(in other words, why I stopped following you on instagram and other annoying things you might be doing.)
If you want to know how to gain followers on instagram then you should avoid these five annoying behaviors so you don’t lose followers. You can gain followers without following them back by being interesting and engaging… hmm, that’s another blog post. Once you get an instagram follower, you want to keep them engaged and interested.
I started using instagram about six months ago and use it to get inspiration and to share pictures of my art process to raise awareness of my “brand.” ( I am @schulmanArt, by the way) Last I checked I do have a few hundred followers. I can’t profess to be an instagram expert but I can tell you why I stopped following you on instagram.
So, if you are doing any of these things and want to build your social media following, beware. Because if this annoyed me, you can bet it annoyed someone else too.
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| Gain instagram followers ( don’t lose them) |
instagram 101
Instagram, for those who have been in some kind of technical cave, is a picture sharing app on our smart phones. You can use it to follow your friends or you can follow a brand or a celebrity. Since this is a visual application, all the sins are posting too much of something we don’t want to see. Here are the five reasons I have stopped following people on instagram. Are you doing any of these things?
1) You post too many pictures of your new baby
I started following you because you are this fabulous interior decorator and blogger. I loved seeing all the pictures of your new apartment, and when you got pregnant, I even enjoyed seeing you delight in new each new addition to the nursery. Then the baby came and with it endless pictures of your infant. Look, I like babies too– but this isn’t why I started following you. I mean, why not post pictures of your cousin’s baby or your Aunt? You don’t do that, right? Why? Because we are not interested. If you want to share your baby pictures get a personal account. I mean, I liked seeing one or two pictures because it is nice to know you are human and have a life. I even sometimes pretend you are my friend, but I got bored. By the way, I stopped following you months ago, but I just peeked again at your account and four of the last 8 pictures you posted were of your baby.
2) You post too many pictures of what you eat
Okay. Now, I know this isn’t a problem for everyone… food bloggers and people who like to cook like to see this sort of thing, I know. I don’t follow those accounts. But you are a fashion designer. I really didn’t think I would have to look at what you eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Not interested in that. If I wanted to see food, I would have followed Cooking Light ( they have an instagram account, right?) or Bon Appetit. I don’t mind seeing Anthropologie’s stylized pictured of lemonade on an Italian Veranda… those make me want to run out and buy an embroidered top and sandals so I can look chic drinking said lemonade. That’s because these brand marketers hired professional food stylists to take their pictures. I know it is not fair, but your dimly lit picture of dim sum taken with your iphone (even with a fancy filter) doesn’t make me want to buy your clothes. You see? It is all about the brand. Want to take pictures of your food? Save it for Weight Watchers.
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| (this is not me… in case you were wondering!) |
3) I forgot who you are or why I started following you in the first place.
This actually happens more that you think. Perhaps, I started following you after I read Huffington Post‘s list of artists you should be following. Maybe I started following you because I saw another artist I liked was following you. Anyhow, you blend in with everyone else. Your name is “CreativeGirl5” or “artChick2” and I am not sure what your point of view is…and, well, yeah, who are you? I think this happens because you never post any pictures of yourself so I don’t feel connected to you.
you are famous, and I sort of remember who you are but you are just random
Yeah, well. These may even be famous folks who may have lots of followers. We are following you because you are famous but you don’t have a clue to what to post. You take artful pictures with your phone reminiscent of my high school yearbook… Those black and white pictures with Valencia or some other filter may look cool but… wait, who are you again? Lots of times you have chosen a handle that has no relation to your real name..you might be famous, you may even be the boy I had a crush on in college.. but now I forgot who you are and your content is just not all that interesting. So, unfollow.
4) You are just too negative
Complain, bitch, moan… negative quotes like “life’s a bitch and then you die”…. all that. I come to instagram for a feel good buzz, not to feel your pain. By the way, I stopped following you on facebook too for the same reason… you don’t know that because I may have just hidden you from my newsfeed, but yeah…I stopped following you.
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5) You are a braggart.
Yes, we know that you are the most successful licensed artist on the planet, and I even bought your book or maybe even took your ecourse… but do I want to see the inside of the closet in your new mansion and every new piece of furniture you bring in? No, I do not. I did not mind seeing pictures of furniture from said decorator above (until she started posting pictures of too many baby pictures) well, because she is a DECORATOR but you, well you are just showing off. And I really didn’t enjoy seeing what you wear every single day. I mean, I like Anthropologie too but I am following you because you are an artist, not so I could get clothes envy. So I stopped following you. So there.
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So, if there is a theme to all of these reasons it is definitely “I started following you because I like your apples but you are posting oranges.” Perhaps you need a personal account and an account for your business. I like sneak peeks into your life, but only a limited view. Make sure you choose an instagram name that is related to your name or your brand. I am @schulmanArt everywhere on the internet, find me on instagram and you can follow me. I promise not to post endless pictures of my kids or what I eat.
Other articles you might like:
- 5 Artists You Should Be Following on Instagram
- 6 Reasons Why I Follow You on Instagram
- Flowers of Instagram
Nice write up
Great Read, and very informative, article – thoroughly enjoyed reading, Learned a lot. Thank you.
Awesome article – thoroughly enjoyed reading, Learned a lot. Thank you.
Very informative and useful article. Learned a lot. Thank you.
