From Inactive to Influential

If you have been using the Instagram platform for more than five years, it is highly likely that over 50% of your following is inactive. In 2018, this wasn't a significant concern, but as social media continues to evolve, the purpose of having a large follower count has shifted. Merely having hundreds, thousands, or even millions of followers means little if they are not actively engaging with your content. Whether you aspire to be an influencer or are already one, declining engagement is a sign that your days of success on the platform may be coming to an end. However, if you don't care much about your Instagram appearance and have noticed an increase in followers but a decrease in interaction, there are simple rules you can follow to enhance your following.

Recently, I decided to conduct a free and non-intrusive search on my own Instagram profile. The results were eye-opening. Out of my 38,000 followers, a staggering 75% were inactive. Considering that I joined the platform a decade ago, it is not surprising that some of my initial followers have either left or become inactive. However, to my surprise, I discovered that some of them were still there, just not engaging with my content.

If you're curious about how your Instagram profile appears to Instagram I encourage you to head over to inbeat.co and conduct a search. It's a simple process that doesn't require login credentials. Just type in your name, and it will reveal the number of inactive followers you have.

However, it's important to note that removing inactive followers is not a quick fix. It is a slow and meticulous process, even if you have a relatively small following of 200 users. Nevertheless, the journey can be enlightening.

You might wonder why I embarked on this journey. The reason is simple: I am reviving my social media presence. I have returned to teaching people how to leverage social media for business marketing and to become influencers for those who desire to pursue that path. Ironically, despite my former influence and expertise, I no longer utilize my social media platforms to promote my own work, with the exception of specific pages for non-social media businesses that I engage with on a seasonal basis. In 2017, during the peak of my popularity on Instagram, I would receive daily gifts in the mail—drones, cameras, earphones, tickets, clothing, and even anti-aging creams. However, those days are long gone. In the entire year of 2023, I received only one item. Let's face it, who doesn't enjoy receiving free stuff? This prompted me to delve into my social media presence and implement the following simple rules, which have resulted in a resurgence of my Instagram following. I am now able to maintain connections with my favorite accounts and even reconnect with individuals I haven't seen in years.

Rule 1: Do not follow anyone who does not follow you (including celebrities).

Save this behavior for Facebook; Instagram operates differently. Every person who does not engage with you affects your activity. If it's an average individual who selfishly posts only about themselves without any regard for your content, it's time to let them go. They will soon realize the absence of your likes, and perhaps it will teach them a lesson. However, if they eventually follow you and you decide to reciprocate, ensure that they actively like your posts.

Rule 2: Do not allow followers whose views and interests do not align with yours.

Make it a habit to review your followers individually. Are they selling bitcoin or similar products? Click the "remove follower" button. Even if you have an interest in alternative currencies, Instagram flags them with caution, which lowers their exposure and, in turn, affects your visibility. Have they not posted anything within the past year? Unfortunately, such followers are not desirable either. Instagram is a two-way street; it measures your presence and impact. If a profile lacks a profile picture or consists of a random generic image, consider it a red flag and remove the follower. Do they consistently post about football, while you have no interest in the sport? Bid them farewell. Are they simply a meme churner? Say goodbye to them as well.

Visit your profile page and navigate to the "followed" section. Take the time to review your recent follows. Did they like any of your posts? Are they genuine users? If they match any of the criteria mentioned earlier, click the "remove" button on the right side. Be just as discerning about who follows you as you are about who you follow.

Have you ever come across someone who posts a quote about a particular trait they possess, while criticizing others for the same trait? These individuals are likely narcissists. You don't need people like that in your life, and I can assure you that they are engaging with less than 10% of your posts. People often overlook their own flaws and fail to realize that their actions or words mirror their own behavior.

Rule 3: Determine if they are no longer active.

This may sound harsh, but it's an important consideration. If someone you regularly engaged with on Instagram, such as a family member or a friend, has become inactive, you might want to keep them in your follower list. However, if they were individuals you never interacted with in real life, not even through Instagram chat, it's time to let them go. Each inactive account is eating away at your visibility. Personally, I still follow around 70 people who have passed away, but I understand the significance of maintaining those connections.

Rule 4: Identify inactive accounts.

