Notice how your followership is fluctuating. Could you might be a victim of the dreaded “follow unfollow” scheme. I understand this is a popular growth method especially on Instagram – and it works!
However, should we just shrug it off or call out this self-focused scheme?
How does it work?
An influencer’s account follows you, or likes, or leaves a comment on your social media posts. You get a notification and follow them back. A few days later they unfollow you. The follow-unfollow is used by many because they wish to grow their account faster.
This scheme is notorious in almost all social media channels.
It’s widely practiced on Instagram but also happens on other social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, TikTok, and others.
This is not cool! Why?
❌ You’re just building irrelevant audiences.
Massive followership doesn’t guarantee an increase in engagement and reach because it lacks “authentic connection”. Brands rely on accurate numbers and followers to find ideal customers. But with an irrelevant audience, brands can’t get authentic numbers to assess social media strategies.
❌ You’re faking yourself.
Make-believe followership of random people cares less about what you post online. Connect with those who share with you the same field and interest.
❌ It is unethical and desperate.
The number of followers is only kismet of other KPIs we should be more concerned about.
❌ It disregards other influencers.
Unfollowing means you are no longer interested in the influencer so it’s vital to follow accounts you’d like to see on your feed at any time. Social media is a community but follow-unfollow contradicts that.
❌ It can damage your credibility.
When others notice you’re practicing the notorious scheme, you might lose followers over time especially those who condemn the practice.
Build and earn your authentic audiences.
Having them fast surely will not last. Build your brand without selfishly caring only about your own accounts.
It’s also inconvenient to be flooded with irrelevant posts because it block out posts that actually matter to us.
Why should we follow people on social media?
☑️ Expand our network
☑️ Build genuine, authentic connections
☑️ See posts that might also be of our interest
☑️ Stay updated on the statuses of the people we follow
☑️ Be part of a community
☑️ Share and also learn
Grow your account without the need to follow-unfollow. Reach out today.
