5 Reasons You Might Get Unfollowed

As an influencer and blogger it’s only natural to want to know why people unfollow us. We put a lot of emphasis on the number of people that unfollowed; we all of a sudden need to know why, what’s wrong with our content, why 40 people don’t deem us worthy of a forever follow. 

I’m here to tell you that you should be happy when someone unfollows you. It means that they are not your audience, what you’re creating doesn’t serve them and they are making space for the people that actually care about what you’re saying. 

You’re probably thinking “that’s easy for you to say, you have over 7k followers,” and you’re right I do, but if you’ve been following me for a minute now you would know that I don’t talk much about my follower count AT ALL. That isn’t where my focus lies and it shouldn’t be where your main focus is either. 

I also want to be clear that these reasons are based on and around someone building a brand. If you have a personal account and are not looking to create anything specific you don’t have be moved by what I mention. That said I’m sharing 5 of Reasons You Might Get Unfollowed.

Negative or Inflammatory Content

I refuse to follow accounts that are entirely negative or only sharing content that is stirring up some kind of negative action in me. That isn’t the type of energy I personally want to see on a daily basis because over time that has an affect on us just like anything else we constantly consume.

Now what I determine as negative is subjective because what affects me may not affect you in the same way. Also please don’t misunderstand sharing your thoughts about what is going on in the media/society as negative or inflammatory, BUT it could be. I think addressing and expressing your views or thoughts on something is fine, but if that is all you speak about, it could cause someone to unfollow you. 

Content Doesn’t Inspire or Provide Value

The whole reason most people are drawn to or attracted to you via social media is most likely due to the type of content you put out. If the content doesn’t provide value, it’s a million selfies or things that don’t make sense, someone might unfollow you. 

People are bombarded with images of beautiful faces and things all day so in order for someone to be encouraged to stick around, you need to provide some kind of value for them. Are you sharing the best beauty hacks or shopping hacks, do you help people re-purpose outfits, what are you doing to help the people that are following you? 

If you aren’t giving people a reason to stick around then they won’t. If you have no desire to create valuable content this may be more of a hobby than something you are actually trying to turn into a business. These things are a reflection of the type of content you put out and it’s definitely a reason someone might unfollow.

Too Pushy for Sales 

I’m all for the self promotion. The industry of blogging and influencer marketing is about putting yourself out there, but you can’t get the sale before you have the relationship. 

There is nothing more irritating (TO ME), then someone sliding into my DM’s right after I follow them with a whole pitch, discount code, website link, ebook link, newsletter link, like sis I just followed you, I’m still trying to determine if we are good fit for each other. It’s okay to want to promote what you’re working on, but how do you know it serves me or anyone else that follows?

There has to be a strategy behind that and even I have had to learn that for myself. Be mindful of automated messages and sales pitches right off the bat, it could be a turn off and definitely cause someone to hit that unfollow button. 

Scattered Content + Inconsistent Posting

As someone who carefully curates their feed, content that is all over the place is a good enough reason for me to unfollow someone. Your feed doesn’t need to look like mine or the next influencer’s, but if it can’t tell me some sort of story or give me an idea about who you are upon first glance then I personally might unfollow or not follow at all. 

As a creative you get to determine how you build your brand and what that will look like for you, but to keep your audience interested it has to also make sense for those looking in. 

If you don’t plan to post consistently or your schedule doesn’t allow for it, that is also a easy reason for someone to unfollow. At some point they have forgotten about you because you haven’t been on their radar enough to keep them engaged. Not seeing someone’s post is different than not having a consistent posting schedule.  Remember social media is still moving even when we aren’t.  It’s okay to take a break or even reduce your posting amount, I have, but I’m consistent enough at this point where my audience knows when they can find me.

You Didn’t Follow Back 

People want to be followed also. I’m not telling you to follow people out of pity, don’t do that, but some people simply want to be followed and if you don’t follow them back they unfollow you.

I unfollow certain people who don’t follow me back because that means what I’m providing isn’t suitable for them and we don’t need to follow each other. I have no emotions tied to it at this point. I go after and want to follow people who follow me and if someone doesn’t it’s okay, we can both move on and be happy.

This list doesn’t include every reason for someone choosing to unfollow, but the amount of time that we spend focusing on why people unfollow us is really just time wasted. Focus on creating dope content, provide value and give people a reason to stick around longer than just 5 minutes. 

What are some reasons you have unfollowed someone or chosen not to follow someone? Sound off in the comments!