To Follow or Not to Follow

Summary

The author, a Christian coach for women, is reflecting on the change in her Instagram followers' demographics after updating her profile picture to a more direct and smiling image, leading to an influx of male followers who do not align with her target audience.

Abstract

The author of the article, who identifies as a Christian coach with a focus on women, young adult women, mothers, mompreneurs, solopreneurs, small business owners, and individuals interested in mental health and emotional wellness, recently updated her Instagram profile picture. She observed a significant shift in the type of followers she attracted, moving from a community aligned with her content to predominantly black males with few posts and a focus on self-portraits. This unexpected change has left her questioning whether her new profile picture is the driving force behind the new followers and whether she should engage with these followers to understand their motives or simply block them to maintain her intended audience.

Opinions

The author values content and character over physical appearance and is surprised by the impact of her profile picture on her follower demographic.
She is initially skeptical and uncomfortable with the new followers who do not fit her target audience profile, leading her to block them.
The author is considering reaching out to these followers to inquire about their interest in her content but is unsure if this approach is appropriate.
She is seeking feedback on whether her reaction is justified or if she is overthinking the situation.
The author is also contemplating changing her profile picture again to see if it affects the type of followers she attracts.
She is looking for guidance on the best course of action, including the possibility of accepting followers without questioning their motives, and is praying for insight.

To Follow or Not to Follow

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I recently changed my profile picture on Instagram and I was surprised by the number of new followers and who were now following me.

My previous picture showed my face, side view and not smiling. It was what I considered a contemplative view. I liked it, thought I looked good and thought it reflected a side of my personality well, the thoughtful, contemplative side.

I had a decent amount of people decide to follow me. I would like to think that the follows were due to my content, not necessarily the picture. I’m no supermodel, and I’m pretty conservative in how I present myself. I don’t put a lot of stock in looks; I value the content of the character and seek to attract people who are attracted to my character. Therefore the people who followed me were a good representative of who my subject matter targets, Christians, young adult women and mothers, mompreneurs, solopreneurs and small business owners as well as people interested in mental health and emotional wellness.

Since changing my profile picture to one where I am looking directly into the camera with a smile on my face I noticed that I am now getting a stream of followers who fit a distinctly different profile.

First of all they are males, predominantly black males. Black males with many followers, few posts and the posts they have are mostly pictures of themselves. They tend not to have much content of value in their posts and they tend to have many women that they are following.

I have to say that at first it seemed weird to me. I don’t like to follow back unless I see there is a commonality that would make me happy to see your posts in my feed.

I tend to follow Christians, mompreneurs, solopreneurs, young adult women and small business owner or people who are interested in mental health and emotional wellness. I didn’t see where these male followers fit in. I don’t scroll for eye candy or just to look at male models or males in general. I am happily married and a Christian wife and mother of adult children who has been a successful business owner for over 20 years.

Because I was confused by such different profiles of these new followers, I just decided to block them as they presented themselves. But I have taken a pause and started to question the wisdom of this.

Am I over reacting, over thinking and missing some key aspect of this? As a woman in my 60’s am I misunderstanding the reason why men including men of my son’s age are following me. For goodness sake, my Instagram handle is @Christiancoach4women. That should tell them a lot of what I am about. God knows I don’t post anything scandalous, controversial or in any way intimate. My subjects are as stated above.

I wonder, should I just message them asking, “Curious to know what is it about my Instagram that makes you interested in following me.” Is that too weird, because I am honestly curious.

I have and will continue to block followers who have obscene of inappropriate posts on their site, but if there is nothing like that on the followers site, and they don’t fit the profile of who I am targeting my content to, I wonder why the follow?

I would appreciate some feedback. Be honest with me. Am I over thinking this? Should I just block and keep it moving if I am uncomfortable? Should I just accept followers and not seek for better understanding of the follower’s motives. What is the Instagram etiquette that applies here.

Don’t think that I am only asking my readers. I am praying about what would be the best action to take, follow or don’t follow. Jeremiah 33:3 says; “ Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come.”

I am tempted to change my picture again and see if it’s the picture that is really the culprit.

#Just another one of life’s mysteries that may never be solved.