How to Discover your Instagram Unfollowers, and Get Them Back
Everyone who is on Instagram knows how disappointing it can be to lose a follower. This is even worse when users don’t know who unfollowed them. In order to find out who unfollowed them, users could scroll through their followers list and manually discover who unfollowed them, or they could turn to tools that can tell them who tapped that unfollow button. Read this resource to learn about the most effective solutions for tracking Instagram unfollowers.
Understanding what it takes to track unfollowers
For a long time, users on Instagram have struggled to find a permanent solution that would allow them to keep track of their followers. As it turns out, finding a solution is not that simple. Instagram made it clear that this type of information is prohibited now that they have changed their API to restrict third-party apps from sharing such information. Nevertheless, there are still ways to track Instagram unfollowers:
- Manual check: Users can manually discover those who have unfollowed their accounts by reviewing their followers list. This requires them to keep a close eye on their lists, and can be near-impossible for those with huge accounts. Manually checking the followers list is the most basic way of checking Instagram unfollowers.
- Third-party apps: Even though Instagram made major changes in its API that limit how much profile information third-party apps can access, some third-party follower apps can still be used for gauging how many people might have unfollowed an account.
The ideal option is to use a tool which specializes in keeping track of Instagram followers. Even with the modifications implied to the Instagram API, there are still some apps that have managed to work around this and give valuable insights that allow users to monitor their followers.
Apps for tracking unfollowers: FollowMeter
FollowMeter is an Instagram analytics app which provides users with deep insights into their followers activity. This app has an intuitive user-interface. It is pretty straightforward with an easy learning curve, and provides useful information for free:
- Number of gained, lost, and non-followers
- Most liked and least liked photos and videos
- Total amount of likes
- Total comments number
- Average likes number
- Average comments number
Additionally, the premium version unlocks more features for deeper analysis. Reviews state that these paid services can be spotty, so take them with a grain of salt. FollowMeter was hit when Instagram changed their API, but it is a very reliable solution for monitoring Instagram accounts after some changes.
Aside from determining the number of people who have unfollowed an account, it also lists the specific profile names. It is an effective solution that allows users to monitor their followers, account growth, and other Instagram-related statistics.
Apps for tracking unfollowers: Follow Cop
Follow Cop is another popular tool for tracking the number of people who unfollow a particular account. This app allows users to see:
- Users who don’t follow them back
- Users that recently unfollowed them
- Users that they don’t follow
- Top likers
The non-followers function (users who don’t follow back) is particularly useful and rarely present with other apps. It allows users to see which account doesn’t follow them back. The Ghost followers feature is also very useful as it allows users to unfollow users that aren’t active on Instagram, or have a fake account.
In addition, this app only shows those users that recently unfollowed an account. The app is pretty easy to use and allows users to do mass unfollows of up to 20 users or more, and also find fake followers by using specific filters. Follow Cop is one of the most effective solutions available for Android and allows users to add up to three Instagram accounts.
A word of warning is that the free version is supported heavily by ads. You can pay to have them removed if they bother you that much.
Apps for tracking Instagram unfollowers: Followers Tool for Instagram
Followers Tool for Instagram is one of the easiest tracker tools to use for keeping tabs on followers. Unlike other apps, this tool doesn’t spam users with frequent ads that interfere with everyday operations. This tool offers some very exciting features that certainly come in handy:
- Auto unfollow
- Tracking new followers
- Tracking lost followers
- Showing blockers
- Managing unfollowers
- Statistics about posts, comments, and likes
- Most popular and least popular media according to likes and comments
- Managing multiple Instagram accounts
This tool offers free tools, and paid features that come with the premium version. The premium version unlocks additional user-engagement features that can be quite useful for businesses, brands, and serious Instagrammers.
Besides that, the app includes detailed statistics about the likes, comments, followers, and following. Followers tool for Instagram is available for iOS and Android users.
This app offers an exciting automatic unfollowers feature that instantaneously unfollows those who unfollow the user. It should be warned that such features, which don’t through the native Instagram app itself, can lead to ‘shadowbans.’ This is an unsubstantiated rumour, but is worth mentioning.
