The Great InstaPurge: Assessing The Damage & Moving On

A few weeks ago, Instagram began sending out warnings to all users that their number of followers would likely change (i.e. decrease). Indeed, the popular photo­sharing platform followed through with its threats, and overnight many accounts saw their numbers melt away faster than an ice cube in the desert.

For many celebrities, this is no laughing matter.

A loss in perceived social influence can equate to a big loss in endorsement money. But in terms of total numbers, ironically, Instagram itself was the biggest loser, thinning out its own main account by 19 million followers.

The best story from this episode had to be “ChiragChirag78.” The day before the instapocalypse, he was 97th in the World Top 100 list, with 3,660,468 followers. The morning after, he woke up with just eight. No, not eight thousand or even eight hundred…just EIGHT.

Needless to say, his account has now gone the way of the dinosaur. Extinct.

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How can you recover?

All of that is interesting, but who really cares about those celebrities? After all, even if Kim Kardashian lost 1.3 million followers, she still has over 23 million followers.

More importantly, what can YOU do if your account saw a significant loss of followers in the wake of The Great Insta­Purge of 2014? Don’t worry, if your name isn’t ChiragChirag78, then all hope is not lost.

First, evaluate your account versus others in your area. How did you fare percentage-­wise? If you experienced around a 5% loss, then you did better than average—even better than President Obama!

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Relax, review and relaunch!

Secondly, you should take this opportunity to re­launch your Instagram efforts.

Review your profile, increase your engagement, and above all, up your photo­editing skills. The fact that the recent carnage made such big headlines speaks to the growing importance of Instagram. Nobody seems concerned about an impending purge at Orkut or Zorpia. Instagram is the fastest growing social media platform.

Of course, while quality is paramount, quantity still matters.

To get your numbers back to where they were, start working with a reputable social media promotion company. Following Instagram’s “clean up,” sites like buyinstagramfollowersreview.org has recently updated their reviews of providers to reflect who survived the reckoning, and who did not.

Suffice to say that their top ­ten list has now been rearranged. The three companies on the top of their list saw little or no change in followers after the dust had settled. This is actually great news, as it makes it very clear who delivers quality in this competitive industry.

So how did your account do? Leave us a comment and let us know. Social media is constantly evolving, and the ones who thrive are the ones who are most able to adapt.

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