Stay Ahead or Stay Clear? The Pros and Cons of Using Instagram Follower Trackers

Should you use an Instagram follower tracker? Is the tracking tool worth it? How about the privacy and ethical concerns? This article is everything you need before deciding whether you should use Instagram tracking tools.

Introduction

No digital marketers can deny the opportunity that Instagram can bring. As of 2023, the leading social media has 2.35 billion active users on a monthly basis; and everyone knows the growth will not fade away soon.

So it’s no exaggeration that chasing the Instagram follower count is worthwhile. However, there is no one-size-fits-all strategy when it comes to social media marketing (and influencer marketing). Whether or not it’s worth chasing Instagram follower count depends on your goals, budgets, and how you want to build your brand presence.

The Importance of Instagram Followers

To help you better understand the importance of Instagram followers and whether you should put effort into growing your audience base, we’ve listed the following reasons why followers on Instagram are important:

• Audience Reach: Followers are your primary audience on Instagram. They see your posts, stories, and updates in their feed, which allows you to reach and engage with them directly. The more followers you have, the larger your potential reach.
• Credibility and Trust: A high follower count can enhance your credibility and authority on Instagram. People often associate a large following with expertise or popularity in a particular niche or industry.
• Social Proof: When potential followers or customers visit your profile and see a substantial follower count, they may be more likely to follow you themselves. High follower numbers serve as social proof of your content’s value and appeal.
• Brand Visibility: For businesses and brands, having a significant following means that your products or services are being exposed to a broader audience. This can lead to increased brand visibility and awareness.
• Engagement: A larger follower count typically means more opportunities for engagement. More followers can result in more likes, comments, shares, and direct messages, which can help you build a community and foster meaningful interactions.

Wonder how to effectively measure engagement? This guide on how to measure social media engagement will help you!

• Monetization Opportunities: If you’re an influencer or content creator, a substantial follower base can attract brand collaborations and sponsorship opportunities. Brands often seek out influencers with a strong and engaged following to promote their products or services.
• Feedback and Insights: A larger follower base provides you with a larger pool of feedback and insights. You can gather opinions, conduct polls, and gain valuable information from your audience, helping you improve your content or products.

Those key reasons explain why Instagram followers matter. Plus, do you know that social media channels like Instagram and Facebook are also an important part of inbound marketing? Find out more details in our article – Why is Social Media an important part of inbound marketing?

What is an Instagram Follower Tracker?

An Instagram Follower Tracker is a tool or application that allows Instagram users to monitor and analyze the growth and engagement of their followers on the platform. These tools provide users with valuable insights into their Instagram followers, including follower count, follower growth, unfollowers, new followers, and other engagement metrics over time.

In addition to those insights, some advanced tools allow you to identify followers who may not engage with your content (ghost followers), data visualization, and demographic data, such as age, gender, location, and interests.

Individuals and businesses often use Instagram Follower Tracker to monitor the effectiveness of their content, identify growth opportunities, and manage their follower base. In other words, these tools simplify keeping track of followers and offering opportunities to turn followers into potential leads. 

Pros and Cons of Using Instagram Follower Trackers

Understanding the pros and cons of using Instagram follower tracking tools is useful to make the right decisions on whether or not to incorporate them into your marketing strategy.

The Pros

1. Monitor follower growth and engagement rate

Instagram Follower Trackers allow you to keep a close eye on your follower count and track how it changes over time. You can also analyze your engagement rate, which includes likes, comments, and shares on your posts. This data helps you gauge the effectiveness of your content and engagement strategies.

2. Identify target audience demographics and interests

Many follower tracking tools provide insights into your followers’ demographics, such as age, gender, location, and interests. This information is invaluable for tailoring your content to better resonate with your target audience, ensuring that you’re reaching the right people with your posts.

3. Track competitor’s performance and strategies

Follower trackers often offer the ability to monitor your competitors’ accounts. You can see how their follower counts and engagement rates change, allowing you to gain insights into their strategies and potentially identify opportunities to differentiate your own content or approach.

The Cons

1. Potential obsession with numbers and validation

Focusing too much on follower counts can lead to an unhealthy obsession with numbers and external validation. Some individuals and businesses may prioritize quantity over quality, leading to a fixation on gaining followers at any cost, including purchasing fake followers.

2. Limited accuracy of follower tracker tools

Follower tracker tools rely on Instagram’s API (Application Programming Interface) to gather data, and Instagram’s policies and algorithms can change. As a result, these tools may not always provide 100% accurate or up-to-date information about follower counts and engagement metrics.

3. Privacy concerns and ethical considerations

Using follower tracker tools often involves granting access to your Instagram account, which can raise privacy concerns. Users should exercise caution when sharing their account credentials or granting permissions to third-party apps, as this can potentially lead to data breaches or unauthorized access to their accounts.

Moreover, some follower tracker tools may use questionable methods to gather data, such as scraping information from public profiles without users’ consent. This can raise ethical concerns and potentially violate Instagram’s terms of service.