermore, constant reporting can lead to suspension of your account which can later become a serious case.
There are many times users use obscene language or post content targeting a certain group of people, mocking a religion, culture etc. All of these things are deemed unacceptable by Instagram Guidelines. If you are seeing a reduction in your follower account, the foremost thing to check are your recent posts. Analyze what you have posted via the Account status feature of Instagram. Unlike shadow ban, a flagged post is notified by Instagram.
Account status is a new feature of Instagram that lets you check if you had been obedient to instagram community guidelines. Go to your settings and Privacy. Click on Account and go to account status. Here you can find a report on your activities. If you have posted something that has intentionally or unintentionally hurt other users, there are chances you will receive mass reporting.
Moreover, users utilize the story feature of Instagram in such cases to spread the word as well. In 2020, a report by Hootsuite stated that 60% of instagram users are serious about reporting offensive posts. Hence, if proper action is not taken quickly, it can lead to losing instagram followers because of your content that has been reported.
The change in instagram algorithm can surely be a cause of your account losing followers. Firstly, when Instagram deleted inactive accounts it resulted in loss of many accounts. If you have been seeing your followers count decreasing it is most likely that inactive accounts that were following you for the longest have been deleted by Instagram.
Secondly, it is important to know about the Instagram algorithm as it can help you in creating a good marketing strategy for your account. Let’s look into what Instagram Algorithm is and how a change in it can affect your followers list.
Basically, Instagram algorithm is ranking posts, reels, videos etc based on likes and dislikes of an instagram user. Algorithm shows people the content on explore page, home page, reel sections in which they have shown interest in the past. The aim of the algorithm is to make instagram users feel connected with their feed on a personal level. Instagram tends to change the algorithm once in a while and if you are not updated with it then you can lose interaction.
Let’s look at an example, in 2022, Instagram had more focus on videos which led to criticism by users who wanted instagram to remain an app for uploading photos primarily. The CEO of instagram Adam Mosseri went ahead and admitted “We were overfocused on video in 2022, and pushed ranking too far, basically showed too many videos and not enough photos”. Now, if you had kept your focus on uploading photos instead of focusing on videos, there is a big chance your content was not ranked and your followers decreased.
In comparison in 2023, there is a significant focus on reels. If a user on today’s instagram is not making reels based content they won’t gain a good amount of interaction. Further, the 2023 algorithm of instagram, is mainly focusing on ranking original content. So, if one is remaking or reposting someone else’s content then it won’t rank, get likes and attract new followers towards your account. Thus, you must be active enough to know when the instagram algorithm is changing so you can alter your content accordingly.
Unlike before, today’s instagram has multiple tools inside the app to help you check the overall performance of your account. There are two important things: Instagram Metric and Instagram Analytic. Let’s take an example to know the difference between them. Instagram metric is the number of followers you have (follower count) and Instagram Analytic is how is the growth of your followers list (follower growth rate). Our focus is on the later one since we want to find out why our followers are declining.
To check instagram insights you need to Click on the three lines on the right upper corner of your instagram account. Click on Insights which is only visible on business accounts. This feature shows Accounts reached, accounts engaged and total followers.
This is the most important section when it comes to understanding why your account is suddenly losing followers. This gives you data on your total number of followers. Instagram shows you a graph indicating increase or decrease in your follower growth rate. 1.69 % is a good instagram follower growth rate. If you are not meeting this then it is one of the reasons why you are not gaining any new interactions. This also means your content is irrelevant and inconsistent which in turn is the reason why followers leave your page resulting in decline of follower growth rate.
Additionally, follower rate also provides demographics of your followers. It tells you about their location, range, gender and active times. Demographics are important and they do have an influence on your followers growth rate. In 2019,” Social Bakers did a study where they asserted that users from different demographics have different interests. For instance, users in the US like posts about food while users in India like more posts about fashion and beauty”. If you don’t want to lose a certain demographic where your most audience lies then post content that can catch their attention.
Accounts Reached is a great way to check how many new accounts have reached your content. Knowing the increase and decrease in these numbers can tell you if your account is shadowbanned or if there is another issue with your marketing techniques. Remember accounts reached does not mean it has engaged with your account. It is more likely that your account is visible to others. There is also a date mentioned so you can examine what you posted on the particular date that has led to the decline in accounts’ reached numbers.
The Accounts Engaged section shows how many accounts have dropped likes, given views or left an impression on your account. If you see a decline in these numbers it means you need to refine your content and use hashtags correctly. Hashtags on Instagram launch and grow these trends but there comes a time when everyone moves onto the next trend. This observation is important for instagram users if they wish to maintain a good number of engaging accounts and a good followers list.