Great tips to get more Instagram Followers. I really appreciate your efforts put on this blog. Thanks for sharing this
Really useful tips.Thanks for sharing information.. I will be waiting for your next post.
Wow, 5,000 unfollows a day.. you must follow a lot of people to start with! Also I agree, it's definitely important to not be upset when someone unfollows you. You can't make everyone happy
I never mind if someone I've followed , doesn't follow me back or unfollow me. More than that, I do mass unfollows from such people. Tried to use Instagress, but it works too slowly, less than 500 unfollows a day. Unlike it fast-unfollow.com can do up to 5000 unfollows daily, and besides it's cheaper. So I prefer not to think of the fact that someone unfollow me. After all I have much more important questions.
I think this is a really good reminder to not post too much of any one thing. I love seeing glimpses into the poster's life, it's nice to see that they do other things than post perfectly staged craft photos. There's a balance you need to achieve so people don't get bored or annoyed.
Living room… the painting fits in so nicely as if its made for that wall only !!!
I'm not complaining if they unfollow me on instagram. I guess some of them don't want to see my posts. But's okay with me. Thanks for the tips!
I love the way you used the Red Poppy art in the pale blue room for a punch of color. I never would have thought of this. It really is a great way to change a whole room without changing very much. Love this!
I love that picture, looks like something I've painted years ago.. I think the living room is the best choice, the red in the flowers really make it pop and stand out.
This this really annoys, whether it is instagram or any other social site.
A lot of times, the posts appear too trying hard. It can be really annoying. I've unfollowed several people who do way too much of this 😀
I didn't know people complain on instagram. I usually just post pics, but I wouldn't want to listen to someone complain all day either.
Great list of no no's. Posting too many uninteresting photos is a sure way to get me to unfollow you. There's only so many quotes and Memes I can see.
You really can't complain when you leave your link on facebook groups or follow all blogs for instagram and you HAVE TO follow people. The one thing that annoys me the most is people who have 100+ followers and are following 100+ people and you have less than 100 images on your instagram account and/or you're not active at all. I saw this one instagram that has over 1,000+ followers and she only has 2 images, that's bs to me and not fair. I also hate people who scam/spam the crap out of my newsfeed, esp the ItWorks wraps, everyone and their mama has that and is posting pictures.
I think it's a very personal thing. Sometimes you end up 'having' to follow people via blog groups…then I often wonder how long I can leave it before unfollowing – because I don't want to follow nail/make up/fashion bloggers if that's all the post. I'm a parenting blogger, but I like to see a mix of things (one baby is much the same as the next a lot of the time). And I also like interaction from people who respond to comments made.
agree! and I also will unfollow food and recipe boards on pinterest for the same reason!
agree! agree! agree!
good point russ!!!!! I forgot about this one. The only product you should be sponsoring is your own. I stopped following my spin instructor when he was obviously accepting sponsorship spots on his instagram account
yes, I agree. Except I don;t start following those people in the first place
I hide people who travel too much… not their fault– but I don't need to feel badly about it so I shut them up via "hide"
I forgot about this– mostly because I don't see it any more… I used to see it in groups from attention seeking folks and then I dropped out of those groups.
you are so funny and that is true!
Great list. I agree I hate seeing people food especially if it looks like a pile of slop. My big thing is if you aren't going to work on the presentation don't even bother posting it because it may taste good but it looks horrible.
I love your list! The negativity one gets me too. I also unfollow people on Facebook {I don't see this that much on Instagram} who to get a lot of attention in manipulative ways. These are the people who are post really random stuff about "Don't be a liar, you know who you are" or "I don't like attention *%&$#@" – ummmm, isn't that attention seeking itself? They like to post stuff just to get your attention and act all depressed and "cut-ey" and then when you want further details, they act like you are nosey and won't tell you anything. I find that super annoying. If you don't want to talk about it, then don't.
Lol. I also don't like anything negative – I can't stand those kind of stuff.
The most annoying thing on Instagram is selfies. When I see some people posting too much selfies, I unfollow them instantly.
Too many sponsored ads
I think the resounding message here is that you have to display brand 'you' whatever that is. A little bit of the personal to humanize it but not too much. The think I love about social networks is what you see is what you have chosen to see. So, when I look at my Pinterest feed if I don't like what I'm seeing I can unfollow someone or their board. On Instagram I don't see all this worrying teenage stuff you read about because that isn't what I've chosen to see.
I love it! I do get tired of the negativity in feeds. Funny post!
I appreciate these comments. I honestly don't pay much attention to my instagram account as I don't have a smartphone and it's awkward for me to use
I also unfollow negative people because sometimes a day is just too short to worry about other people's negativity. It's always nice to be a positive influence.
Some great tips to remind us of what it's all about…. thanks for sharing….
my son has instagram– but not facebook! Shows how it is growing!
Paula you are so right!
I am not on Insta-gram, but what I like about your post as it applies not only to insta-gram but to blogging, facebook and real life. A great list and great reminders to us all. Thanks!
Great post, very helpful!
Those are some great tips. I need to work more on my instagram.
I don't have a smartphone, so I don't have Instagram. I see where it's getting popular though, when applying for blog post work. My daughter (teen) has Instagram, and she loves it!
I follow all kinds of instagram users, so my feed is always full of different things and I never get bored with it.
Great tips to better understand the purpose of the medium. 🙂
Kelly
http://www.alovelylifeindeed.com
Haha-good reminders!