Followyst is very flexible when it comes to its use. That's one of the reasons Followyst fits so well into the marketing toolbox of so many brands on Instagram. However, with flexibility, it might not always be obvious what will work well for your Instagram past the first few days of use.
This guide describes best practices you can employ to ensure a safe and steady Instagram growth over the course of your journey with Followyst. The advice is based on our own experience with Instagram & Followyst, as well as that of our customers.
The first two weeks
Instagram is cautious when it comes to automation, so it's important to let the algorithm know you're not using a regular Instagram bot that might be spamming comments. Hence, the first two weeks of using Followyst are critical when it comes to automation hygiene.
Let's start with the basics. First, refrain from opening and using your Instagram account on any other device whilst Followyst automation is running. This includes smartphones, tablets and web browsers. You can use the same Instagram account on several devices, however it’s best to publish posts and comments from the device on which Followyst is usually running. These two rules apply even beyond the first few weeks.
Secondly, perform an Instagram automation "warm-up". It boils down to being modest about the automation speed and total automation run time per day. The recipe is pretty straightforward:
- Run automation every day.
- Start the first day with at most 40 actions (likes) per hour and a total run time of at most 3 hours.
- Each day, increase the speed and total run time (e.g. speed by 1-2 actions, total run time ~20 minutes). At the end of the first two weeks, you should be at 60 actions per hour and at most 8 hours of total run time.
It's also important to keep an eye on the week-to-week growth of your account. The exact numbers depend on how often you post content and how you use Instagram, but try to keep the growth at around 25% of your base followers count from week prior. To give you an example, if you have 1000 followers day one, you can end the week with +250 followers, to a total of 1250. The percentage can be higher (and usually is), given you post content regularly and interact with your audience through likes and comments.
In general, you can leave Followyst automation running through the night, just ensure that your device is plugged in and charging. This trick can be used even after the two-week "warm-up".
Even with the "warm-up" period restrictions, you should observe a decent influx of likes and followers to your Instagram account.
Third week and beyond
Once you've successfully "warmed-up" Instagram, the sky is (almost) the limit when it comes to speed and run time. You should do just fine with running at the top speed allowed by your subscription plan. However, the total run time should not exceed 10 hours per day or, alternatively, a total of 800 actions (likes) per day.
Be careful, however, with using Followyst 24/7 without any pauses. It will be a clear signal to Instagram that something weird is happening. You can easily remedy that by inserting Pause activities between regular Followyst activities (esp. for the night runs) or spreading automation manually.
Every Instagram account is different in terms of the audience type, followers and your way of doing the influencer work. However, remember that the more you use Instagram yourself (posting, commenting etc.), the better automation results you get.
Basic use of Followyst activities
When you're in doubt which Followyst Activity to use, often the best results will come from finding influencers with similar audience to yours and leveraging Like followers post or analog feed of Like by Like activity. Try each selected influencer for a day or two and gauge the impact on your followers count and engagement. Pick the once that yields the best results. When Followyst reaches the end of the followers list for the chosen influencer, wait for a few days until the influencer gets new followers.
Remove fake & mass followers is great for grooming your audience (i.e. getting rid of fake/bot accounts), but do it carefully. Avoid a scenario in which your followers count drops too steeply. You can achieve that by limiting the number of followers Followyst can remove via the settings.
Closing remarks
While the above are some general guidelines, ultimately every Instagram account is different. We know from our own and our customers’ stories that it’s definitely possible to run Followyst automation for up to 10 hours per day at maximum speed (120 actions/h) without any issues.
In a nutshell, after the first two to three weeks, it’s up to you how fast you want to go.