WHAT ARE INSTAGRAM FOLLOW TRAINS?
EXPAND YOUR NETWORK ON SOCIAL MEDIA
If you are active on Bookstagram, then you have most likely seen the rising trend of “follow trains” and have at some point asked yourself “What are Instagram Follow Trains?”.
They are posts used in the book community on Instagram to easily and quickly gain followers. There are many pros and cons to using follow trains, so think carefully about whether or not you want to jump in and get involved.
Read on to see what, exactly, Instagram Follow Trains are, what they look like, who uses them, if they work, and other ways to gain followers.
WHAT ARE INSTAGRAM FOLLOW TRAINS?
Follow trains are simply posts on Instagram that encourage users to follow each other. It is a way to grow your number of followers, either to connect with more people in your niche or make your account look “cooler”.
Anyone can create a follow train, anyone can host in a follow train, and anyone can participate in a follow train.
However, each one has slightly different rules and expectations, so if you do host or participate in one, make sure you understand how that specific train is being run.
WHAT DO INSTAGRAM FOLLOW TRAINS LOOK LIKE?
The graphics for Instagram Follow Trains within the book community are all pretty similar. Many of them are made in Canva and have graphics of books, or pages, or writing utensils. You will also see, in big bold letters, “FOLLOW TRAIN”.
The captions will often look like this photo.
Notice the blurb at the top that states it is a follow train, then simple instructions, and a long list of “hosts” who will also have this image and caption on their profile.
The hashtags will be a variety of the ones listed in the photo. Sometimes hashtags will be placed into the comments section, as a way to “trick” the Instagram algorithm and avoid the post being repressed.
WHO USES INSTAGRAM FOLLOW TRAINS?
The Instagram communities that use follow trains and/or the follow train hashtags the most include:
- Books + Authors
- Fan Accounts
- New Micro-Influencers
- Paid Accounts (usually spam)
- Meme Accounts
- Spam Accounts
DO INSTAGRAM FOLLOW TRAINS ACTUALLY WORK?
YES…for the most part.
The follow trains can be a great way to grow a loyal following, discover awesome book lovers, and connect with like-minded people. It can lead to increased engagement, post views, and be an all-around good time on bookstagram.
However, there are a lot of accounts that take advantage of follow trains- their main goal is to increase their followers without actually following or supporting anyone back. If you are actively on Instagram, then you’ve probably notice this happen quite often. One of two things will happen from these types of accounts:
1- An account will follow you, you will follow them back, and then they will UNFOLLOW you. They just want to increase their number of followers while keeping their follow rate low. I guess they think it makes them look cool? It really doesn’t. Beware of accounts that have a high follow rate but are following less than 7k people.
2- An account will be a host in a follow train. When you participate, you will follow all of the hosts that are listed in the caption. But a sketchy account, like the ones we are talking about, won’t ever follow you back. There is almost always one host in every follow train that does this… so be on the lookout!
HOW TO SPOT A SKETCHY ACCOUNT:
You will easily be able to identify accounts that play the silly follow/unfollow game. They will have a high number of followers, but a low number of people that they are following. For example, they will have 8,000 followers but only follow 500 people. That is sketchy.
Keep in mind that Instagram does not let you follow more than 7,500 accounts. So, if you follow someone that has already reached their max, it is highly unlikely that they will ever follow you back. If they have reached their max, but they have a lot of followers, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are sketchy or play the follow/unfollow game, they just CAN’T follow you back due to Instagram’s weird restriction. That’s okay. If you find an account like that in a follow train, it is completely up to you if you want to follow them, just keep in mind that they won’t be able to follow you back.
To be honest, I think that those accounts that aren’t able to follow back either shouldn’t participate in follow trains, or they should clearly state in the caption that they are not able to follow back, but would still appreciate your support.
DO INSTAGRAM FOLLOW TRAINS HURT YOUR ACCOUNT?
Yes, they do!
Here is a list of reasons why you should consider avoiding being a host on an Instagram follow train:
- Accounts that use follow trains get repressed
- You will be rejected by brands if you ever want to become an influencer
- Your follower rate will fluctuate a lot
- It is time-consuming to keep up with
- Your account can be frozen or banned (Instagram will assume you are a spam account)
IF I CAN'T USE FOLLOW TRAINS, THAN HOW DO I GROW MY INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT?
We are quickly moving past the age when your number of followers was the most important thing in the world. The easy purchase of fake followers and common use of follow trains have made the number of Instagram followers fairly unimportant in the grand scheme of things.
Now, it’s all about your engagements.
Engagements are measured as likes, comments, saves, and shares. Sure, other Instagrammers will see your number of followers, but if you are interested in teaming up with brands, and authors, or having great discussions with other book lovers, then your engagement rate is more relevant.
Engaging with other accounts takes time, but you create loyal connections that will always be there to support you and help you grow. By commenting on other accounts, you are proving to Instagram and your community niche that you are a REAL person (not spam) and that you actually care about what you are posting about.
WHY SHOULD I PUT IN THE WORK TO GAIN FOLLOWERS NATURALLY?
Do you want loyal followers? Do you want to become a paid book influencer? Do you want FREE books from ARC teams?
If you said yes to any of these, then building a following without using follow trains is important!
BRANDS and Micro-Influencers
If you want to become a book influencer (yes, that is totally a thing!), then there are a few things you should focus on before reaching out to brands.
Here are some of the first things that you should consider:
- Can I post on a regular, scheduled basis?
- Do I post great, original photos?
- Do I have a loyal following? (People who trust your opinions and will engage often.)
- Can I build my following and engagements naturally, or do I rely on follow trains and engagement groups?
Brands DO NOT like if you participate in engagements and follow trains. I guess they think its cheating? I don’t particularly agree with that, though. I hosted in a few follow trains when I first created the Books4Movies Instagram account, and it connected me to some AMAZING people that I probably would never have found on my own.
The same goes for engagement groups. I currently host my own engagement group, which is mainly for my closest connections and the team of authors, guest bloggers, and small bookish businesses that I work with.
The same goes for engagement groups. I currently host my own engagement group, which is mainly for my closest connections and the team of authors, guest bloggers, and small bookish businesses that I work with.
I do work with brands and authors as a micro-influencer, but it took a lot of hard work to get to that point, and I was rejected by a few brands because of my previous follow trains and current engagement group.
So, if you are ever thinking of becoming an influencer, then try to avoid the follow trains and engagement groups.
ABE BOOKS
