So, I was messing around with Instagram the other day, trying to figure out this whole “going live” thing. I’d heard different stuff about needing a certain number of followers, and honestly, it was all pretty confusing. So, I decided to just dive in and see for myself.
Figuring Out the Requirements
First, I did what anyone would do – I hit up Google. I typed in “how many followers to go live on Instagram” and, man, the results were all over the place. Some old articles said you needed, like, a thousand followers, others said 500, and some didn’t even mention a specific number. Talk about unhelpful!
After that, I decided to go through my friend’s account one by one.
- First, my friend Tom, with his mere 50 followers. He had the Live Option!
- Then I hopped onto Linda’s profile – she’s got around 200 followers. And guess what? She could go live too!
- Finally, I check on Rose account. She had over 10k followers. Certainly she could go live.
This Confirmed My Guess. Instagram doesn’t seem to care how many followers you have anymore.
Going Live!
So, I went back to my own account. I tapped the little plus sign at the bottom of the screen, you know, the one you use to create a post. Then, I swiped through the options at the bottom – “Post,” “Story,” “Reel,” and there it was: “Live.” I tapped it, my heart doing a little fluttery thing (I’m not gonna lie, I was a bit nervous!).
The screen switched to my camera view, and there was a big ol’ “Go Live” button. I took a deep breath and pressed it. Boom! I was live! It showed a little “Live” badge in the corner, and people started joining. It was pretty cool (and a little terrifying) seeing the viewer count go up and comments start rolling in.
My Takeaway
Based on my little experiment, it seems like the follower count thing for going live on Instagram is a myth – or at least, it’s outdated. I could go live, no problem. So, if you’ve been holding back because you thought you didn’t have enough followers, just go for it! It’s actually pretty fun, and a great way to connect with people in real-time.