Engaging Instagram followers to come back
Before trying to win back lost followers, Instagram users should understand why they are losing them in the first place. There are a number of factors that could affect the reputation of an Instagram user. That is why prior to taking any action, it’s important to assess the situation and figure out what caused people to tap that unfollow button. Common issues are:
- Content quality: Improving content is the first step users need to take in order to grab the attention of former followers. Users need to pay attention to their content and their follower number dips to see if certain types of content are low-quality in the eyes of those who unfollow and stop making that type of content.
- Hashtag utilization: Refining how they use hashtags is another way for users to better retarget and capture former followers. They can also make use of Instagram’s new Follow Hashtag feature to understand what their followers use and focus on them.
- Engaging with unfollowers: Engaging former followers on other platforms is an effective way for Instagram users to show that they are serious about getting these followers back. Like their content, and make some valuable comments.
- Boost social proof: This is a very efficient way for restoring lost followers on Instagram. By acquiring a lot of followers, those who unfollowed the user may be tempted to follow them once again, simply because their followers number drastically increased. This can be achieved right now with an Instagram followers service.
Getting unfollowers back is possible with the correct tactics. It is not always possible to get each and every one of them back, but some will return for sure with some analysis and persistence.
Maintain and keep a growing Instagram following base
Losing a few followers here and there is no big deal, and is inevitable. Losing followers constantly, however, is a definite red flag. Users should seriously reexamine their content strategy and make an effort to effectively maintain their following base. The best way to bounce back after a sudden dip in followers is to change tactics. Here are the best ways to deal with an Instagram unfollower crisis:
- Entertain the followers: Contests and giveaways, debates, enticing Instagram Stories, surprise live sessions; these are all essential for an Instagram account to remain interesting. It is necessary for users to keep their content fresh, hashtag-laden, and engaging. Followers are usually attracted by those users that often experiment and vary their content.
- Study the target audience: Instagram users should have a better grasp of their target audience. Users should spend time figuring out what type of content works best for their key demographic, what kind of approach they should take, and how to adjust their tone in order to better appeal to their target audience. Using analytics tools can largely help users understand their audience better.
- Build a community: Instagram users should focus on creating content that sparks interest among followers. By asking questions in the caption, starting a debate, or sharing breaking news within the industry; users open their Instagram accounts to the possibility of yielding highly-engaging content. Users should encourage followers to tag, share, or otherwise engage in their content.
- Use the latest Instagram features: Instagram users should tag locations, use Instagram Polls, Highlights, Stickers, Live video, and every other tool that is at their disposal. An active account is a growing account. Users should work on finding the right balance that would lead to optimized content, without overdoing or forcing certain things that might be considered as spam.
- Experiment with hashtags: There are many ways users can use hashtags on Instagram. Hashtags can create exposure when generic terms such as #travel #tbt #fridayfeeling are used. On the other hand, hashtags which are unique to their account can build loyalty and encourage user-generated content.
It is important to mix it up and create optimized content that appeals both to the target audience and to the Instagram algorithm. Creating optimized content will minimize Instagram unfollowers, and potentially restore unfollowers that were lost.
Build a long-term Instagram strategy
Growing an Instagram account can be a daunting task. Even though everyone loves to see their numbers forever growing, not everyone achieves that. Getting new followers is not even the hardest part, keeping them actively engaged and following is. That’s why Instagram users should always work on improving their content and their Instagram strategy. Here are several tips to help users manage a growing Instagram account:
- Stick to posting the best content, and use Stories for lower quality content
- Analyze the core demographic
- Experiment and stick to the content that resonates the most
- Be up to date with the latest Instagram features
- Strive to create brand awareness with hashtags
- Engage with followers often
Growing a steady and trusting group of followers base on Instagram takes a lot of time, effort, and patience. It is not done in a day or two. Sure, there are rare cases which hit the viral jackpot, but don’t bet on that happening very often. A reliable solution would be to build a specific strategy that will respond to the user’s particular objectives and grind that strategy into perfection. That is the only humble way to make sure the Instagram account has a bright future on the platform.
Date: May 7, 2018 / Author: Rich Drees