At this point, I’ve gotten most of the number back in real followers. I’m back up to around 8k.
The key to gaining followers regularly is consistency. I never “follow for follow” ever, as that isn’t in my best interest (I actually recently wrote about that if you’re interested!).
Post good pieces (and they do NOT have to be long!) with solid, useful, valuable info or entertaining, funny stuff regularly. I post once a week these days, but I could get followers much faster if I were posting daily, as could you.
Make sure you’re tagging it with 5 relevant hashtags, not just random large or obscure ones.
You’ll get there! Consistency in posting and good posts will get you there with real followers and solid engagement.