Even if someone is your closest friend, if they have not posted anything within a year (or whatever time frame you find appropriate), bid farewell to their followership and vice versa. These percentages all contribute to your overall engagement. This task of removing inactive accounts may be time-consuming, especially for someone like me with 38,000 followers (now significantly fewer, as I am still in the process of cleansing my account). However, it can also be strangely rewarding. During this process, you may stumble upon profiles of individuals you haven't seen in years, and to your surprise, they are still active. These are the people with high engagement who may not have appeared on your feed because they carefully manage their following and followers. I discovered at least 100 active users whom I hadn't seen in years, and now I'm reconnected with them after catching up on their activities since our last interaction on the platform. Consequently, they have been realigned into my feed.

When it comes to purging, certain clues can assist you. Some people may delete all their pictures, including their profile picture. Others may change their usernames to gibberish or explicitly state that they are inactive or no longer using the account. These signs are searchable. At the top of your followers section, you'll find a search box where you can enter terms that imply someone has left the platform.

When I started removing over 20,000 inactive followers, I would do it during moments of downtime. It became a somewhat enjoyable experience, almost like a game. I would go to the followers section, enter the search bar, and type "aa," "ab," "ac," "ad," and so on, progressing through the alphabet. Whenever I stopped, I would make a note on my phone to indicate my progress. My current note says "Kx." I know what you're thinking—tedious. Yes, it starts that way, but it eventually becomes enriching. I find myself looking at profiles and thinking, "Why havenI not following you? You're amazing!" And once you've completed the purge, if you pay close attention to the tips mentioned above, you'll likely never have to repeat the process.

Rule 5: Pay close attention to the "least interacted" section.

By clicking on "following," you'll see various categories at the top, including "least interacted with." This section brings certain issues to light. They could be inactive accounts that you haven't seen in your feed lately, or worse, they might secretly hold some level of animosity towards you. While the last point is partly in jest, it's worth checking if you're up to date with their likes on your posts. If they're still active and haven't liked any of your content in the past six months, it's time to let them go. After all, what's the point of one-sided relationships? While some individuals may have a selective approach to liking posts and only engage with content they truly appreciate, having such accounts can significantly impact your overall engagement.

Rule 6: Never follow more people than follow you.

Maintaining a sense of balance is crucial. Instagram is a two-way street, and the platform expects you to be actively involved in both posting and engaging with others. Following more people than follow you disrupts this balance, and it's best to avoid such an imbalance.

Rule 7: Limit yourself to posting no more than twice a day; save additional content for stories.

If you've already made two posts in a day, save that amazing photo for tomorrow. Personally, I adhere to a rule where I post at the beginning and end of the day, or around 7 pm. Try to leave a minimum of 10 hours between your posts whenever possible. This guideline serves as an etiquette measure, but it's also important to consider the impact on your engagement. While it's essential to be authentic and share your experiences, it's worth giving your content some thought. Remember, if you have spare time and want to plan your posts, Instagram now allows you to schedule them within the app. You can either schedule them directly within the post or access the three lines at the top right of your screen, scroll down to "scheduled content," and manage your planned posts from there. Take advantage of this feature and schedule your posts during your free time.

If you want people to see what you're doing at the current moment, share it as a story and save the regular post for later.

Rule 8: Tell a story.

The key to successful posting lies in finding an image that resonates and pairing it with a captivating story in your text. It can be as simple as "had an amazing afternoon paddleboarding" or more detailed, where you delve into the specifics of the location or the equipment used to capture the photo. Don't forget to geotag your location, as it helps people understand where you are and use appropriate hashtags. If you struggle to come up with relevant hashtags, don't hesitate to ask Chat GPT for suggestions. I frequently input my text into Chat GPT and seek its recommendations for suitable hashtags.

In conclusion, my personal experience involved starting with 38,000 followers. Around a year ago, I was receiving 400-600 likes per post. However, prior to undertaking the purge, I was struggling to reach 40 likes. As I began removing inactive accounts and discovered that people I thought had left the platform were still active, my visibility increased significantly. Consequently, my likes doubled and even tripled, now reaching around 400 within a week of a post going live. However, I won't stop there. There is still ample room for growth.

Remember, the number of followers you have is no longer the sole measure of success. If you have 100 followers and consistently receive 90 likes, you are considered a top-level influencer. Aim for a minimum ratio of 70% followers to likes, and you will go a long way—farther than someone with 20,000 followers but only 100 likes. Engagement is the present and future of social media, and it's time to embrace it.

Note: This article is entirely based on factual information. As a former Instagram employee with continued involvement in the platform and social media marketing, everything I have shared is rooted in experience and expertise.