What Does Following Mean on Instagram & How is it Different from Followers

Instagram is a place that helps you connect with people across the world. When we try to connect with a new account, there is always a follow button on their profile. This always makes me wonder, what does Following mean? How does it work? Following is a different metric than likes and comments on your profile. Want to know about it and why it is important? Get ready to explore some interesting facts related to following someone on Instagram.

What Does Following Mean on Instagram?

Following basically means a list of users that you are following on Instagram. When you follow someone, the content they have posted appears on your feed. Everything that they post will come on your feed. Additionally, you also get access to viewing your profile according to your choice. You can also easily send a message to them. But remember, that if they don’t follow you back, they need to approve your message first. 

Also, read What Does the Paper Airplane Mean on Instagram?

What Type of Profiles Can You Follow on Instagram? 

Instagram is a world that provides a network to connect with people you love or like. Here is a list of people you can follow on Instagram: 

• Friends
• Family Members
• Celebrities
• Brands
• Influencers
• Artists 
• Musicians or anyone that you think has the same interest as yours

If you want to make more connections in a field that matches your interest, I would suggest you check the following list of the people in your interest. It will not only help you to increase your network but also help in to make strong connections in the field of your interest. 

Types of Followings on Instagram

The following list generally includes different types of accounts on it. Below is the table that shows the different types of followings that you get on Instagram:

Types of Accounts	What they Depict
Mutual	When you follow someone and they follow you back
One Way	When you follow someone but they don’t follow you back
Selective	As discussed above you can be selective of your choice. It means the list is generally small and includes the people you know personally or match your interest.
Mass Following	This type of following is considered when you follow a lot of people depending on your interests, trends, or mutual connections

How Many People Should You Be Following on Instagram? 

There is no fixed number of people you need to follow on Instagram. You can keep your list from one to thousands. It has no selective boundary for it. 

However, there are some users who keep the list very selective and just follow the creators of their choice. Whereas, others might only keep it limited to the people they know. It means that there is no obligation to follow everyone that comes in contact with. You can be selective and decide to follow the limited accounts on Instagram. 

If you have a private account try to be limited. Make sure that your list is limited to the people you know. You can also follow your favorite creator or celebrity. On the other hand, if you have a professional account, try to follow the creators who have similar interests as you. It is because when you create followings that match your interests, it helps to bring more engagement levels. 

How Does Following on Instagram Work?

The following on Instagram is a very simple process. If you are following someone who has a private account, you will need to send them a follow request. To do so, search for the person on Instagram and send them a follow request by tapping on the follow option. However, if you follow a creator or professional account, there is no need to send them a request. You can directly follow them by visiting their profile and tapping on the Follow button. Please note that once you start to follow someone, it appears as a green following button under their name.

Also, read What Does “Sort by Default” Mean on Instagram (Complete Guide)

Difference Between Following and Followers

When we look at a profile, there are two types of lists: Following and Followers. So far you have understood what does following mean. But it may still confuse you about what followers mean. Here is a quick table that guides you through the differences between them:

Followings	Followers
When you follow someone, you can generally see their content on your feed. It includes everything posts, reels, and the stories of that person.	When someone follows you, they can see what you have posted on your account. Every reel, post, stories, will appear on their feed.
As you follow new accounts, it helps you to get more ideas on how to make new content.	When you get a new follower, it generally helps to increase the reach of your content to a larger audience.
The best part of doing it is to get more opportunities to get new collaborations. You can directly send them DMs regarding your interest in collaborating with the other account.	When you get more followers, it means that your content has reached to larger audience. This helps to increase the chances of getting your account monetized.
There are four types of followers on Instagram – Mutual, One Way, Selective, and Mass Followings.	There are five types of followers on Instagram: Brand, Fake, Active, Passive, and Community followers. (If you want to know more about these types, don’t forget to check the net section)

Types of Followers on Instagram

You must have noticed that there are 5 types of Instagram followers. But what they mean may be doubtful for you. Below I have discussed their meanings of:

• Brand Follower: When a brand starts following you, it is known as a Brand Follower.
• Fake followers: They are the profiles that are created either by scammers or bots.
• Active Followers: Active followers are the followers that highly engage with your content.
• Passive Followers: They are the followers that are interested in your content but don’t engage much with it.
• Community followers: When a person follows you just because they have the same interest, they are known as Community followers. Suppose a musician follows an account just because the other person is also a musician. It is known as Community followers. 

Why is it Important to Track the Following Metrics?

One of the most common perceptions that people have about Instagram’s friends list is that it is important to keep track of followers only. This is completely a myth. In fact, tracking the following list can help a lot in building a strong Instagram profile. When you keep a check on Instagram followings it helps you to calculate the Followers vs Following ratio. Knowing the ratio can help you a lot in understanding how your account is working. To calculate the ratio, you must divide the number of followers by the number of following. 

Suppose, you have 20000 followers and 100 following, your ratio will be 200. Well in most cases, people think having a ratio of 1 is the ideal thing to get on Instagram. But it is not true. In fact, there is no fixed rule to get a specific ratio. It is just like a suggestion rather than being a reliable metric. I have shared a basic idea of having a follower vs following ratio for different types of accounts:

Types of Accounts	Ideal Ratio
For personal accounts	5
For Brands	10
For new influencers and creators	10-30
For megastars	More than 30

Please note that the above table is just a minimum ratio for various types of accounts. You must always try to be as high as you can. For brand owners, the high ratio generally shows high conversions. Thus, the ratio is just a number. However, if your ratio is less than the above table, you must try to get more engaging content on your account.

Also, read What Does “Accounts Reached” Mean on Instagram and How to Increase It?

Conclusion

When you follow a person on Instagram, it generally makes their content appear on your screen. You can have a look at their posts, reels, and even their stories. Following someone helps to get new ideas for content creation and also opens up opportunities for new collaboration. There are different types of following on Instagram: selective, mass, mutual, and one-way. Remember, following and following are different concepts. When you follow someone, you get their content on your feed. But when someone follows your account, it generally makes your content appear on their feed.

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