When a trend dies, users need to refrain from giving outdated updates. For instance, a dancing trend could initiate and everyone would join it but after some time another makeup trend would come. Users who keep their feed related to previous contents appear boring and their followers lose interest and leave.
Earlier, we discussed shadowbanning and how it is one of the reasons for losing instagram followers. Instagram bans posts or any kind of content it believes to be against its community guidelines. In order to ensure approval of instagram, you must create content with proper hashtags and go through all community guidelines beforehand. Moreover, be relevant and concise with your content.
There is no specific way to avoid shadow banning on instagram but you can take two precautionary measures.
You can report shadowban by using the ‘report the problem’ option available on Instagram app. It is under the Help section. Furthermore, the new feature of account status can help you in seeing if you have been shadowbanned or not.
If you have been shadowbanned, you need to check your previous posts and the comment section. Most of the time, your own followers would try to inform you if you have crossed community guidelines. You can take this as a warning and stay off social media for a while. When you come back later, you need to check your demographics as discussed earlier and post content that your followers would ideally love to get back on track. The same can be applied to the reported accounts which we will discuss below.
If users on instagram have mass reported your posts there is a chance your account will either get shadow banned or get suspended. Getting reported brings a bad image to one’s brand which leads to users getting detached and later unfollowing you. The best way to deal with this situation is to be ethical and respectful. Read instagram community guidelines for further understanding.
The real question is how would one know what has been reported and when it has been reported on your account. Instagram has made this easier with a new feature called Account Status.
Click on Settings and Privacy. Scroll down and click on Help. Here you will find Account Status that will give you an overview about the status of your account. Instagram has clearly explained in what ways community guidelines can affect your account and your followers as you can see in the pictures down below:
Further, if instagram has removed your post or your comment it will be shown under the “What been removed” section. Instagram does not notify you of shadow ban but by checking account center you can have an idea why your posts do not show up in other users’ feeds.
We asserted on the issue of Instagram Algorithm that leads to losing instagram followers in the beginning of this article. Now, we will discuss its solution. In the last few years, instagram started focusing on promoting the videos feature more which meant the explore page ranked videos content more. In 2023, you must have noticed the reels content was everywhere on instagram. There is also now a separate section dedicated to reels. This shows that the Instagram algorithm keeps on changing and if you don’t keep up with it it will cost you loss of interaction and followers.
Keep in mind, reels are going viral and all your competitors on instagram are focused on reels. What can you do to engage your followers in this situation and make them stick with you? Ideal thing is the creative creation of reels for today’s instagram. Make original content instead of copying from others since it has more chance to get ranked. Secondly, be relevant to your niche.
If you do not want to lose followers, you must keep a good aesthetic about your account. Your reels should be clear, imaginative and engaging. Of course, you would want to bring a change later on but you must be observant in how and when to bring it. When a new trend starts, you can hop on it and that can help you gain more followers as well.
Lets take an example of Instagram Reels since they get viral and are the most talked about feature. You have made multiple highly creative instagram reels which follow all instagram community guidelines and are original. It has been days but one of your reels is getting the most likes.To check the engagment ratio on your content you need to follow these steps:
A great way to increase your interaction and to get authentic instagram followers is by taking follower growth services. These new followers on your account will change your outlook. People often listen to the ones who have a huge following which is the same with instagram accounts. Buying followers will increase your interaction one way or another. You will soon see a surge in your engagement as more people will like, comment and view your content.
Gary Vanyrcuck is a famous entrepreneur who has made many famous videos regarding instagram’s growth and success. He came up with a $1.80 strategy to increase your followers count on instagram. In this strategy, you have to choose 10 hashtags regarding your niche. After that go 9 top most posts under each hashtag and leave a genuine comment under each post. When you leave comments, there is a high chance your comment will get noticed not only by the owner of the account but also by their followers.
To ensure this, it is necessary that your comments are original and do not appear as bots. Secondly, the process of choosing posts on instagram is important because if you pick up “famous” accounts you will barely get recognised. On the other hand, if you pick an account with average number of likes but great interaction you will most likely get recognition. You can use this technique to increase your follower growth rate after you have suffered loss of followers.
In this article, we have highlighted and extensively explained the top reasons why you are losing instagram followers. We have presented a detailed analysis of instagram insights and algorithms to observe its impact on instagram follower growth rate. Moreover, we have given solutions to this problem of losing followers as well. We hope that this article will be of great help. If you understand this algorithm and post content according to it then it would make Instagram easier for you and you won’t lose followers.
