Gaining followers on Instagram and how many likes your posts get are the currency in which your Instagram profile is measured. And for those reasons, gaining followers is important. The theory is more followers equates to more likes which equates to more people seeing your post which in theory could lead to more sales. But what happens when the followers aren’t following? Here are 5 reasons why you’re not gaining followers on Instagram.
You Rarely Post
How do you expect to get followers and like if you post once a month or even once a quarter? Do you think your content is that magical that only posting once in a blue moon is going to lead to a tidal wave of new followers? The Instagram algorithm dictates that people or brands that post consistently have their content reach more people. Of course there is more to the Instagram algorithm than just posting consistently, but if you’re not even posting monthly let alone weekly, well gaining followers should be the least of your concern.
You buy your followers
We’ve all been tempted, I’m sure, at one point or another to buy followers. More followers must mean we have some pretty amazing content right? Buying followers instead of gaining followers on Instagram organically makes your profile seem weak and desperate. How many times have you seen an account with 100k followers, but only 28 likes per post? That is a dead giveaway that their followers are faker than most of the noses on the Kardashian sisters. Fake followers and bots don’t count into Instagram’s algorithm and it shouldn’t count into your social media strategy either.
You have low quality content
If you’re trying to sell products or get people to use your website, perhaps posting inspirational quotes every day isn’t the best policy. If it’s your personal page and you don’t care then post memes and quotes all day, but if that is your strategy for your brand you might want to find a new line of work. Your Instagram profile is the window looking into your brand. What would you like your potential customers to see? Do you want them to see quotes and pictures of little Timmy at t-ball? No, because they wouldn’t take you or your brand seriously and neither would I for that matter.
Your profile should reflect your brand. You need to have a theme and a consistent one at that. Your posts should have the same look and feel throughout. You want people to scroll and stop and say, “Hey that must be so and so’s post. I can tell by the colors or how the photo was lighted etc.” You want to be memorable and recognizable and none of that will happen if you’re all over the place with your posts.
And for the love of all things holy do not make 9 posts to make one giant photo. That is a no no if there ever was one. Which leads me to….
Hashtags
It’s common knowledge that hashtags help people find you, but there is a limit on how one uses them. You have up to 30 hashtags to use, but you don’t need to use them all at once. Use hashtags that best describe your brand and your posts. Using #like4like or #followback is tacky and if you’re aim is to be tacky then congratulations. If your brand has a cute, little slogan or catch phrase use that in a hashtag. Also see which hashtags are trending and see which ones can be used in your post.
Where is the love?
You keep posting and posting but you’re not gaining followers on Instagram. Your profile is on point and your quality is great, so what gives? Instagram’s algorithm loves those things, but they also want you to spread the love too. Follow other profiles. Like and comment on other people’s posts. All that gets factored into the algorithm which helps the reach of your post more. And in the end you want your posts and profile to stand out among the millions of other profiles and posts.
Those are my 5 reasons why you’re not gaining follower on Instagram, but if you have any more to add, please leave them in the comments below.