Have you tried your hand at unfollowing people on Instagram only to find they were wise to your move and simply unfollowed you back the next day? Apparently, there is a method to the madness, and one influencer is ready to share their secrets with the world.
Reciprocal following is one of the first skills we all learned on social media whenever follower counts are involved. When you follow certain users, some of them will follow you back! This is often done as a thank you for following them. Many times, this is done without even looking at one photo shared on your profile.
Instagram user @StuStuStudio claims to have perfected the steps in the unfollow dance and is offering a master class to any aspiring influencers looking to get ahead. When asked why their following is so minuscule compared to most of the true Instragram elite, Stuart reveals that his following was once well into the hundreds of thousands. As time went on, this following unfortunately disappeared. The same followers that had once felt so loyal and comforting had gone as easily as they had come.
Not all was lost, though, since the keys to getting there in the first place are all intact in the masterclass. Be ready to have a full grasp of concepts that will help you rope in followers like magnets to metal:
- Like a few shots before following so you seem less bot-ish
- Use amazing emoji in your profile so users know you're the real deal
- Only unfollow people while their respective time zone is sleeping
- Schedule one day a month to actually pay attention to photos you are posting
- Keep a trimmed follow count so the people you followed feel special and individually sought after
Almost anyone can go from an Instagram afterthought to a trend-setting, teal photo sharing awesome-aholic. Don't sell yourself short. There are people out there who love to follow back. Are you going to make them dance alone? In a very Instagram kind of way, inquiries for the masterclass will only be accepted through Instagram.
Or, just keep it real and be yourself.
I do that by not even posting to Instagram and playing with the kids in the yard instead.
Tried that, but then some people were like "who are you and why are you playing with our kids?" and it just got really awkward.
This follow-unfollow thing is just so lame but also very easy to figure out. i usually just ignore them or go and block them right away - not that it makes any difference. Anyway, I only follow the ones I really want to follow and do not play these silly games trying to get follower numbers up.
Haha, I love articles like this! “Teal photo sharing”
I’m betting StuStuStudio is going to get some real enquiries.
Thanks, Jonathan!
Last year I did a reverse unfollow cleanse. I removed all followers that I didn't actually know. Man, the years of spam buildup from having a public account. It took a couple hours and I dropped about 80% or so of followers. Validation in likes from just people I know is kinda nice. More meaningful than likes from strangers at least.
That actually makes a lot of sense.
they call this social media, right?
I think it pulls the definition from "social experiment" more than "social interaction" these days!
is the writer talking about himself here? in the third person??? I'm confused...
I think I was looking to circle back and make up a clever fake username, but I just ran with our account. And yes, I called myself Stuart in the process.
At least you know who you are ;)
Hmm, and the masterclass is titled "How to be a fake and use people?"
A master class on following/unfollowing? As someone mentioned below, we still call this "social media"?
Not to mention this masterclass is by someone that only has 1,800 followers....really?
Here's a better use of your time and money, just pay less than 10 bucks/month to get a bot to do it all for you. People I know have gotten upwards of 10k/month genuine followers using it. Save your money from this "master class" and just cut to the chase.
Sorry, but he lost me at @StuStuStudio. Like the song by Phil Colllins, lame.
Stu (me, short for Stuart) Stu (my wife married into the nickname) Studio (often used for photography businesses) - "Just Say the Word!"
The song is a great way to remember it, but it does not define us.
Lol 😂
I think you need to start labeling your “humor” articles with big neon text. Some people seem to not be getting it.
Half the fun is reading the serious comments under a humorous piece! And this comment section is delivering in spades! 😁
I have no words... 😂
Or, just make them humorous.
Well, humor is subjective. I didn’t find “The Hangover” particularly funny, but it didn’t stop them from making three of those bloody things.
There was a time when stuff like this would be actually humorous, but believe it or not, we've gotten to the point where there are actually people that DO charge for stuff like this. Smh.
Often, comedy and tragedy are one in the same, haha
Why bother waiting for the person to be sleeping to unfollow? Its not like you get a notification when someone unfollows you. Yes you can track unfollows with an app, but they will know regardless of whether they are sleeping or not.
A number of dedicated apps reserve sleep detection as a premium feature.
But... why? I really fail to see the purpose of that. I am open to being enlightened on the matter!
I'm taking this as satirical and not a real article...
I mean this in no way as offense to the author, but why is this on the front page of Fstoppers? Again, nothing against the author, I'm sure you're a great writer and brilliant photographer, but to be 100% honest this article is absolute garbage.
SO much yes to this. Why even support kind of social media?
Did Vanessa Joy and Lindsay Adler attend your masterclass? They seem to have perfected this skill on social media?
Good grief. The whole thing is childish and lame.