How to Follow Someone on Depop: The Ultimate Guide for Users and Sellers
Depop has quickly become one of the hottest spots online for buying and selling unique vintage, handmade, and streetwear fashion items. But beyond just being an online thrift store, Depop doubles as a social marketplace where users can follow and interact with each other much like Instagram.
For Depop sellers especially, following other users can be an invaluable growth strategy for your boutique. Read on to learn why you should follow others on Depop and how to maximize your use of this feature.
What is Depop and Why Follow Others?
In case you‘re not already familiar, Depop is a mobile app and website that allows anyone to buy and sell new or secondhand clothing and accessories. With its artsy, youthful vibe and emphasis on unique styles, Depop has cultivated an engaged community of millions of users.
But Depop is much more than just an online consignment shop. It functions in many ways like a social media platform where users have profile pages and can follow each other, comment on listings, and communicate via direct messaging.
This social element brings all sorts of advantages:
Discover new items and sellers: By searching hashtags or exploring the followers/following lists of sellers you like, you can constantly uncover new inventory and boutiques selling styles you love.
Research the competition: Following top sellers in your niche provides invaluable intel on what‘s currently trending, how much items sell for, and effective branding techniques.
Gain inspiration: Seeing what fashion-forward creatives on Depop are posting can spur new ideas for your own shop. From styling flatlays to crafting captions, you‘ll pick up tips and tricks from seasoned sellers.
Boost engagement: The more active you are in engaging with the Depop community by liking listings and following users, the more others will take notice and return the favor. Higher engagement signals to the Depop algorithm that your shop is worth featuring.
Depop‘s Runaway Growth in Numbers
While secondhand ecommerce expands across platforms, Depop specifically has captured an exploding share of the market thanks to its social, youth-oriented vibes.
Since 2019 alone, Depop has seen surging growth:
- 26 million app downloads for a total of over 30 million global users
- Over 10 million items sold on the platform in 2021, up 100% from 2020
- An average of 2.5 million active users monthly exploring listings and profiles
- Acceleration to over $650 million in gross merchandise sales (GMS), cementing Depop as a leader in the resale industry
And engagement keeps climbing. Top categories like Vintage Tees and Streetwear often have listings with over 50,000 likes, reflecting a vibrant, connected community.
For sellers, this translates into millions of potential new followers and shoppers eager to discover rising stars. By strategically engaging with this vast user base, boutiques can rapidly expand their reach.
Step-by-Step Guide to Following Someone
Depop makes it incredibly easy to find and follow other users. Just open up the mobile app and do the following:
Tap on the search icon at the bottom of the screen to pull up the Explore page.
In the search bar at the top, type in a username, shop name, hashtag, or keyword related to styles or items you want to discover.
Browse the results and tap any listing or user profile that catches your eye.
On a user‘s profile page, simply tap the blue "Follow" button at the top. This will instantly change to "Following" in green text to confirm you are now a follower.
And that‘s it! Repeat these steps to follow more users and build up your community.
Pro Tip: If you‘re on someone‘s profile and want to see who they follow for inspiration, tap the number under "Following" and you can browse the list of users they engage with. An easy way to discover new people to follow yourself!
Strategic Ways to Find Users and Increase Followers
While you can certainly search up usernames one by one and follow users, here are some savvy tactics for sparking engagement:
Follow Competitors and Those With Similar Shops
What are some of your favorite Depop shops that sell styles similar to yours? By going through and following all the users your competitor follows, you can easily grow an engaged community.
Many of those users will be into the same fashions and appreciate supporting smaller artists, so they‘ll be eager to follow you back. Over time by strategically targeting fans of certain aesthetics, you can amass followers genuinely excited to buy from your shop.
Explore Relevant Hashtags and Categories
Depop lets you browse by hashtag, category, and location to uncover users. For example, some popular hashtags to explore include:
Similarly, browsing categories like "Vintage Tees" and filtered searches for your city can connect you with users excited for your wares.
Follow a steady stream of new users this way but be careful not to spam! Follow limits prevent excessively following then unfollowing hundreds quickly. Build authentic connections over time instead for lasting growth.
Chart displaying categories with highest top seller follower counts (Data Source: Depop)
As this data highlights, categories like Streetwear and Vintage Tees boast incredibly high engagement. Target fans from these viral sectors for maximum impact.
Follow Back Followers and Buyers
The best way to boost follower count? Follow those who already follow you!
Similarly, if someone buys from your shop or you complete a sale, give them a follow. Customers especially deserve some love for supporting your small business.
Many users will recipocate follows out of common courtesy. Maintain these relationships by engaging with their content periodically.
83% of Depop sellers who consistently engage with their followers and buyers see return purchase rates of over 20%. Reciprocating community support boosts loyalty and sales.
Enlist a Depop Bot for Automated Growth
Manually searching and following users can prove time-consuming, especially while simultaneously running your shop.
That‘s where Depop bots come in handy! Automation tools can follow users, like listings, analyze your metrics, and more based on parameters you set. They run 24/7 to mimic human behavior and organically grow your reach.
Depop strictly prohibits bots and may ban accounts using them. But used mildly, they enable sellers to save major time while expanding growth and engagement with target users worldwide.
Hacking Depop‘s Algorithm
Depop determines visibility and potential features for listings using proprietary machine learning algorithms. But deciphering some signals can help sellers optimize their accounts:
Follower Count
Having an established follower base flags to Depop that users genuinely engage with your shop. While guarantees no perks, higher numbers demonstrate authority.
Comments and Saves
Listings with the most authentic comment and save activity get prioritized for Depop search and Explore page. Encourage engagement on posts!
Consistent Content
Posting daily with new items and varied images prevents dormancy flags. Keep your shop fresh and active at all times.
Follow Limits
Depop sets daily follow maximums per user to prevent spam, intensifying restrictions on those demonstrating bot behavior by unfollowing en masse. Keep follows consistent and genuine for limit expansions over time.
Master these factors through original or automated tactics to unlock more visibility!
Additional Advanced Ways to Expand Your Following
Ready to step up your follower strategy with some growth hacks? Try implementing:
Follow Local Depop Editors/Ambassadors
Depop maintains official social handles and employees in most regions. Follow these accounts and their engaged followers for a targeted boost, especially if you sell locally.
Attend In-Person Meetups
Depop communities often coordinate shopping events and meetups for users to put faces to usernames. Attend ones in your city to gain loyal local followers excited to frequent your in-person shop.
Optimize Your Posting Schedule
Analytics tools help identify when your followers are most active online to inform ideal posting times. Schedule content for peak engagement windows using apps like Later or Planoly.
Cross-Promote with Instagram
Drive followers from Instagram to Depop and vice versa by consistently cross-linking in profiles and posts. Growth on one platform ignites the other for compounding returns.
Final Thoughts on Maximizing Your Following
As a platform fusing ecommerce and social networking, Depop stands out for enabling sellers to directly engage with enthusiasts of their fashions. But follower count serves as more than just a vanity metric.
Strategically following the right users translates into likes, shares, purchases, and invaluable intel. So implement some of these advanced tips into your selling strategy on Depop.
Remember: tap into analytics, attend local events, schedule wisely, pursue cross-promotion, and don‘t be afraid to incorporate automation. Here‘s to rapidly expanding your Depop audience and bolstering your boutique‘s success!
