The Uncool Instagram Follow Unfollow Trick Explained

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Last updated: November 1, 2022

If you’re on Instagram, you are most likely familiar with the follow unfollow trick. It’s a simple method to increase your followers count and lower the number of people you follow. In the world of Instagram, the bigger this gap, the better.

The Instagram follow/unfollow strategy encapsulates much of what I dislike about social media. There is a place for social media, but it also tends to bring out the worst in people.

Keep reading, and find out why you should stop using the follow unfollow strategy right now.

So how does this silly method work? It’s actually very simple:

1. An account follows you on Instagram.
2. You are happy, flattered even, so you follow them back because you’re a nice person.
3. They unfollow you a few days or a week or so later.
4. They hope you won’t notice they have unfollowed you.
5. They have increased their followers count.

That’s it. Definitely not rocket science material, which is probably why it’s such a widely used strategy. But it’s also a very uncool strategy you should never use, unless you want to be an uncool person.

This trick is like that fake friend who is only a friend because they want something from you. Seriously uncool. When you’re guilty of doing this, just ask yourself what kind of person you are and what kind of person you want to be.

Over the years, social media has evolved into a somewhat fake and plastic environment, driven by hierarchy and status. The more likes and the more followers, the better. Because it “looks good”. And that’s precisely what drives the annoying follow/unfollow strategy on Instagram.

Not only are people who are guilty of implementing that strategy trying to artificially increase their followers, but they are also trying to decrease the number of Instagram accounts they follow. Yuck.

They do this because it gives them more status and authority. It places them higher up the social media hierarchy. It makes them look good, more powerful, and more influential.

You know, people have always had a thing with hierarchy and status. Or should I say, power. People naturally enjoy having power. It’s in our blood. It’s like being back in high school. The more “friends” you have, the more popular you are.

And this is reflected in how some of us behave on Instagram. If we have a good number of followers and only a handful of followed accounts, that makes us look more powerful and influential. It gives us a sense of status. We somehow feel drawn to that concept.

It’s not difficult to recognize Instagram accounts that are guilty of executing the follow/unfollow method on Instagram. But it’s mostly the Instagram newbies who fall victim to it.

Here are a few red flags to look out for:

• Their followers count is much higher than their following count.
• Their followers count is much higher than your followers count. This is because offenders love targeting smaller Instagram accounts.
• Their niche is often unrelated to your niche.

How to Deal with Them?

If you’re almost certain that a new follower will be unfollowing you a couple of days later, simply ignore them. Don’t follow them back. Don’t increase their followers tally. The more you use Instagram, the better you will be able to recognize these offenders.

If you’re not 100% sure, by all means, follow them back. Then a week later, you can check whether they are still following you. You can use (paid) apps for this, or you can do it manually. Simply keep a list of suspects and once a week, you can go through that list and cull the ones that are no longer following you.

This only works if you’re a small account, though, otherwise it would be way too much manual work. But over time, you’ll get better at recognizing offenders and suspects, and it’s actually quite satisfying to get rid of Instagram follow/unfollow offenders.

Many Instagram users implement the follow unfollow Instagram trick, desperately trying to increase their audience. But this strategy can come back and bite you.

Here are four good reasons why you should stop the follow unfollow Instagram trick immediately.

1. Your credibility is at risk

People are getting smarter, Instagram is getting smarter. The follow unfollow method is a dirty trick, and more and more people are picking up on this.

“The dirty follow unfollow Instagram trick shows your true colors and puts your credibility at risk.”Click to Tweet

Ask yourself, how do you want others to perceive you and your brand?

2. It’s disrespectful to other users

Social media should really be about networking, and supporting and engaging with each other. By following and unfollowing people, you’re being very anti-social. And you’re also contributing to creating an artificial world that social media has become.

If you don’t want to be disrespectful in real life, then don’t be disrespectful on social media either.

3. You’re not really growing much

Yes, you may be able to grow your Instagram followers by using the follow unfollow method, but you’re definitely not growing your engaged audience.

“You may be able to grow your Instagram followers by using the follow unfollow trick, but the engagement on your account will tank.”Click to Tweet

A lot of the followers you’ve gained with this method don’t actually care too much about you or your brand, and won’t be engaging with your content either. So then it’s really just a numbers game.

4. It shows your true colors

By behaving this way on Instagram, you’re basically showing the world what kind of person you are. Unreliable? Untrustworthy? Fake? Hidden agendas?

To give you a concrete example, a social media crazy real estate agent operating in my area recently followed one of my Instagram accounts. Looking at her account, I classified her as a suspect. But I gave her the benefit of the doubt and followed her back.

Unsurprisingly, a few days later, she was gone. She unfollowed me. Of course she did, because she’s a social media fanatic who loves attention and status, and doesn’t care one bit about my account that she initially followed.

So when it’s time for me to sell my apartment, I will not be hiring her as my agent. She probably won’t care, but that’s not the point. The point is that she puts her reputation on the line with that silly Instagram follow unfollow behavior. It really is one of the most annoying Instagram habits.

From a personal and business perspective, I prefer to use social media the way it should be used. I try to share valuable and interesting stuff that I expect my audience will appreciate.

And when they do, they might just press the like button, they might follow me, they might comment, and so forth. Over time that audience will grow, engagement will increase, and more people will become aware of the brand I represent. In other words, I try to keep things genuine and natural.

And you know what? Keeping it real actually works. By all means, follow people and businesses, but don’t cull them a few days later. Stay connected and engage with the content they share on their social media accounts. That is how you will be able to grow your Instagram followers organically.

Yes, this is probably a very slow process. In the world of social media, keeping it real requires patience. But at least you can take pride in being genuine, and your growing audience will love you for it.