You spend hours creating your Instagram profile- you write the perfect bio, add an attractive profile picture, upload high-quality images, share stories and get a good number of followers. But the next morning when you wake up, you see your Instagram followers going down. What did just happen? You can’t help but ask why am I losing followers on Instagram?

If you think you are losing Instagram followers for no reason, stop and take a look at the situation. You can be losing followers for a number of reasons!

We will cover the most common reasons for Instagram losing followers and tell you what to do to stop losing Instagram followers.

Why am I Losing Followers on Instagram?

Let’s be honest- there can be many reasons for losing followers on Instagram. Sometimes you lose followers without any fault of yours, but at other times it’s something you did to make it happen. For example, many Instagram users lost followers because their account was inactive.

If you are down to asking why do I keep losing Instagram followers, then you need to check a few things in order to make out whose fault it is.

Whose Fault is it Anyways?

It’s either you or the followers who are at fault. Let’s find out who is to blame!

1. You Lost Instagram Followers without Explanation

Many people started following your account, but now they are gone!

This is a classic example of the ‘follow/unfollow’ growth model many people use on Instagram. They visit your account, follow you, like your pictures and maybe leave a comment too- all in the hope of earning a follow-back from you!

But when they see you haven’t followed them, they just unfollow your account. There’s nothing you can do to stop it!

2. Instagram Followers Dropped Suddenly

Instagram is known to remove fake accounts and bots from time to time in order to improve their user experience. If your followers contain fake or spam accounts, then Instagram may have removed them according to their terms and policies.

You can’t do a thing about it other than asking why am I losing followers on Instagram!

5 Reasons Why You Losing Followers on Instagram

Wondering why am I losing Instagram followers? These may be the reasons:

1. Poor Quality Images

Is your image blurry? Do the pixels seem patchy?

Upload low-quality images is a sure way to losing Instagram followers 2016 and in 2019. People are only ready to consider high-quality images these days as all devices like smartphones and tablets support high-resolution pictures.

Providing a rich visual experience to your audience is easy- you just need a smartphone camera. It’s great if you can afford a DSLR, but that’s not essential.

2. Not Good Enough Captions

Not using interesting or engaging captions can lead to Instagram follower glitch and losing followers. Captions keep up the interest of your followers and keep them coming back to your page. So if you lost followers Instagram just after uploading a picture, your caption might be the cause.

Here’s an example of a good caption:

Try captions that connect to your audience and encourage them to engage with your post.

3. You are Overselling

Being too salesy on Instagram will only make your followers bored and increase their chances of hitting the ‘unfollow’ button! We get it that you want to promote your brand and that’s why you are growing your follower count. But there’s a difference between selling and going overboard with your efforts.

Do you tag all of your posts with something like “Buy this (item) for $50” all the time?

It’s being too salesy and will only translate to Instagram lost followers!

4. Instagram is on a Cleaning Spree

Instagram is known to clean its database from time to time to get rid of fake accounts and autobot accounts- it’s called the Instagram purge! The biggest purge happened in 2014 when many users thought they have Instagram glitch followers as millions of accounts were deleted.

The Instagram follower glitch 2015 saw Akon losing 2.4 million followers while Justin Bieber got light by 3.5 million followers. Instagram hasn’t gone on such a massive hunt for a long time, but they keep removing fake accounts at regular intervals.

So if you find a considerable drop in your follower count, it could be Instagram deleting followers.

5. You Don’t have a Consistent Theme

The image feed of your account tells the audience what to expect. A nice and consistent theme that ties all the images together is a sure way to persuade people into following you. On the other hand, if your images differ substantially from each other or have mismatching colors, then people will naturally leave.

Here’s an example of a cohesive feed that compels viewers to turn to followers:

The feed has images of landscapes, people, tea cups but you can notice the consistent colors and tone in all images. They seem to fit together like a collage!

What to Do so as Not to Lose Followers

You know why exactly you may find, ” my Instagram followers are decreasing.” Knowing the reasons help you to adopt steps so that you don’t end up losing followers.

1. Take Care with Images

Edit your pictures using a free photo editing tool. You can adjust various parameters like exposure and contrast to ensure you only upload the best images.

2. Use the Right Captions

Make your captions engaging by:

• Relating a story with the image
• Providing the context of the image
• Ask questions to your followers
• Ask them to leave a comment

3. Use a Cohesive Theme

Asking the following questions will help you create a consistent theme with your images:

• Does the photo stand out on its own?
• Does the photo compliment the last one you posted?
• Are your photos using required elements to tie them together?

4. Maintain Posting Consistency

Some people post too much while others don’t post adequately. You should look to share 1 to 2 posts every day as that is the sweet mark without appearing too pushy!

Also, consider the timing of your posts. You may want to target your audience before they leave for work or after they are free in the evening.

5. Don’t Overuse Hashtags

Don’t use too many hashtags in your posts because they qualify as spam. Also, fake accounts can target you through the hashtags and follow your profile which ultimately results in losing your followers.

Use a maximum of 11 hashtags per post for optimum engagement.

Stay Away from ‘Black Hat’ Techniques

One of the main reasons of randomly losing followers on Instagram has to do with Black Hat techniques like we already discussed. You should make it a point not to buy fake followers on Instagram. You not only risk Instagram losing followers, but your account can also get banned or removed.

So always get your followers in a legit way.

Grow Your Followers the Right Way

The best way to grow your followers is to be proactive. Try out the following:

• Seek out posts that are related to your niche and post comments and likes.
• Follow some of the accounts, making sure to go for the most engaged ones.
• Share stories and pictures to make your Instagram account attractive and appealing to users.
• Share content that relates to your audience and solves their problems.

Gradually you will attract real and active followers who will always stay by your side. You will never again have to ask why do I keep losing followers on Instagram!

Conclusion

You know what to do when someone says, ” why do I lose followers on Instagram?” The first thing is to make sure your list doesn’t have fake followers which you should get rid of anyway! Then upload high-quality images with interesting captions and become proactive on Instagram. With the right kind of approach, you are not going to lose followers on Instagram anymore!