1. History

2. How It Works
     Follower Sourcing    Following    Unfollowing  

3. Commercial Applications of the Follow/Unfollow Method

4. Praise

5. Criticism

6. Reaction from Social Media Platforms

7. References

8. Follow/Unfollow Method

The Follow/Unfollow Method is a social media growth strategy typically used on Instagram and Twitter. This strategy is based on the socio-psychological principle of reciprocity, a social norm whereby people respond to and exchange positive actions with positive actions and negative actions with negative actions.

The Follow/Unfollow Method involves following accounts, waiting for a period of time (usually three days to one week) and then unfollowing those accounts. The goal of this method is to increase one's follower-to-following ratio. It works due to the fact that accounts that have been unfollowed after a delayed period of time will typically not reciprocally unfollow, thereby increasing one's follower-to-following ratio. The average unfollow rate is roughly 5%-8%;^[1] meaning, on average, nine out of every ten accounts unfollowed using the Follow/Unfollow Method will remain followers for the account using the method.

The Follow/Unfollow Method works gradually, as only 20%-35% of followed accounts will follow back.^[2] To efficiently maximize their follower growth, many social media users choose to automate the Follow/Unfollow Method using automated software ("bots") or by using a third-party growth service.

History

The history of the Follow/Unfollow Method begins in 2008 when Twitter started gaining worldwide popularity, allowing people to interact directly with celebrities. People began using the Follow/Unfollow Method on Twitter around this time to rapidly increase the number of their followers. In 2010, when Instagram was founded, the Follow/Unfollow Method was already widely practiced on Twitter, and it similarly became a popular growth strategy on Instagram.^[3]

In January 2018, the New York Times uncovered that numerous celebrities were using Twitter Bots [https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/01/27/technology/social-media-bots.html through a third-party company called Devumi to increase their followers on Twitter.]^[4]

How It Works

The Follow/Unfollow Method is a [https://socialinfluence.com/blogs/grow-instagram-followers/follow-unfollow-method three-step process:] follower sourcing, following, and unfollowing.

Follower Sourcing

The first step in the Follow/Unfollow Method is follower sourcing, or finding an aggregation of accounts to follow. This is typically done through manual research. There are several ways users source accounts to follow:

· Comparable Accounts: Users source followers by searching for Instagram accounts that are similar to theirs. The reasoning is that if a user is following a certain account, then the chances of him/her following a similar account is greater.

· Hashtags: Users source followers by searching for popular hashtags and targeting users that use them in their profile and/or posts. Users will also target hashtags relevant to their niche audience, e.g. a fitness page will search hashtags related to fitness.

· Geotag Sourcing: Users source followers based on geotags, which show their geolocation. Regional businesses use this to target local followers.

· Discover People: Specific to Instagram, the Discover People page is used to source followers based on a user's personal contacts, e.g. phone numbers and emails that are also registered with Instagram.

Following

The second step in the Follow/Unfollow Method is "following." The goal is to developing a following procedure that is safe, but effective. If it’s too aggressive, the likelihood of Instagram or Twitter red-flagging the account is much greater. There are a variety of automated software that give users the ability to customize their following protocol. These types of software are traditionally referred to as “bots,” examples of which include [https://instazood.com/ Instazood] and [https://boostio.com/ Boostio]. Most bot software have follow settings that can be adjusted to optimize follower growth This involves choosing the type of followers to follow, the time of day and week to follow, and other factors.

Unfollowing

The final step in the Follow/Unfollow Method is "unfollowing." The goal of "unfollowing" is to unfollow a user without being unfollowed-back. Automated software provide settings that allow a user to control the unfollowing procedure, including unfollowing frequency limitations, the duration of time until a user is unfollowed (usually from 24 hours to one week), and following and engagement benchmarks (e.g. unfollowing accounts with a low or high following).

Commercial Applications of the Follow/Unfollow Method

While many social media users use software like [https://instazood.com/ Instazood] or [https://app.boostio.com/ Boostio] to grow their Instagram account, others choose to purchase growth services from third-parties, who claim they are able to avoid spam detection,^[5] optimize activity for maximum results, and adhere to [https://twitter.com/en/tos Twitter's Terms of Service]^[6] and [https://help.instagram.com/581066165581870 Instagram's Terms of Use.]^[7] Social media growth services are usually purchased on a one-time or subscription basis.

The Follow/Unfollow Method is implemented either manually (by social media users themselves), through (now-defunct) automated software applications like [https://instagress.com/ Instagress]^[8] and MassPlanner, through online user-controlled automated software like Boostio and [https://instazood.com Instazood,] through manual services like [https://socialinfluence.com/ Social Influence] and [https://ampfluence.com/ Ampfluence,] or through a hybrid of manual and automatic methods, like [https://authentically.co/ Authentically] and [https://socialupgrade.co/ SocialUpgrade].

Praise

Proponents of the Follow/Unfollow Method, including some social media marketing experts, argue that it increases followers authentically, increases web traffic, boosts profitability, and is the [https://www.forbes.com/sites/paulpotratz/2018/06/27/want-more-instagram-followers-heres-12-proven-successful-organic-strategies/ only proven method of growing a mass following in a limited period of time, due to the fact that you're engaging with your niche audience by liking, commenting on, and sharing their content.]^[9]

Criticism

The Follow/Unfollow Method is [https://techcrunch.com/2018/11/19/instagram-fake-followers/ widely criticized online] as an inauthentic social media growth strategy.^[10] Critics of the Follow/Unfollow Method [https://www.bizepic.com/2018/04/30/instagram-follow-unfollow-bad/ argue] that it creates an artificial following, doesn't improve engagement, and decreases brand credibility.^[11] Others argue that it can cause "Action Blocks" (temporary limits on a user's ability to follow, unfollow, like, comment, or share) or "Account Bans" (prohibition of account use temporarily or permanently.

There are several [https://mashable.com/2010/08/09/track-twitter-unfollowers/#iwVNbWvMYEq2 apps that track accounts that unfollow on Twitter and Instagram,] including: [https://who.unfollowed.me/ WhoUnfollowedMe,] [https://unfollowerstats.com/ Unfollower Stats,] and [https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/followmeter-for-instagram/id651309421?mt=8 Follow Meter.] These apps, however, are subject to shrinking API limits on Instagram.^[12]

Reaction from Social Media Platforms

Social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter have recently cracked down on mass follow/unfollow activity. In November 2018, [https://instagram-press.com/blog/2018/11/19/reducing-inauthentic-activity-on-instagram/ Instagram announced that it was working to reduce "inauthentic activity" on the platform.]^[13] One year earlier, in November 2017, Twitter [https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/twitter-automation issued its Automation Rules], warning that accounts that use third-party apps [https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/twitter-rules in violation of the Twitter Rules^[14] are subject to suspensions and bans.]^[15]

References

Follow/Unfollow Method

• Saintin de Meaux
• Saint Ingamoder Emundsdotter of Sweden
• Saint-Inglevert Airfield
• Saint-Inglevert airfield
• Saint Ingrid of Skanninge
• Saint Ingrid of Skänninge
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• Saint-Irenee
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• Saint Ismael
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• Saint Issell's