There is a common misconception that more is more when it comes to Instagram followers. The idea makes sense at face value. The more followers, the better right? Well, not exactly.

Fake accounts and inactive followers are killing your Instagram engagement. These engagement suckers are called ghost followers. As the saying goes, it’s better to have 100 people love you than a million people that sort of like you. The same goes for your Instagram audience. 

Instagram has undergone quite the metamorphosis in the past few years. They’re doing their best to keep up with the evolving user base and tactics, and it ultimately affects everyone. If you take audience engagement seriously — after all, it is a social network  — you need to keep up with the changes.

The mark of success on Instagram only used to be the “bigger is better” follower concept. Recently, however, engagement rates have become more critical. And that’s cool; more power to you if you don’t care about statistics. But if you’re trying to take advantage of Instagram’s power to build a community or get ahead in your business, engagement matters.

In honor of Halloween, I am teaming up with Social Media Manager Victoria Wilson (@vwsocials) to discuss the importance of banishing ghost followers. 

What is a Ghost Follower?

Ghost followers are social media users that are inactive or unengaged. Also called ghosts, ghost accounts, or lurkers, these users register on platforms such as Twitter and Instagram and follow active members, but do not participate in liking, commenting, messaging, and posting. Boo! Because these accounts are inactive, they may not be seeing your content at all, far less interact. 

Why should you Remove Ghost Followers?

Deleting ghost followers will help improve engagement on your Instagram page. Instagram cares more about engagement and active followers rather than your number of followers. Instagram will flag your account as uninteresting, therefore decreasing your ranking, Wilson noted. 

How to Spot Ghost Followers

Start going through your followers list ASAP and removing any profiles who 1. Look “ghostly and 2. Don’t serve your account any genuine connection or interest, Wilson said. Some telltale signs of ghost accounts are that they have no posts, followers, or profile pictures. Another tipoff is a gibberish username. 

Bottom line: Get rid of those ghost followers/fake followers/followers who don’t engage with you to start building an authentic community. Want to learn more about Instagram engagement? Be sure to tune into my new Instagram Live Show with Victoria Wilson called StoryTime with Cyn and V. Every month, we will be answering your social media questions in real-time. The first episode is Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 7 p.m. EST. Join the conversation on Instagram by following me @ascent_storycraft and Victoria @vwsocials.