Why Fans Unfollow Your Business

Roughly 80% of social media users unfollowed a brand on Facebook or Twitter this past year.

Why?

The number one reason is they were embarrassed to be associated with the company. They didn’t want their friends to see the connection.

When you dig a little deeper, it is clear that fans cut ties with brands that are overly promotional, share irrelevant content, or are trying too hard.

Almost half of all social users have unfollowed a brand because it shared too many promotions. Some of these were probably discounts. Most were likely self-promotional posts, which are death to social connections.

Over a third of followers have broken up with a brand because it was trying too hard—awkwardly using slang, attempting to create a hip image, or “being funny” and failing.

It’s a tricky balance. Almost the same number of fans have dropped a brand because it didn’t have enough personality.

Using hastags poorly and not replying to consumers’ posts also spark unfollows.

Consumers’ favorite industries on social media are retail, CPG, and media. Their least liked are government, financial services, and marketing/advertising.

Sources: BuzzStream 2015, HubSpot 2015, Sprout Social 2016