Instagram is a powerful social media in today’s world. Many celebrities are using it to expand their fans.
It is one of the most powerful marketing tools as well. Many small startups run campaigns on Instagram so that their brand will reach more people in the world, which will be a great success for their business.
On Instagram, people can have both followers, and they can even follow on Instagram.
Key Takeaways
- Followers represent the number of people who receive updates from your account.
- “Following” indicates the number of accounts you have chosen to receive updates from.
- Growing your followers increases your reach and influence while following others expands your content feed.
Followers vs Following on Instagram
The difference between Followers and Following on Instagram is that in followers sections, people who are interested in you will give follow requests to you if your account is private. If not, they will follow you directly on Instagram. But, in the following section, you will find people you are interested in by sending follow requests if their account is private. If not, then you can follow them directly on Instagram.
People who follow you on Instagram are called the followers list on Instagram. For that, they will send you a follow request if your account is private.
Once you accept their request on Instagram, your follower count will increase by one. If you are interested in the person who gave you the following request, then you can follow them back on Instagram as well by sending follow request if their account is private.
If not, you can follow them directly.
People you follow on Instagram are called the following list. You can follow them directly, or you can give follow requests to people if they have a private account.
Once they approve your request, you can like their photos, videos and even view their stories on Instagram. Some people might give follow requests back to your id as well if you are close to them or if they know you in person.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Followers on Instagram | Following on Instagram |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | People who follow you. | People you follow |
| Posts viewing | Followers can view your posts. | You can view the posts of the people you follow. |
| Story viewing | Followers can view your story. | You can view the story of the people you follow. |
| Request | They will give if the account is private. | You will give a request if the account is private. |
| Likes | People will like your posts. | You will like the posts of the people you follow. |
What are Followers on Instagram?
On Instagram, when you create an account, it will show you three options. You can post your photos, people can follow you, and you can follow them as well.
Followers are the people who would like to follow you on Instagram. On Instagram, you can keep your account either private or public.
If you keep your account public, then people can automatically follow you without giving follow requests on Instagram.
On the other hand, if you keep your account private, then people have to make the following request first. Once they give follow request on Instagram, a notification will pop up on your phone screen.
If you would like to make that person follow you, then you have to click confirm. If you don’t know that person, then you can automatically click the delete option so that the request will be deleted.
People who are following you on Instagram can see your followers and following list. If your account is private, then they can only see the count.
But here, they can see the Instagram ids of the people who are following you. With the help of that, they might give requests to the people who ate following you on Instagram, or they might give requests based on your following list.
What is Following on Instagram?
On Instagram, the following are the set of people you follow on Instagram. It might be your friend, some social media celebrity, business brands, clothing brands, and some fitness page.
It can be anything that you love to follow on Instagram. To follow these people, you can either do them directly or you have to first give requests to them on Instagram.
If the person you are going to follow has a public account on Instagram, then you don’t have to click or give a ‘follow’ request on Instagram. You can follow them directly by clicking on follow button.
On the other hand, if the person on Instagram has a private account, then you have to first give a ‘follow’ request to them. Instagram will send the notification message to their phone.
Based on your notification, they might either accept your request or reject you.
Most people on Instagram would like to keep their following list to a limited number, and they will follow only certain people on Instagram. On Instagram, people you follow will put stories on their page.
The stories will appear on the top page of Instagram. Stories that are newly posted will be circled in red, and the stories which are viewed by you will not be circled.
Main Differences Between Followers and Following on Instagram
- In the follower list on Instagram, people will follow you by seeing your profile on Instagram if they are interested. On the other hand, in the following list, you will follow people on Instagram by seeing their profiles on Instagram.
- Nowadays, many people are interested in keeping their followers’ lists long. On the other hand, they will follow only a smaller number of people on Instagram.
- If people follow you on Instagram, they are interested in getting in touch with you. But if you follow others on Instagram, you are interested in keeping in touch with them.
- If you have more followers on Instagram, then you are popular among your friends and family. On the other hand, if you follow them, then they are very popular.
- People who follow you can see your posts and stories. People you follow on Instagram will allow you to see their posts and stories.
Last Updated : 28 July, 2023
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Sandeep Bhandari holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Computers from Thapar University (2006). He has 20 years of experience in the technology field. He has a keen interest in various technical fields, including database systems, computer networks, and programming. You can read more about him on his bio page.
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