Why Am I Losing Instagram Followers? (2022)

Have you had a moment recently where you opened up your Instagram app and your jaw hit the floor when you saw your follower count? Maybe you’ve even panic-Googled “why am I losing Instagram followers??” Well, here’s the good news: you’re not the only one who’s noticed a significant drop in your follower count lately. We actually lost a few hundred followers over on our Zubtitle Instagram account. 

So let’s take a few minutes to talk about why you may be losing Instagram followers and what you can do about it.

Why Am I Losing Instagram Followers?

First of all, let’s be clear that there’s no way to be 100% certain why each specific account loses followers. But there are a couple of pretty decent options that are most likely the reasons behind your follower loss.

Why is this happening?

If you're losing followers, it could be as simple as an Instagram glitch. Some accounts are seeing their follower count decrease only to see it go right back up again within a few days. Or it could be a mass cleanup by Instagram where they’re going through and removing inactive accounts or bot/spam accounts.

No matter why it’s happening, there are two things we need to realize: it’s happening to a lot of us and it’s beyond our control. So let’s not panic. And, if it’s one of those reasons above, it’s not a bad thing. If it’s a glitch, it’ll be fixed. If it’s a mass removal of inactive or bot accounts, then that’s actually a very good thing.

Why? Because while it may cause your follower count to go down, it’s important to remember that follower count is a vanity metric. It doesn’t mean anything if those accounts aren’t actually within your target audience, engaging with your content, and potentially going to be converted to customers. And inactive or bot accounts are never going to do any of those things. So you don’t want those followers anyway.

What can I do?

NOW, just because Instagram’s decisions are out of our control doesn’t mean there aren’t things you can do to protect yourself on the platform. Let’s talk about best practices to implement moving forward… 

Build a legitimate following

The best way to ensure that you never lose followers on Instagram is to make sure that you’ve built a legitimate following full of real users. How do you do that? Well, mostly by not doing a few specific things.

Don’t purchase followers — these are bot accounts that will absolutely be removed by Instagram at some point. And, like we said before, don’t do anything for your account other than increase a vanity metric. Don’t use follow/unfollow tactics — that’s a good way to get your account flagged by Instagram. And don’t create “viral content” that doesn’t actually appeal to your target audience. Again, you’re just going to end up with followers that will never engage with 99% of your content.

Instead of using these “quick growth” tactics, focus on building a legitimate following. One of the best ways to do this on Instagram is by leveraging Instagram Reels. Studies have actually shown that Reels generate 67% more engagement than standard Instagram videos.

If you want to super-charge your Instagram Reels and help them get even more reach and engagement, make sure you use Zubtitle to edit and optimize your videos before you post. With Zubtitle’s state-of-the-art software, you can convert your audio into timed captions in just a few seconds and add eye-catching features like caption animations, which will help your videos get more views on social media and help viewers follow along more easily.

Diversify your reach

Another great way to protect yourself from losing followers moving forward is to make sure that you’re not putting all of your eggs into the proverbial Instagram basket. It’s never a good idea to rely too much on one platform, simply because social media is fickle and unpredictable. People with thousands (or even hundreds of thousands) of followers lose access to their Instagram accounts all the time.

That’s why it’s so important to diversify your reach and make sure you’re present on multiple social media platforms. Don’t stop creating for Instagram, but make sure you’re also getting content up on other platforms — especially TikTok, Facebook Reels, and YouTube Shorts (provided your target audience hangs out in those spots).

The best way to show up on multiple platforms like this is to repurpose your content — there’s no need to create a new video for every platform multiple times a week. In fact, when you use Zubtitle, it’s easier than ever to repurpose your content in just a few clicks and spread it across social media. Check out this tutorial to learn how. 

Have you ever lost Instagram followers? Tell us in the comments!

And don’t forget to use Zubtitle to optimize your videos for Instagram with animated captions, eye-catching titles, full branding with custom colors/logos, and more. You can sign up for a free account today and start creating!

​​And if you want to learn more about losing Instagram followers, check out this video (and our Instagram):